CINNAMON ROLLS - light n' fluffy!

[Fidissimus]

Once you get the hang of these they're a snap to make and I look for excuses to have them... even the rest of my gluten guzzling family looks forward to (and requests) these treats!

This is out of The Gluten Free Kitchen by Roben Ryberg. However the tip about how to easily work the dough was stolen from Alton Brown's Good Eats*. He's by far and away my favorite TV foodie guy... science meets food meets dork. I'm in love... shhhh! Don't tell DH on me!

By the way, the notes below in Italics are my own opinions or comments...

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These cinnamon rolls will not quite make you forget those you used to buy at the mall, but these are nice. Please follow the unusual techniques carefully when you make these rolls. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
2 Tablespoons Shortening
(I personally use Butter because I think it tastes better, but if you're dairy intolerant stick with the shortening)
1/4 Cup Sugar
2/3 Cup of Milk @ room temperature
It should be warm enough to help activate the yeast!
1 Packet Yeast (about 1 Tablespoon)
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Potato Starch
1 Cup Corn Starch
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 1/2 Teaspoons Xantham Gum
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Flavoring

FOR TABLE TOP
1 - 2 Tablespoons Sugar

FOR FILLING
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 1/4 Teaspoons Cinnamon
1/3 Cup Chopped Nuts - Optional

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In medium bowl, combine shortening (or butter) and sugar. Mix well. Measure warm milk and and add yeast to milk. Whisk well to fully dissolve. Add milk/yeast to sugar mixture. Add remaining ingredients. Mix very well, being sure to remove all lumps. Dough will be quite soft.

(*Here's where Alton Brown's ingenious tip comes in super handy!)

Take a piece of Plastic Wrap and lay it out so it covers a 13 1/2" x 13 1/2" square.


Sprinkle sugar on the wrap. Lay ball of dough on top of that. Then pull out another sheet of wrap and gently lay over the dough.


Pat the dough down into a rough squarish pancake. Lift the top wrap up and relay it down. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough in between the two layers of wrap. Note that occasionally you'll have to lift and reposition the wrap because it gets "stuck" under the edges. I also occasionally flip the whole thing over. Make sure that when you're done you've got about a 13 1/2" x 13 1/2" square of dough. Remove top piece of wrap.


Combine sugar and cinnamon. Spread evenly across dough's surface. (I leave about a 1 1/2" sugar free edge because when you roll the dough all the sugar shifts and fills this in. Otherwise all the sugar spills out - oh no! )


Use the bottom piece of wrap to lift the edge of the dough and start to roll it up forming a long cylinder. (Start with the sugary edge, which will be the center of your roll and roll toward the sugarless edge)



Cut off or trim up the irregular ends of your "log".


Then cut into 9 slices of similar size, about 1 1/2" wide. Place rolls into a greased round glass pie pan.


Bake approximately 20 minutes, until tops are lightly browned.

Combine powdered sugar, milk and vanilla flavoring to make glaze. Stir until all lumps are dissolved. Drizzle over warm rolls if desired.

Makes 9 modestly sized rolls. Serves 9.

(These are lovely with coffee in the morning. They're very light and fluffy - not too heavy or dense. I've also discovered that you can make these the night before and stop short of baking them. Wrap them up in their pan or glass dish and leave them in the fridge for the night. The next morning you can take them out and bake them and they come out just the same! I've found that this is a great thing to bring to a friends house for brunch. I just pop them in their oven - and you've got a great GF contribution and you know there's no cross contamination!)

305 = Calories
10g = Fat
25mg = Cholesterol
54g = Carbs
2g = Protein
3g = Fiber
301mg = Sodium
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Cheers!
Jenn

GF BD: Feb. 2001
Free of wheat, barley, rye, oats, dairy, eggs, almonds, pineapple and brewers yeast.
http://graindamaged.blogspot.com/

[Fidissimus]

Finally added in the pictures I've been promising - I'll pop these in the oven tomorrow for Christmas breakfast... ...and I'll take one last picture of the baked finished rolls. Happy Holidays!
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Cheers!
Jenn

GF BD: Feb. 2001
Free of wheat, barley, rye, oats, dairy, eggs, almonds, pineapple and brewers yeast.
http://graindamaged.blogspot.com/

[mrsppmrxky]

Fid, thank you so much! I will have to try this technique when I make my next batch of cinnamon rolls.

(I could never make pictures like that........I would get dough all over the little button on the camera. LOL That is such a good idea to make pictures that show how to do our products for the newbies that do not bake...........and for old timers to learn new tricks of the trade!)

Thanks again and Merry Christmas!
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[Purrsnikitty]

Wow - thanks, Fid - and especially for the great pictures.
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"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

[aklap]

Great rolls!! Great Pix!!

Thanks Jenn!!
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[Fidissimus]

okay - picture of final product posted!
_________________
Cheers!
Jenn

GF BD: Feb. 2001
Free of wheat, barley, rye, oats, dairy, eggs, almonds, pineapple and brewers yeast.
http://graindamaged.blogspot.com/

[GFPolarBear]

Oooh. One of my goals was to find a GF Cinnamon Roll recipe for Christmas time (my first GF Christmas, which will be the upcoming one), so I will definitely be trying these!

Thanks for posting this!

[Fidissimus]

Welcome - I hope you like them!
_________________
Cheers!
Jenn

GF BD: Feb. 2001
Free of wheat, barley, rye, oats, dairy, eggs, almonds, pineapple and brewers yeast.
http://graindamaged.blogspot.com/

[The Edifying Conscience]

Wowsa Fidd! I don't know how I missed this thread the first time around, but those cinnamon rolls look delicious...even better than mine! I have a list of things I want to make and these are topping the list. Cinnamon rolls sound great for dinner if I can get someone to pick up some yeast for me!

[Fidissimus]

I hope you get a chance to try them out - they're even better than they look.
_________________
Cheers!
Jenn

GF BD: Feb. 2001
Free of wheat, barley, rye, oats, dairy, eggs, almonds, pineapple and brewers yeast.
http://graindamaged.blogspot.com/

[Daughter_of_Light]

I MUST TRY THOSE!!!!!!!! MOM WILL BE OVER THE MOON!!!!!
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Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. -Hebrews 11:1

THE CAREBEARS WILL TAKE OVER THE WORLD WITH MACHINE GUNS!!!! TAKE COVER!!

Call me Light!

[The Edifying Conscience]

Edited!

For the first time in 5+ weeks, I actually baked/cooked something! I made the cinnamon rolls and they were delicious even though I forgot to add the egg. I realized that halfway through baking and dropped any and all expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. In fact I may omit the egg from subsequent batches.

I WILL definitely use the dough portion of the recipe again, but not the filling as it was WAY to sweet for me. My initial instinct is to cut the sugar down by at least 1/2. I'll have to go spelunking for some other filling 'guidelines.'

The tip of using the plastic wrap to roll the dough is brilliant! I placed the bottom layer of wrap on a Silpat so it wouldn't shift while rolling.

The best part is that I managed to mix the dough and form the cinnamon rolls very quickly. Because I'm a dork I timed it...34:44 plus baking time, but I was not rushing.

After they come out of the oven I topped them with a glaze made from a bit of melted butter, milk, vanilla and powdered sugar.

Thanks for the write up Fidd! I would never have tried this recipe without it.

[The Edifying Conscience]

I used Rapid Rise yeast, didn't give them any rise time and they rose beautifully!

[HadassahSukkot]

I have a question about these. I made my batch and these were really really REALLY sticky and when I went and cut them to put in the dish... they fell all apart

So..... I just threw them into the dish (Who cares now!?) and will just put icing on top when they come out, and I will 'cut' them with a spatula.

What do I need to do next time around, add more flour?
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[mrsppmrxky]

I don't know about this particular recipe, but if it is too sticky, I would probably 'knead' the dough just a little in one of the starches.......not too much though because it might make the dough too dry or tough.

For cutting the dough, a trick that I learned a long time ago was to use thread or dental floss (non-flavored). A knife usually just sticks and makes the cut unatractive.

Hope that helps you out.
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