Cranberry-Walnut Rolls

Prior to the advent of  the Internet with blogs, Pinterest, Instagram, even Facebook, I subscribed to many cooking magazines or bought cookbooks for new recipe inspiration.  I would cut out recipes and articles that interested me and save them in folders, by category, such as main dishes, desserts, etc.   Now it seems I "save" most of my recipes to my various Pinterest folders.  A month or so ago, I grabbed out my old-fashioned paper folders and was browsing through them.  I ran across this roll recipe from Bon Appetit magazine from November 2009.  I'm not sure why it has taken me nine years to make them as they are amazing!  They are the perfect roll for fall and Thanksgiving cooking.

These rolls were easy to make.  Like all yeast breads, time is the major factor in making them. My bread baking is usually confined to Sundays, that seems to be the calmest day of the week for me! While the dough is rising I can do chores, craft, and watch football.

The original recipe calls for brushing the unbaked rolls with an egg wash and raw sugar.  I had no raw sugar in the house.  After making them I don't think I will add the sugar the next time. They were wonderful, as is!

Cranberry-Walnut Rolls

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
3 1/2 cups (or more) bread flour
1 tablespoon (packed) brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons quick-rising dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus additional for coating the bowl
1 large egg
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 large egg, beaten to blend (for glaze)
Raw sugar (turbinado or demerara)

Stir nuts in dry skillet over medium heat until toasted, about 5 minutes. Cool.

Mix 3 1/2 cups bread flour, brown sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Warm the milk in a small saucepan over low heat until instant-read thermometer inserted in milk registers 95 degrees Farenheit. Add oil; remove from heat. Add the milk mixture and the egg to the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until a wet coarse ball forms, about 1 minute. Add nuts and cranberries. Replace paddle attachment on mixer with the dough hook.  Mix dough on low speed until smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if needed, about 4 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead two minutes

Lightly oil a large bowl. Shape dough into ball; place in prepared bowl, turning to coat with oil.  Cover with plastic wrap; let dough rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, 1 3/4 to 2 hours.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer dough to an unfloured surface; divide into 12 equal pieces. Using cupped hand, roll and rotate 1 dough piece into a smooth round ball. Repeat with remaining dough pieces.

Transfer rolls to prepared baking sheet, spacing apart. Spray rolls with nonstick spray.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap; let rise at room temperature until 1 1/2 times original size, about 1 1/2 hours. Brush rolls with egg glaze; sprinkle with raw sugar. Let rise 15 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425 degrees.

Place rolls in oven; reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake 7 minutes. Rotate baking sheet; bake rolls until golden and slightly firm to touch, about 8 minutes longer. Cool completely on rack.

DO AHEAD: Wrap baked rolls in foil, then enclose in resealable freezer plastic bag and freeze for up to 2 weeks. Thaw rolls at room temperature. If desired, rewarm rolls wrapped in foil in 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

Does anyone else get an increased urge to bake when the season changes from summer to fall? I sure do! I'm spending less time outdoors and more time in the kitchen these days. Sunday is my favorite day to bake.  My weekend chores are usually done by then, football and/or drag racing is on the TV, no grandchildren are spending the night (which wears Nana out!).  I have more time to devote to baking.  Often I turn to making something with yeast.  I love the whole bread-making process; the smell of yeast dough as it's rising, kneading and shaping the bread.  And, of course, there are few things in this world that can top the smell of bread baking in the oven!

These dinner rolls have a small amount of sweet potatoes in them.  The flavor is not overpowering, they aren't too sweet.  Potatoes have long been a great ingredient for a yeast dough.  They are made mostly of starch which turns into sugar.  Yeast loves sugar, it helps the dough rise and become moist and tender.

My son smoked spareribs the night I made these rolls.  Everyone devoured both! They would also be a great addition to the Thanksgiving table.

If you have a Kitchenaid mixer, the mixing and kneading can be done in the mixer bowl, just change to the dough hook for the kneading process. 

Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

One .25 oz. package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1 tablespoon white sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 1/2 cups bread flour

Dissolve the yeast, warm water and white sugar in a large bowl. Let stand 5-7 minutes, or until yeast is bubbly and has risen up.

Add the brown sugar, sweet potatoes, butter, salt and eggs to the bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer on low until the ingredients are well mixed.

With the mixer still on low speed, add 3 cups of flour to the bowl, mix until flour is just incorporated.  Turn the dough out onto a clean lightly floured surface. Knead the dough and add enough of the remaining 1/2 cup flour to make a soft tacky dough.  Do not over knead the dough.

Place the dough in a large bowl coated with vegetable oil, turn the dough in the bowl so all sides are coated with oil. Place in a  warm, draft-free place to rise and cover the top of the bowl with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let rise until double in size, about one hour.

Punch the dough down and let it rest for 2 minutes. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls.  Place in a greased 13x9-inch baking pan.  Place in a warm draft-free place to rise covered with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap until double in size, about 45 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the roll tops are golden brown.

The yeast is nice and bubbly, which means it's alive and will make light fluffy rolls!

Small flecks of sweet potato in the dough.

I usually let my yeast dough rise on my cooktop, with the overhead light on.

Apricot Sweet Buns

I periodically buy a magazine called Bake From Scratch and subscribe to their Instagram feed. The pictures of their baked goods always has me drooling and I bookmark all the things I want to try.  Then, life gets in the way, and all the things I want to bake don't get baked!  Such is the case with these sweet buns.  They were featured in their magazine earlier in the year and I saved the article. Every now and then I would come across it and think I need to make them. Then I would forget (is that busy or age-related memory issues?) This last week they posted a picture on Instagram and I decided right then and there that I was going to get these made! I'm so glad I did.  As I tell my almost-four year old grandson when we eat something good, these were "yummy, yummy in my tummy!"  They weren't overly sweet but the dough had a wonderful flavor due to the addition of almond extract (love the stuff).  The tanginess of the apricots balances the sweetness of the dough. They were heavenly warm.  I shared the leftovers a few hours later at my granddaughter's soccer game and they were still good.

Don't let the length of the recipe intimidate you.  It is easily broken down into parts, as your time allows.  The apricot filling can be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated for up to a week. I made the dough and assembled the buns one night while dinner was cooking, then refrigerated them.  The next morning I set them out for their final rise and baked them.  By 9 a.m. we were eating warm buns and enjoying our morning coffee!

The recipe calls for a brown sugar glaze, with the added flavor of vanilla. At first I was going to make a simple confectioners' sugar glaze for them, but decided to stay true to the recipe. The glaze added just enough sweetness, I think the confectioners' sugar glaze would have made them too sweet.

I was raised in California's apricot country. This recipe calls for dried apricots in the filling. Please, please use California dried apricots. They are so much more flavorful than their foreign counterpart and you are helping a California farmer!

Apricot Sweet Buns

1 cup warm whole milk (105 to 110 degrees), divided
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Apricot-Almond Filling (recipe follows)
Brown Sugar Glaze (recipe follows)

In a medium bowl, combine ¾ cup  warm milk and yeast. Let stand until mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.

 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together sugar, melted butter, sour cream, egg, almond extract, and remaining ¼ cup  warm milk.

 

In a large bowl, whisk together 3⅔ cups flour and salt. Stir half of flour mixture into sugar mixture. With mixer on low speed, add yeast mixture, beating just until combined. Beat in remaining flour mixture. Switch to the dough hook attachment. Beat at medium speed until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Add remaining ⅓ cup  flour, if needed (dough should not be sticky). Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning to grease top. Loosely cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

 

Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

 

Lightly punch down dough. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and roll into a 21x13-inch rectangle. Spread Apricot-Almond Filling onto dough. Fold dough in thirds, like a letter, creating a 13x7-inch rectangle. Roll dough into a 13x8-inch rectangle. Cut ½ inch off each short end of rectangle. Cut dough into 12 (1-inch) strips. Twist each strip, and tie in a knot, tucking ends under. Place on prepared pans. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place  until puffed, about 30 minutes.

 

Preheat oven to 350°F.

 

Bake buns, one batch at a time, until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes, covering with foil halfway through baking to prevent excess browning. Brush buns with Brown Sugar Glaze. Let cool on pans for 10 minutes. Serve warm. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Makes 12 buns.

 

Apricot-Almond Filling

Makes about 1½ cups

 

1 cup  dried apricots

⅓ cup  granulated sugar

1 tablespoon  unsalted butter, cubed

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup  sliced almonds

 

In a small saucepan, bring apricots and enough water to cover by 1 inch to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cook until apricots are softened, about 20 minutes. Drain apricots, reserving 2 tablespoons cooking liquid.

 

In the work bowl of a food processor, place warm apricots, reserved 2 tablespoons cooking liquid, sugar, butter, and cinnamon; pulse until mixture has the texture of jam. Stir in almonds; let cool completely. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

 

Brown Sugar Glaze

 

 

¼ cup (60 grams) water

¼ cup (55 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved

 

In a small saucepan, bring ¼ cup water, brown sugar, and vanilla bean and reserved seeds to a boil over medium heat. Remove vanilla bean, and let cool completely. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

 

The apricot filling spread over the yeast dough.

Fold over into an envelope shape and roll out.



Ready for their final rise. At this point, I covered them tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated them overnight.



 

Crescent Rolls

Grandma always made homemade rolls for all our family celebrations.  I don't recall that we ever had anything other than homemade! When the time came that she was no longer able to do that activity, Mom took over the duty. It's amazing we had any rolls by dinner because she would be swarmed the minute she walked through the door, everyone wanting a freshly-made warm roll! But, there always seemed to be enough!

Mom now has health issues and is unable to bake anymore.  The baton has been passed to me. For Thanksgiving I was tasked with making pies and rolls for our family gathering.  I went looking for an easy recipe as I would be making them Thanksgiving morning, with not a lot of time to spare. Most of the kneading for these rolls is done in a stand mixer. Then it's a matter of letting the dough rise, shaping the rolls, and rising again.  I accomplished other chores while the rolls were rising.  The rolls were light, fluffy, and, oh, so, buttery. We had a large crowd for Thanksgiving so I made two batches of the rolls.  There were only 6 or so left after dinner.  This is a keeper recipe!  Mom loved them and Grandma would be proud!

Buttery Crescent Rolls

1 1/4 cup warm water
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons softened butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup softened butter
2 tablespoons melted butter

Combine water, yeast, 3 tablespoons softened butter, eggs, sugar, salt, and 3 cups flour in bowl of a stand mixer.  Mix, using dough hook, until combined, on low speed.  Continue mixing about 5 minutes, gradually adding in the last 1 1/2 cups of flour. (Dough should pull away from side of bowl). Turn  dough out onto floured surface and knead 4-5 times and patting into a ball shape. Cover with kitchen towel and let rise 60-90 minutes, until doubled in size.

Divide dough into two pieces.  On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece into a 12-inch circle.  Spread 1/4 cup softened butter on the circle.  Slice each circle into 12 triangles (I used a pizza cutter).  Roll each triangle up from the outside edge, forming a crescent shape, slightly curving the ends toward the middle. Place on a parchment-lined or greased 12x17-inch cookie sheet (jelly roll pan). Cover with kitchen towel and let rise again for about 45 minutes, until puffed and light.  Repeat with remaining dough ball.

While rolls are rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until tops are golden brown. Brush melted butter on tops of rolls.

Recipe adapted from Its Always Autumn.