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I bought some yeast at the store last week. I buy it every year with the best of intentions, but I never seem to get around to using it before it goes out of date. I think I'm just a tad intimidated about making breads because I know that temps have to be just right or the dough won't rise. But I decided that this was gonna be my year to tackle a recipe I found many years ago for cinnamon rolls. I haven't worked with yeast since I worked at a steakhouse about 15 years ago making yeast rolls. But I decided to go ahead and try this recipe today. I almost didn't and then I found my candy thermometer! Score! I could make sure that my water temp was just right before adding it to the yeast. After adding the water to the yeast and letting it sit for five agonizing minutes, I prayed to the baking gods that it would do exactly what it was supposed to do in that time. Hoping it had done its thing, I began adding the other ingredients to Big Mamma. That's what I've named my red Kitchen Aid stand mixer. So Big Mamma is doin her thing and then she starts to s-l-o-w down. I remembered a story my uncle told me about his son in law killing their mixer making a bread, so I turned her off. Then I remembered...dough hook! Quickly I swapped out the flat beater attachment for the dough hook and strarted her back up. Worked like a charm! So after the dough looked like I thought it should look, I took it from the mixing bowl to my floured surface. I've got a wonderful friend who recently gave me a pastry placemat that's got all sorts of sizes and rulers on it. I set the kitchen timer on my microwave to make sure I didn't over work the dough and went to work kneading the dough. It felt so good to have my hands back in dough! I can't even explain it to you, it just makes me feel so creative! After I shaped my dough into the nearly appropriate sized rectangle I smeared the room temp butter on. I'm sure they make a politically correct utensil for that job, but I just used my hands. PC is lost on this girl, LOL! Then on to sprinkling it up with the cinnamon mixture and rolling it up. Now, I make about 25 roll cakes every year through Thanksgiving and Christmas, and sometimes they roll up just right, and other times....well, not so much. I'm always careful because my motto is "presentation, presentation, presentation", but working with this raw dough, I was even more gentle. Too gentle on the first roll, and I realized this when I began cutting it and it was falling flat. So I was a little rougher with the second roll making sure I pinched the seam real good, no matter how loud it squealed. The first roll turned out great, but the 2nd roll turned out fantastic! they plumped up so nice in the pan and both rolls tasted scrumptious! Now that I have my first cinnamon rolls under my belt, my next yeast based project will be Amish bread. I don't have a bread machine and neither did the good women of this great country 200 years ago and neither do the Amish! Not sure when I'll attempt Amish bread, but it will be before Christmas I'm sure! Hope you enjoyed a peek into what's going on in my kitchen today! What are some techniques, recipes, or utensils that have caused you some trepidation in the kitchen? Did you attack them? How did that work out for you? Share your story with me.
