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From Chef Cornnie Jenkins
In my opinion, there is no better way to start a weekend morning than with the smell of these rolls drifting out of my kitchen They are best eaten immediately, but I appreciate a dish like this that can also keep a day or two. That way when I get up to go to school at 5:45 every morning, I have something wonderful to take along with my morning coffee. CWM
Servings: 6
SWEET ROLL INGREDIENTS:
3 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 ounces (6 packets) active dry yeast
8 ounces (1 cup) superfine sugar
about 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
14 ounces (3 cups) bread flour
6 ounce (1 1/4 cups) pastry flour
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 1/2 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, medium diced
CINNAMON BUTTER SAUCE:
4 cups apple juice
16 ounces (2 cups) superfine sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Butter a 9-inch cake pan.
Measure all the ingredlents and set them aside in individual containers. Sift together the bread and pastry flours and set aside.
In a small saucepan, scald the milk. Turn off the heat as soon as it starts to froth, Cool to lukewarm.
When the milk has cooled, dissolve the yeast in the milk along with 1 tablespoon of the sugar.
Put 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl and mix on low with the paddle attachment until creamy.
Add the eggs 1 at a time and mix until incorporated.
Add the flour and liquid ingredients all at once and mix on medium speed for 4 minutes.
Grease a bowl with about 1 teaspoon buttter, then put in the dough and turn once. Cover with a moist clean towel and allow it to rise until double in size, approximately 1 1/4 hours.
When the dough has doubled, puncb it down and turn it out onto a floured countertop. Knead tor 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Roll out the dough to form a rectangle 14x9-inches.
Brush 2 tablespoons of butter evenly over the center surface of the dough. Leave a border of 1-inch unbuttered around the edge.
Sprinkle the surface of the dough with a mixture of 1/2 cup superfine sugar and 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon.
Evenly spread out the diced apples over the surface of the dough. Do not put apples within a 2-inch border around the edge of the dough.
Roll the dough from one long edge to the other over the apples to create a spiraled log. To seal, pinch the edge closed along the entire length of the log.
Using a piece of strong thread, slide it under the dough about 1 1/2-inches from the end. Lift, crisscross the thread and pull tightly to slice off a 1 1/2-inch piece from the apple roll.
Place the rolls in the prepared pan with the most recently cut side facing down. Space the roll evenly in the pan.
Cover the rolls with a damp, clean towel and let them rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.
About 25 minutes after the rolls are covered with the towel, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Turn the heat on medium-low and reduce the mixture by half, until it has the consistency of a very light syrup approximately 15 minutes. Do not allow the sauce to cook beyond this stage or it will harden when it is baked.
Turn off the heat and allow the sauce to cool slightly, approximately 1 minute.
Pour the sauce over the rolls in the pan and place them in the oven.
Bake until the rolls are golden brown the dough is baked through, and the apples are tender, approximately 30 minutes.
When the rolls first come out of the oven, rub about 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter over the tops and allow it to melt over the surface Serve immediately.
Chef’s Note This recipe calls for active dry yeast, which
is the type that comes in the in little packages.
Fresh yeast that is sold in cakes can also be used, in place of the 1 3/5 ounces active dry yeast, use 6 (3/5 ounce) cakes fresh yeast.
