Roll With It

One of the best parts of winter is staying indoors on a snowy day and baking. Even better baking rolls and buns. They're a nice departure from the usual snowy day baking line up along with challenging skills. Another good thing about rolls and buns, they're perfect for any meal or snack.

Many novice home bakers may balk at using yeast dough. They feel that it's unreliable and can ruin a recipe. The key to that is proofing for usually half an hour. It's all about letting the dough rise. This produces fluffy  light rolls or loaves when they 're baked. Rolls are easy to make and have a simple recipe. It is usually is margarine, white sugar , eggs yeast and refined white flour. Baking time is between thirty and forty minutes. For a healthier bread try whole wheat,Some recipes would be  bit richer because whole wheat rolls usually have milk and butter included.Add some variety by sprinkling on sesame seeds or poppy seeds. This is done right before you put the tin into the oven. Brush tops with melted butter and then sprinkled on the seeds.More experienced bakers can try their hand at brioches, those buttery, heavenly French rolls. It's an involved recipe that has four eggs and a cup(!) of unsalted butter.There's also half a cup of milk to to add to the roll's richness.It's a double rise meaning that the dough is let proofed once after kneading. An hour later the process is repeated and then the dough is put into those special tins.Then there is the "head",a ball of  dough which is put on in  a certain way.Then there is a third proofing that lasts an hour, along with a preliminary egg wash to get that golden glaze before baking.

Most people love homemade buns. especially the cinnamon ones, thanks to Cinnabon. Those instant ones are good in a pinch however you can easily make your own, tasting exactly like the ones at the mall.The dough has a tangy richness thanks to the addition of buttermilk.along with the seven tablespoons of butter. Of course it is the filling and melt in your mouth icing that makes these treats sing and shine. The filling is a mix of cinnamon and brown sugar along with corn starch and again half a cup of butter (Cinnabon sells the cinnamon if you want to use theirs). The icing is made with cream cheese along with more butter- a mere quarter of a cup this time- and lemon juice. It's an elaborate bake with many steps however the end result is definitely worth it.A regular bun recipe is , of,course much simpler ,similar to the roll one. It just has more sugar, namely anywhere between one third to one half cup sugar. Try currant buns for a different twist. This is a big British favorite, appearing often at teas.Currants are basically dried red seedless grapes, a bit different from raisins. They  can also be made with regular raisins or sultanas. a dried white grape. Saffron buns, popular in Sweden on December 12, St. Lucy's day are also yummy.treat.It's a regular bun recipe with a 1/4 teaspoon of saffron added.


A cold snowy day is the perfect one for making rolls and bun. Bake a batch to be served with dinner or just as a snack.They're tasty treats to warm you inside and out.