One thing about not being able to sleep past 2 AM is that I get to make dough.
Rather than lay in bed and contemplate the ceiling or try to rub my sore back (Am I too old to be shoveling snow?) I finally got up, got dressed and went to my office - the kitchen.
Leon had mentioned cinnamon rolls...actually a co-worker of his was asking, so I woke up thinking about cinnamon rolls.
One not so good thing about not having a "recipe" is that when something comes out exceptionally well, you have no way of replicating it exactly.
My
cinnamon rolls this morning were quite exceptional. I think I used a
teaspoon of yeast in 1/2 cup water and 1/3 cup sugar; let that set for a
few minutes, added a teaspoon of salt and a cup of gently warmed milk
(2%) a half stick to 2/3 stick of butter, softened and enough flour (?)
to make a soft dough. Beat it up, kneaded it gently and let it rise for
an hour.Then I formed the rolls by making a "rope" about 6-8 inches long, dipped each in melted butter and dredged them in cinnamon sugar, formed a spiral and placed them on a baking sheet and into a 375 degree oven for 20+ minutes.
After they cooled just a bit I frosted them with a thick confectioner sugar/water/orange extract mix.
Exceptional!
Then it was on to the bread. Actually I started the bread dough while the cinnamon rolls were rising.
I will say I am getting better every time I make bread. This morning I used 3 1/2 large coffee mugs of water, 2 teaspoons of yeast, a little sugar, salt and I mixed in a cup of whole wheat pastry flour with the King Arthur all purpose.
Those bread snobs who weigh everything: the water, the yeast, the flour. And they calculate the percentages of water to flour to yeast and salt. I have a kitchen scale but I think I would break it if I weighed my ingredients.
Besides, I've watched old Italian women on YouTube make bread in a large trough which probably holds twenty-five pounds of flour.
I
think they take turns making bread for the entire neighborhood in one
huge wood-fired oven that is prepared ahead and heated to probably over
900 degrees. It holds maybe 30 or more loaves of bread.I don't have a wood-fired oven, but I heat mine to 475 degrees and place a large roasting pan with about 1/2 inch of water on the bottom of the oven and allow that to heat to steam point.
I brush my loaves with water and sprinkle on sesame seeds (cuz I like the flavor they impart) before taking them to the oven. The bread is done in 20 to 25 minutes.
Exceptional! If I do say so.
Insomnia bread. I beats tossing and turning.
