Cinnamon Roses

I was in a “play with dough” mood. Besides I wanted to try my hands on bread roses for a long time. And since it looked like as if the weekend's gonna be completely featureless and dull – Ivan was out of town and I was having a cold – it was just the perfect time for some dough work as a way to push myself off from the burning sensation in my sinuses. And this month's Fresh from the Oven challenge was more than appropriate for this occasion.

It was Claire from Things We Make who set the challenge to be cinnamon rolls.

I wanted my rolls to resemble tiny one bite roses but they proofed more than expected and appeared to be not so tiny ones. Never mind, I liked how they tasted, and especially their caramelized crunchy bottoms.

Note that these cinnamon roses are best if eaten while still warm since they are small and all those petals become dry very quickly. Maybe if there was icing on top, it would have helped to keep roll fresh longer but I hate how the sugar icing tastes. The roses could also be made bigger, thus they would be kept fresh and soft longer.

Cinnamon Roses
Recipe:
Makes: 24 roses
For the Dough

• 300 gr all purpose flour, sifted;
• 7 gr fresh yeast;
• 150 gr buttermilk;
• 25 gr sugar;
• 25 gr melted butter;
• 2 gr salt;
• 1 egg yolk;
• pinch of grated nutmeg.

For the Filling:

• 50 gr soften butter;
• 60 gr light muscovado sugar + more for dipping;
• 1 tsp cinnamon.

Dissolve yeast in buttermilk. Combine flour, sugar, salt and nutmeg. Add in buttermilk, egg yolk and melted butter. Use your hand or stand mixer equipped with dough hooks and mix till dough forms then knead for 10 more minutes to develop the gluten. Cover the dough and leave it to proof till double in bulk.
Knock the dough back, give it a quick knead to let the gas escape. Roll the dough out to 2mm thickness. Using a 4,5 cm ring, cut 11 disks for each rose. Line up dough disks slightly overlapping each one. Spread on a nice layer of butter, then sprinkle some light muscovado sugar and cinnamon over the butter. Carefully roll up disks, making sure to not put any pressure on the edges, but do press in the center of the roll to adhere the disks. Use scissors to cut the roll in two. So now you have two roses. With your fingers, stretch out the rose's petals to burst the rose into bloom. Brush some soften butter onto roses and dip them in light muscovado sugar, then arrange them onto a lined with paper baking sheet spacing them 3-4 cm apart since they will expand during baking.< Bake into a preheated to 220ºC oven for around 20 – 22 minutes. Eat while still warm.

Here is an example of how dough roses are being made.

We've sent these cinnamon roses to Susan for her YeastSpotting showcase.