Reason Rolls

Social experiment - a friend of mine shared a recipe for "Resurrection Rolls" in a local freethought group's Facebook page. It was this exact recipe except it used the steps to explain the resurrection - the marshmallow represents Jesus, the butter represents the embalming oils, the cinnamon & sugar represent spices used to anoint the body, and the crescent represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death. Bake it, open it up and BAM! Jesus is gone - thus, representing the resurrection. He thought it would be interesting to see the reaction to an atheist version of a similar recipe. So here it is - the exact same recipe, being used to represent losing one's faith.

Please share this, and see what kind of reactions roll in. Let me know if you have any good ones! Let's get this thing going around the internet and see what happens. Thanks! Mandy

Kitchen Aid Garlic Mozzarella Loaf

Ever since I got my amazing Kitchen Aid stand mixer for Christmas, I just want to use it all the time. Like every single day. I can't help it - that thing is a rock star. I really can't sing its praises enough. If you don't have one, I'm sorry. I mean, I really am sorry. It does everything - mixes perfectly, so many speeds, shreds meats, kneads bread... the list goes on. One of the many fantastic things you can do with your Kitchen Aid is make Garlic Mozzarella Loaf.

This stuff is dangerous!

You'll need...

• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 1 tbsp. honey
• salt (I used about 3 grinds from my grinder. Probably around 1 teaspoon)
• olive oil 
• mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 stick butter
• garlic
• oregano
• basil
• parsley 

Stir together yeast, 1 cup warm water, and honey. I just put this right into the Kitchen Aid bowl. Let yeast proof for 5 minutes - the honey gives the yeast something to munch on. A bubbly foam should form on the surface of the water. If it does, your yeast is good to go. Add flour, salt, and remaining 1/4 cup water in, mixing on low speed (I used the dough hook for this). The dough is thoroughly mixed once it is clinging to the hook and not sticking to the sides of the bowl. Let the Kitchen Aid knead the dough for an additional 5 minutes. Grease a mixing bowl and put the dough in it. Cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

1 hour later, punch that bitch down (I'm talking about the dough). This is really the best part of making bread. Feeling mad, sad, angry... make some bread, punch some dough. :) Separate dough into two portions and form each one into a long loaf. You could make one big loaf, but as I'm usually only cooking for me and the hubs, I like to freeze one loaf. Put these loaves on a cookie sheet, cover, and let raise for 45 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for 20 minutes. 

While it's baking, you're going to want to whip up your garlic butter sauce. This part is a bit sketch, because I don't ever measure spices. I just throw stuff in until it looks/smells/tastes good. This always works for me, but I realize it may be a little nerve-wracking for those of you who don't trust your 6th spice adding sense. Melt the butter down to a liquid in the microwave and add a generous amount of garlic, basil, oregano, and parsley. Also, slice your mozzarella into thin slices.

Once you've removed the bread from the oven, brush with the garlic butter sauce. Really slather that on - this is no time to count calories. Return to oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool long enough that you can slice it without it deflating. 

Once the bread has cooled enough, make slice marks half way through the loaf, horizontally about 1 inch apart (don't cut all the way through). Slather with garlic butter sauce (making sure to let it drizzle down into those cuts) and place mozzarella slices in the incisions. Put in oven until cheese melts. Serve warm.

This stuff is tasty, and goes great with pasta. It also tastes fantastic with an olive oil/herb drizzle. 

Happy baking!

<3 M

Kitchen Aid Cinnamon Rolls

The hubs knocked it out of the park with my Christmas present this year...

This is one hot piece of metal

Beautiful, right? The night that I got it I whipped up some orange cupcakes. It worked like magic. I've been anxious to try something else with it.

Homemade cinnamon rolls it is.

I've never made bread before (other than banana bread, which hardly counts). This should be interesting. I found a recipe at The E-Wife Blogs Again that was specially designed for using the Kitchen Aid and gave it a whirl.

This recipe has 3 parts - the dough, the cinnamon filling, and the icing. Here's what you'll need for the dough:

• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. butter
• 2 packets of active dry yeast
• 1/3 c. warm water
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 5 1/2 - 6 c. flour

Put milk, sugar, salt, and butter into a small saucepan and heat over low until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in the mixer bowl. Add butter mixture, eggs, and 5 c. flour. 

Using the dough hook, mix for 2 minutes on speed 2. The dough should cling to the dough hook and come away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is sticking to the sides, slowly add more flour until it no longer is. Mix for an additional 2 minutes.

This is what the dough should look like - clinging to the hook, not the bowl.

Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. 

Before

After 1 hour. Boom!

Now, you're going to want to mix up the cinnamon filling. You're going to need the following ingredients:

• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. butter (softened)
• 1/4 c. flour
• 2 tbsp. cinnamon

Mix on low until mixed thoroughly.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a long rectangle. Spread the cinnamon filling across the dough.

Roll the dough into a long roll. Pinch the end shut to seal the roll.

Using a piece of string, cut the roll into individual rolls. This should make 12-16 rolls, depending on how thick you cut them. Place rolls in a 9x13 pan, cover with a dish towel, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Once they've risen and are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put rolls in to bake for 15 minutes. You don't want to overbake these, because they'll dry out. While they're baking, whip up the icing. You'll need:

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 4 tbsp. butter, softened
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1 3/4 c. powdered sugar

Mix together until smooth. Ice rolls when they come out of the oven for maximum ooey gooeyness.

Sweet success!

Dig in and enjoy!

Lesson learned: Good cinnamon rolls can not be rushed - but ZOMG is it worth it!

<3 M