Simple And Versatile Cinnamon Roll Dough From Hale’s Kitchen

Hale's Kitchen is located at Nathan Hale High School and is ran by the culinary capstone students. They plan the menus, prepare the food, and serve their customers. Hale's Kitchen is open for lunch every Wednesday and Thursday from 11:30 a.m. til 1 p.m. 

Senior Bryan Abraham and Junior Alexis Gonzalez share a cinnamon Roll recipe. 

Simple and Versatile Cinnamon Roll Dough from Hale’s Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

Rolls

• 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup water warm (110-120°F)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 5 ½-6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Filling

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Frosting

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cups powdered sugar
• ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pour water and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, sprinkle yeast over top and stir.  Allow yeast to bloom for 5-10 minutes.  Once it is nice and foamy, it is ready. *It should look like the 'head' of root beer poured too quickly and it should smell yeasty.
2. In the meantime:  melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a microwave safe bowl.
3. Once yeast mixture is aromatic and looks like the head of a root beer, add buttermilk, eggs and butter to bowl of stand mixer.  Mix on low and add 4 cups of flour.  Add salt. Once flour is mixed in, add remaining flour slowly until dough becomes a ball.  Mine takes 5 ½ cups total.  Knead dough on medium-high for 5 minutes.  Add more flour a tablespoon at a time as needed, if bread is too sticky to come together.  Dough should be tacky when you pull it out of the mixer, not sticky.
4. Lightly dust countertop with flour.  Turn dough out onto countertop.  Knead a few turns, shape dough into a ball.
5. Add 1 tablespoon butter to bowl and heat in microwave until melted.  Place dough into bowl upside down, flip dough over and cover loosely with plastic wrap and drape bowl with a towel.  Set bowl in a warm place in your kitchen.  Allow dough to rise for 60-90 minutes until nearly doubled in size.