A few days ago, Mom and I were both wanting to make a breakfast roll of some sort. Our favorite, a Coffee Ring, requires a long day of work: making the dough alone takes a few hours. Then we had a thought: might we make a traditional dough in our automatic bread maker, remove it when it's finished and then proceed with the breakfast roll at our own pace.
So while I worked (I had a newspaper story due), we poured the ingredients for the dough into the bread maker and both left to do our own work. In 2-1/2 hours we came back, worked the dough on a floured pastry cloth (you might have to flour the dough a little, too, to make it less sticky to handle), let it raise one last time, added the rest of the ingredients and placed it in the oven. Here's the result:
Because our bread maker is on the small size, we can't make much dough at a time. We opt for what is commonly called a "regular loaf" (as opposed to a "large loaf"). The basic dough recipe is this:
3/4 cup water (place in the bottom of the bread maker)
2 cups white flour
1-1/2 tablespoon dry milk
2 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon margarine (butter if you prefer)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
On our dough setting, it takes about 2.5 hours to make the dough. After we take it out, we knead it gently (too long and it will toughen). Then it is rolled into a rectangular shape (about 12" x 8") and the topside coated with about 2 tablespoons of Crisco (lightly apply it with the back of a spoon). Now you'll apply these ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
These are sprinkled as evenly as possible onto the surface of the dough which has been coated with Crisco. Then the dough is rolled into a tube and arranged into a circle in a 13" x 9" pan (coat the pan lightly with Crisco first). Seal the open ends together by pinching them slightly.
Now cut the dough at regular intervals with scissors. Cut much of the way through. This will expose the sugar/cinnamon mixture (see the picture for how ours was cut). Now let it raise in a warm spot for 30 - 45 minutes. It's best to cover it with a light cloth (to prevent drying).
Bake it at 375° for 20 - 25 minutes
Take out. Let it cool to lukewarm. Make the icing:
1/2 cup confectioner's (powdered) sugar
2 teaspoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Drizzle this on the coffee ring with a spoon. Then add chopped walnuts (or pecans) and maraschino cherries to taste.
This could be modified for a great Christmas roll by using both red and green maraschino cherries.
The recipe I've noted is a combination of three sources, intermingled to make a wonderful, yeasty breakfast treat.
