Dough Heaven

Well I can’t get anything past you guys. The mystery treat I was in the middle of making last night, was in fact…

…cinnamon rolls!!!

Ever since I tasted that magical fat free vegan cinnamon bun from Great Harvest, I’ve been itching to try my hand at my own recipe.

While they turned out completely different from inspiration (see above), these cinnamon rolls were pretty darn tasty in their own right.

I was concentrating so hard on making sure these would rise (probably because of my many impatient bread making experiences) that I think I overdid it. These definitely rose!! I was going for a little bit of a doughier, chewier bun, but I had I not known that, I’d be pretty impressed with these.

Delicious. And healthy as far as cinnamon buns go. They definitely kick Pillsbury to the curb.

Let’s see, where did I leave off last night?

Ahh the infamous dough rise:

That’s where I left off last night. As tempted as I was to bake them right then & there, I decided it would be a much better treat for the morning.

What a good idea that was! 20 minutes after waking up, and I was smelling these babies:

Sooo good.

I debated sharing the recipe, as it’s still a work in progress, but why not?!

Whole Wheat Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

3 T water

1 T flax meal

3/4 c hemp milk (or any milk)

1 packet instant yeast

2 c whole wheat flour

1 c bread flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 c sugar

1/4 t salt

2 t cinnamon

4 T applesauce

4ish T brown sugar

confectioner’s sugar, milk, vanilla

Mix flax & water together. Set aside. Gently warm milk and stir in yeast. Set aside. Mix together remaining ingredients up to cinnamon, plus 3T of the applesauce. (I only added 1/2 the bread flour, and used the rest when kneading. I also put 1 t cinnamon in the dough because I wasn’t thinking…) Knead dough until a ball forms. It will be slightly sticky. Cover & let rise for 30 minutes. Punch dough down & let rise another 10 minutes. Roll dough out in rectangle. Mix 1 T applesauce, cinnamon, and brown sugar together, then spread over dough, leaving border around edges. Roll dough into log, and cut into 1” slices. Place in baking dish (close together). Let rise another 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Mix confectioner’s sugar, milk, and vanilla to make icing & drizzle on top.

Eat. and eat and eat and eat.

Changes: I think I’ll omit the baking powder/soda- the yeast is probably enough (& I think I could taste it…) I’d also increase the filling amount- you can never get too much!

You can bet I’ll be continuing to experiment.