Challah Cinnamon Rolls

Challah Cinnamon Rolls | Image: Laura Messersmith

Challah Cinnamon Rolls | Image: Laura Messersmith

One of the (many) benefits of marriage is experiencing familiar holidays through a different lens, trying on traditions that have been built over years, and at times contributing my own twist. Mike’s family has a long-standing tradition of marking special occasions with sticky buns acquired from a local, family-owned farm stand and bakery.

After I saw this recipe for No Knead Challah Cinnamon Rolls on the wonderful site Apt 2B Baking Co. written by the very talented Yossy Arefi (who else is super excited for her cookbook to be released in the spring!?) I started to wonder if I could replicate our usual breakfast treat, but one formed by my own hands. And what better time to make something special than for Christmas morning when a little extra effort is worth it?

Challah Cinnamon Rolls | Image: Laura Messersmith

Challah Cinnamon Rolls | Image: Laura Messersmith

I made challah during my bread baking class last winter and with a successful try at Deb Perelman’s Better Chocolate Babka earlier this fall I was feeling confident in my abilities. The simplicity of the ingredients – nearly everything listed is probably in your refrigerator or pantry right now – and the no-knead (aka no stand mixer) process means that this recipe truly requires very little other than the ability to measure, mix, and fold a little dough. There are zero fancy techniques or unusual pieces of equipment required. Perfect for cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen and a great starter recipe for the inexperienced bread baker.

But, I’m burying the lede: these cinnamon rolls are DELICIOUS and I can’t think of a more heavenly way to start the day, especially while they’re still warm out of the oven. I know Christmas is over, but the New Year is coming and with these cinnamon rolls 2016 would be off to a pretty spectacular start...

Challah Cinnamon Rolls | Image: Laura Messersmith

Challah Cinnamon Rolls | Image: Laura Messersmith

No-Knead Challah Cinnamon Rolls (yield: 12 cinnamon rolls)

Dough Ingredients:
4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk at room temperature
1 egg white for egg wash
3/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey

Filling Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
pinch salt
Non-stick spray, for prepping the baking dish

Glaze Ingredients:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
2-3 teaspoons whole milk, as needed

Mid-Day or Afternoon Before: Mixing & Folding the Dough
In a large bowl, whisk together the bread flour and sea salt. In a separate smaller bowl whisk together the eggs, honey, and olive oil. Set both aside while you proof the yeast. Place the warm water and active dry yeast in a measuring cup and stir together gently. Allow the yeast and water to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes until you see a foamy layer form on the top of the water, then the yeast is ready.

Stir both the yeast and honey mixtures into the flour with a rubber spatula until a wet, sticky dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Now begins the folding process, which you will perform five times at 30 minute intervals. Folding develops the gluten in the bread and gives it structure which allows it to trap air and rise when baked.

To fold the dough, peel back the plastic wrap and take hold of an edge folding it into the center and pressing down lightly with your fingers. Turn the bowl and repeat folding small pieces of the dough into the center for eight turns and folds total. It will look like a messy origami star. Then flip the dough so that the folds and seams are on the bottom. Cover the bowl tightly with the plastic, and let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Repeat the all-around folding, flipping, covering, and resting four more times. Setting a timer in between and writing the steps on the plastic wrap, checking off each one as you go, will help keep the process moving and make sure you don’t miss a step or wait too long between folds.

The dough is sticky and doesn’t hold its shape especially well in the first stages, but trust that it will become firmer and more elastic allowing you to make proper folds in the later turns. By the final fold, the dough will be stretchy and you’ll see some small air bubbles.

After the fifth and final fold, reseal the plastic and place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight. Between 16-24 hours is ideal, any longer risks over-proofing the dough and will lead to flat, dense rolls. The over night resting time allows the yeast to slowly develop flavor in the dough and the volume will nearly double in size.

Early the Next Morning: Forming & Filling
Prepare a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with a light layer of non-stick spray.

Stir the sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a small bowl. On a lightly floured surface roll the dough into an 18 x 12 inch rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Leave a 1/2 inch border along one of the longer sides of the dough (this will be the outside seal of the roll) and brush the melted butter over the rest of the surface all the way to the edges. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the butter.

Brush the 1/2 inch border left bare with a small amount of egg wash from the reserved egg white. Then roll the dough up into a tight log starting from the opposite long side toward the egg wash border. When the log is formed, lightly press the egg washed edge down and turn the log so that the seam is resting on the board.

Use a sharp knife to slice the log into 12 pieces about 1 1/2 inches wide and arrange them in the baking dish cut sides up spacing them evenly in the dish so that each has room to rise and spread.

Cover the baking dish with a dry kitchen towel and let the rolls rise at room temperature until puffy and almost doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Mid-Morning: Baking & Glazing
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Bake the rolls until golden and cooked through, about 25-30 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling, whisk the confectioner’s sugar, sour cream, vanilla extract, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the milk one teaspoon at a time until the glaze reaches your desired consistency, you’re looking for thick but pourable.

Drizzle the glaze over the warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy immediately.

Very lightly adapted from Apt 2B Baking Co.’s No Knead Challah Cinnamon Rolls by Yossy Arefi, which is adapted from Jessica Fechtor’s Five Fold Challah recipe in her book Stir.

Challah Cinnamon Rolls | Image: Laura Messersmith

Challah Cinnamon Rolls | Image: Laura Messersmith

Small Kitchen Friendly?
100% which is amazing. I used a large mixing bowl, medium mixing bowl, liquid measuring cup, dry measuring cups and spoons, and a rubber spatula to mix the dough. To bake and glaze I used a rolling pin, small bowl, pastry brush, bench scraper (or chef’s knife), 9 x 13 inch baking dish, and small spoon. Plastic wrap, a permanent marker, and a clean kitchen towel round out your kit. Use a ruler too if you want to be precise with your rolling and cutting.

The Verdict:
When I took the cinnamon rolls out of the oven all thoughts of food photography flew out of my head, and frankly I’m lucky there were any left by the time we were finished with breakfast. I had to abscond with the one cinnamon bun in these photos to snap some quick photos or risk having no evidence except a few crumbs and traces of glaze in the baking dish, which would have been an accurate statement about their deliciousness. The dough bakes up to a gentle crunch on the outside while maintaining that fluffy stretch inside; the cinnamon is warm but not too spicy, and the glaze, kept in check by its sour cream base, sweetens the whole concoction. Incredible.

Challah Cinnamon Rolls | Image: Laura Messersmith

Challah Cinnamon Rolls | Image: Laura Messersmith

Steak with Béarnaise Sauce

Steak with Béarnaise | Image: Laura Messersmith

Steak with Béarnaise | Image: Laura Messersmith

Each week I follow along with Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa) and attempt to recreate one of her dishes in my tiny New York City kitchen. The catch? This is my version of cooking school and I’m making these recipes for the first time. I’ll share both my successes and um, challenges, along the way and we’ll see if I can keep up with the Contessa!

Episode: “Happy Anniversary”

The Set-up: Ina and Jeffrey are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary with a special dinner.

The Menu: Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce, Steak with Béarnaise, String Beans with Shallots

0:39 – Ina starts this episode by making two statements – first that Jeffrey is a “creature of habit” and second that Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce is a “fairly 70s” dish. I can’t speak to the veracity of these claims, so I’m just going to roll with it.

1:03 – Pro Tip #1: if you’re poaching your own shrimp, leave the shells on and cook them for three minutes in boiling water. It‘s all the time they need.

2:18 – Cut to Mr. Garten driving along and expounding on the importance of anniversaries and admitting that he forgot their 20th. I hope Ina made him sleep on the porch.

3:20 – Back to Ina peeling and deveining the shrimp (tails on.) She says that even though shrimp cocktail is “really old-fashioned” it’s the first thing to go at a party. Guilty as charged. I make a beeline for it.

4:33 – On to the cocktail sauce part of the recipe. I thought I had made this before, but as I review the ingredients list I’m realizing I’m totally unfamiliar with chili sauce.

5:11 – Back to Mr. Garten who is on a mission to bring Ina a box of brownies just like she used to send him in college. So sweet!

6:07 –Ina is hating on the old martini glass, crushed ice presentation. Guess what first Google image search result for shrimp cocktail is… I guess they were taking the name literally?

7:25 – She plates her dish using a silver bowl on a white platter, but isn’t above cutting a lemon into a retro-chic garnish. I suppose we all have to have fun somehow.

10:29 – On to the Rosemary Roasted Potatoes which if you’ve been following along for the past year involve the standard olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, and in this case, minced rosemary. I seriously cook 90% of the vegetables we eat this way now.

11:36 – Over to Jeffrey who’s hitting up Michael the Florist TM for some ribbon to jazz up the box of brownies with. Good call, J, always enlist help!

12:45 – Ina has moved on to the Steak with Béarnaise starting with the sauce – white wine, champagne vinegar, tarragon – sounds good to me!

13:38 – Ina separates her eggs same the way I do by using the shells as little cups. Twinsies!

14:40 – Raw egg yolks + hot vinegar/white wine/tarragon/shallots + hot butter = béarnaise. Hmm. Usually adding hot things to eggs is a no-no, but the blender must prevent them from scrambling?

15:51 - It strikes me that this kind of recipe where the steps themselves aren’t that tricky, but the order is essential.

18:27 – Pro Tip #2: Remove the steaks from the refrigerator a few minutes before you intend to cook them to take the chill off the meat.

19:12 – Steak grillin’ time! Jeffrey’s grill-lighting activities are accompanied by the “getting things done” music. Charcoal chimney: check.

20:36 – Ina brushes the steaks with olive oil and then goes out to the patio to manage the grilling (read: tease Jeffrey) and then immediately abandons him to cook the main course. Ahahahaha.

21:44 – Ostensibly it’s so she can go inside to show us how to make String Beans with Shallots, so I’ll let it slide. This time.

22:18 – For a simple haricot vert this recipe requires a lot of equipment – a pot of boiling water, a bowl of ice water, a large skillet. Remind me to save this one for when we have a bigger kitchen!

23:33 – Jeffrey seems to be muddling along with the rib eyes pretty well and Ina does have some good-looking green beans. Dinner is coming together!

26:21 – Out on the terrace again to deliver the Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce – sustenance for Jeffrey as he grills, seems pretty fair now I guess.

27:10 – Actual “secret sauce” time as Ina reveals that the trick to make-ahead béarnaise is a few tablespoons of very hot water blended in at the last minute. Very tricky…

28:49 – Rosemary Roasted Potatoes are out of the oven, looking perfectly golden brown, steaks are off the grill and rested. It’s time to eat!

29:55 – As Ina teases Jeffrey about the time he forgot their anniversary over dinner he reveals the surprise: a walk on the beach and the box of brownies! So charming! 

Steak with Béarnaise | Image: Laura Messersmith

Steak with Béarnaise | Image: Laura Messersmith

Final Thoughts:
It’s amazing how some of the simplest dishes (I’m looking at you string beans) can have so many steps!

Ina has such a great way of de-mystifying seemingly fancy recipes.

I’m thinking this might be a great Valentines Day meal – just add a glass of red wine?

Lessons Learned:
Talk to the Butcher – I’m always looking for excuses to practice cooking steak, but it’s also intimidating. After spending $$$ on a cut I worry that I’ll mess it up! I figured, who knows steak better than the butcher? So, I had a long conversation with Ritchie at Schatzie's about my plan to make Steak with Béarnaise and he recommended buying two different pieces: a 1 inch thick ribeye and a 1 1/2 inch thick NY Strip. This solved three problems - portion size, cooking time, and "doneness" - it allowed me to cook both pieces of meat for the same length of time and get one medium for me, and one medium-rare for Mike.

Pan Temperature – The steak is the star of this dish, so cooking it properly is essential and also honestly the trickiest part. I used an 8 inch cast iron skillet heated over high flame for 4-5 minutes before the steak even hit the surface. You want to hear that ssssssss sizzle sound. The length of time depends on the thickness of the steak and your desired internal temperature. A 1 inch steak cooked for three minutes on each side yields a medium (hot red) center.

Sauce Reduction – To get the right texture of the béarnaise sauce the vinegar/white wine/tarragon/shallot mixture should be reduced to about 2 tablespoons. It serves two purposes – concentrating the flavor and making sure the béarnaise sauce isn’t too thin.

Steak with Béarnaise | Image: Laura Messersmith

Steak with Béarnaise | Image: Laura Messersmith

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Yes, assuming you have a small food processor or blender. I also used an 8 inch cast iron skillet, a chef’s knife, medium cutting board, small sauce pan, liquid measuring cup, and measuring spoon.

The Verdict:
I made Steak with Béarnaise for Mike and I – thanks to the excellent advice from Ritchie both steaks turned out just the way we like them. The béarnaise sauce is just slightly fussy, but thanks to Ina’s make-ahead hot water trick I made some earlier in the day refrigerated it and it still turned out beautifully. Steak with Bearnaise might not sound like a week-night meal, but it honestly takes less than 30 minutes start to finish and, btw it’s delicious.

Steak with Béarnaise | Image: Laura Messersmith

Steak with Béarnaise | Image: Laura Messersmith

Skipping to Memorial Day

Lord it was cold (again) today and even though the weather report for New York promises that the temperatures will climb into the 40s and 50s later this week; I just don’t think I can rely on Mother Nature anymore. She has been such a tease – first promising spring with sweet nothings and sunshine, then whirling away in a flurry of snowflakes and stinging winds. Not cool. Not cool at all.

So, here’s my plan. Even though I know the calendar says it’s March 17th (aka St. Patrick’s Day) I’m going to fast forward a little to another excellent holiday: Memorial Day. That’s right, I’m going to mentally skip over crazy, on again off again Spring and go straight into Summer! (In my mind that was pronounced Oprah style as “Suuuummmeeer!” but I wasn’t sure how to spell it.)

How, you might be asking, do I intend to do this? Like so, with my handy make it to “Memorial Day” survival kit. Let’s engage the senses and pretend it’s late May, shall we?

Memorial Day Survival Kit | Design: Laura Messersmith

Memorial Day Survival Kit | Design: Laura Messersmith

1. Smell: The scent of sunscreen always makes me think of long afternoons on the beach. The Body Shop has given us the coconut for the times we don’t need the SPF.

2. Sight: Mary Stewart’s descriptions of a young woman’s adventures in 1960s Greece in My Brother Michael are fantastic – mini vacation!

3. Taste: Dark & Stormys are the official drink of Bermuda. Spicy, summery, and super easy to make. Just mix Goslings dark rum, ginger beer, lime, and ice to your taste. Done and done.

4. Touch: It’s too cold for a long sleeved tee, but Memorial Day wouldn’t be complete without navy sailor stripes, so while it’s still chilly I’m thinking a nautical sweatshirt is in order.

5. Sound: When I need a warm weather soundtrack I turn to Vampire Weekend's eponymous first album. Road trip to the shore with the windows down and the volume up.

 

 

Image Credits: The Body Shop Body Butter | Mary Stewart Book | Dark & Stormy | Gap Sailor Stripe Sweatshirt | Vampire Weekend

Surviving the Polar Vortex

My nose is cold. So are my fingers and toes. The holiday lights and decorations have been packed away and the world has returned to its regularly scheduled programming. It’s time to face reality and accept that we’re in the middle of plain old winter.

Welcome to January in New York, friends where for days at a time we dip into sub-freezing temperatures that make it an act of willpower to get out of bed and walk the dog.  I’d like to pretend that the three years we spent in Texas made me ‘soft’ and took the starch out of my Yankee constitution, but the truth is I’ve always been a sissy when it comes to the winter.

Since our return to the Northeast I've had to dust off my tried and true solves for beating the winter blues. These are my recommended strategies for those times when hibernation just isn’t an option.

Bright Colors. Perhaps this is obvious, but when it’s grey and dreary outside it lifts my spirits to wear something other than black. Coral is one of my favorite colors and I wear it a ton when the weather is warmer - it just feels like summertime to me. As a result, my wardrobe is full of sherbet colored clothing which conveniently pairs well with more wintery shades like charcoal and navy.

Citrus. Something about winter makes me crave fruit, especially citrus. Perhaps some latent instinct to eat something grown in a warm climate? A desire to detox from a lingering holiday-food hangover? Whatever the explanation, grapefruit, lemon, and orange are the name of the game when January hits and I'm always on the look out for ways to incorporate them into a recipe. I have a feeling that this Grapefruit and Toasted Almond salad is going to be a new favorite in the dinner rotation.

Mental Vacation. Naturally escaping the polar vortex had crossed my mind, but when an actual trip isn’t in the cards then letting movie magic take me somewhere warm is the next best thing, preferably somewhere Mediterranean. For me The Talented Mr. Ripley is the perfect blend of mystery mixed with scenery, but here are a few more options carefully selected by The British Film Institute in case Gwyneth, Jude and Matt aren't your glass of limoncello. Enjoy!

The Talented Mr. Ripley; Image

The Talented Mr. Ripley; Image