Cinnamon Rolls

If you like warm, soft, and fragrant, these are the cinnamon rolls for you! The addition of a bit of mashed potato (yes, mashed potato!) gives these rolls their tenderness and makes them irresistible.

The Recipe

by volume                                          by weight

dough:

1 large baking potato                 350 grams baking potatoes

1½ cups water                              360 grams water

2 teaspoons salt                          8 grams salt

3 tablespoons sugar                 37 grams sugar

4 tablespoons butter               56 grams butter

2 large eggs                                  136 grams eggs

2½ cups all purpose flour     300 grams all purpose flour

1/4 cup warm water                 60 grams warm water

2 tablespoons yeast                18 grams yeast

1 tablespoon sugar                   12 grams sugar

 

filling:

3/4 cup brown sugar               149 grams brown sugar

4 teaspoons cinnamon          24 grams cinnamon

2 tablespoons                             15 grams all purpose flour
all purpose flour

5 tablespoons soft butter    70 grams soft butter

 

glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar          125 grams powdered sugar

2 tablespoons butter            28 grams butter

1 tablespoon milk                   15 grams milk

1 teaspoon vanilla                  4 grams vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt                   1 gram salt

 

Directions

Peel the potato and cut into 1 inch pieces.

Combine the potato, water and salt in a saucepan and boil until the potato pieces are tender. (The water should just cover the top of the potato pieces. If it doesn’t, add a little more water.)

Mash the potatoes with the water left in the pan.

Add the butter, egg and 3 tablespoons (37 g) of sugar and beat until smooth. Then, stir in 1/2 cup (60 g) of the flour and let the mixture sit until lukewarm.

Combine the yeast with the warm water and 1 tablespoon (12 g) of sugar and let it proof for 10 minutes, until foamy on top.

time: 0 minutes

time: 10 minutes

Stir in the potato mixture.

Add the remaining flour to form a dough and then knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Add just enough flour to the work surface to keep the dough from sticking.

Place the dough in a buttered bowl and cover and let rise for about an hour. It should double in size. Be sure to turn the ball of dough over so that all surfaces get a light coating of butter.

While the dough is rising, mix the filling ingredients together until smooth.

Heat the oven to 400F and roll the dough out to a 12″x12″ square.

Spread the filling over the surface of the dough, going very close to the edges.

Roll the dough up. The dough will stretch a bit as you roll it and the finished log will be longer than 12 inches — perfectly ok!

Cut the roll into 9 pieces and place the slices on a parchment lined baking sheet leaving space between the cinnamon rolls.

Cover the rolls and let them rise 20 minutes until almost doubled in volume.

Bake approximately 20 minutes until golden and then let the rolls cool for 10 minutes before glazing.

Mix the glaze ingredients with a fork until very smooth. If the glaze is a bit too thick add a little more milk to make it spreadable. (The glaze should not be runny. It will melt slightly as you apply it because the rolls are still warm. If it is too runny, the glaze will melt completely and slide off!)

Spread the glaze over the warm rolls and enjoy!

 

Alternatives

I love these cinnamon rolls just the way they are but there are certainly many ways to change them up. Add raisins or currants to the filling. Or add a cup of chopped nuts of your choice — walnuts and pecans are great choices. You could also add finely diced, sautéed apples or even dried cranberries or apricots.

These rolls can also be made the day before. Once the cinnamon rolls are sliced on the pan, cover them with a lightly buttered piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate immediately. The next day, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and let them warm up at room temperature for about 1 hour. (Be sure to remove the plastic when they first come out of the refrigerator or it will stick to the warmed up rolls.) Follow the directions to bake and finish the rolls.