Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

The recipe you've been looking for! So, my non-gluten-free friends actually like these better than the regular ones I make! They did hit the spot! The texture is not a typical yeast bread texture, it's really hard to describe, but it seems to be that way with all the GF breads. I don't think I will ever enjoy GF as much as I enjoy yeast breads, but this is a close 2nd and an excellent substitute.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

wet:

6 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup milk

1 tablespoon yeast

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

dry:

3/4 cup corn starch

1/2 cup millet flour

1/4 cup brown rice flour (omit if you live in a dry climate)

1/4 cup potato starch

2 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

make a "ball" of dough.

Directions:

Mix together wet ingredients, then mix dry ingredients in a different bowl and add to the wet ingredients, mixing and adding more brown rice flour if necessary, in order to make a "ball" of dough. Loosely cover and allow to sit in a warm area for 2-3 hours and let rise. Flour a large piece of parchment paper, place dough on flour, sprinkle with more flour and top with another piece of parchment paper. Roll out to about 1/4" thick. Remove the top piece of parchment paper.

Filling:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

Spread the butter onto the rolled out dough

1 cup organic sugar

1/8 cup molasses

Mix together and then add:

place dough on flour,
sprinkle with more flour

3 tablespoons saigon cinnamon

Directions:

Mix the sugar, molasses and cinnamon together and sprinkle/spread over the butter. Roll up Jelly-roll style, using the parchment paper to help roll it up. Cut into 8 equal pieces and place in greased 9" x 13" baking dish. Let rise 1-2 more hours in a warm area (You can bake them now, they don't rise a great deal- the timing is very flexible.) and then bake approximately 20 minutes at 400˚.

Frost while warm.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup (4 ouches) cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

sprinkle with more flour and top with
another piece of parchment paper

pinch of salt

Directions:

Blend thoroughly and spread over cinnamon rolls.

Roll out to about 1/4" thick. Remove
the top piece of parchment paper.

Spread the butter onto the
rolled out dough

Mix the sugar, molasses and cinnamon
together and sprinkle/spread over the butter

using the parchment paper to
help roll it up

Cut into 8 equal pieces

Cheeseburger Cups

In effort to make something "new" I did this. It was a definite hit... but pretty much anything that is called "cheeseburger" is a hit!!
This does make 24 rolls, I use two 12 count muffin pans, if you only have 1 muffin pan, then 1/2 of the dough can be set aside and baked up as cinnamon rolls or plain dinner rolls.

Stretch the pieces out in your
hands to make as much
of a circle as you can.

Cheeseburger Cups

1 recipe basic dinner roll dough
1 lb hamburger, browned
mixed with:
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
a few "shakes" garlic powder
slices of cheddar cheese

Place into muffin tins.

Dump the dough onto a flour surface, make an oval shape. I use a pizza cutter and cut it in half, then in half again (so there are now quarters), cut each quarter in half (now you have 8 pieces) cut each eighth into 3 equal pieces.
Stretch the pieces out in your hands to make as much of a circle as you can. Place into muffin tins.
Fill with hamburger mix and top with a slice of cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350˚ for approximately 20 minutes.

Fill with hamburger mix and top
with a slice of cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350˚ for approximately
20 minutes.

Cinnamon Roll Bread

One of my favorite things that I remember my mom making. I love it toasted with butter on it... and there is always one gooey spot, I would save that for last, because it was so yummy!

I use my recipe for Basic White Bread:

Basic White Bread
2 c. warm milk (I often do 1 c. cold milk and 1 c. not quite boiling water)
1 T. yeast
1 T. honey
Mix and let set for 10 min.
Then add:
2 tsp. salt
2 T. olive oil, coconut oil or butter
5-6 1/2 c. flour (this is also good with 1-2 cups wheat flour)

As the mixer is going add the flour one cup at a time until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the mixer. Let it knead (mix) for 10 minutes.
Let rest and rise in the bowl and then mix it before it falls out over the edge, typically about 30 minutes, but if your house is cold may be longer.
Dump the dough onto a floured countertop, split dough into 2 equal parts, roll out one at a time into a rectangle about 10"x18", (it does not need to be exact!)

Now you have your choice of filling- mine lately (just because we have cut back on sugar is):
drizzle with:
molasses
honey
and sprinkle on:
cinnamon

Or you can do it just like a cinnamon roll:
Spread with:
butter
Sprinkle on:
Brown Sugar
Cinnamon

Raisins can also be added.

Roll up, jelly roll style, tuck the ends slightly before putting in greased loaf pans, so the loaf is smooth on top and all edges are tucked under the loaf.
Let rise in warm place approximately 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and pans and let cool on wire rack.

Basic White Bread

I make 4 loaves, but have adjusted the recipe for just 2 loaves, since most people don't need 4 loaves at a time. I am not one to want to feed the kids all white bread, so don't make it often. But I am out of wheat and need to order it, school has started and homemade bread is cheaper and healthier- even if it's white, I make it with honey, avoiding processed sweeteners, preservatives and hydrogenated oils.


Basic White Bread
2 c. warm milk (I often do 1 c. cold milk and 1 c. not quite boiling water)
1 T. yeast
1 T. honey
Mix and let set for 10 min.
Then add:
2 tsp. salt
2 T. olive oil, coconut oil or butter
5-6 1/2 c. flour (this is also good with 1-2 cups wheat flour)

As the mixer is going add the flour one cup at a time until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the mixer. Let it knead (mix) for 10 minutes.
Let rest and rise in the bowl and then mix it before it falls out over the edge, typically about 30 minutes, but if your house is cold may be longer.
Dump onto floured counter, and split into 2 equal parts. Flatten each piece, (one at a time) so it's about 12"x 6". Roll up. Tuck ends under and place in greased loaf pan so that no edges of the dough are visible- they are all tucked under, so it looks nice and smooth.
Let rise in warm place approximately 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and pans and let cool on wire rack.

Basic Dinner Rolls

I have been learning so much about healthy eating lately and so I changed my roll recipe. Healthier than it was before, but still not as healthy as it could be... a little at a time though. :-)
These take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours total, from the start to taking the last batch out of the oven. It's really a fast roll recipe. You don't have to wait for them to rise. The smaller you make your rolls the faster they bake.

Basic Dinner Rolls
2 c. warm whole milk
2 TB yeast
2 TB honey
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
2 TB butter
2 c. whole wheat flour
2-3 c. white flour
Mix all together in a mixer with a dough hook, adding just enough flour so that the dough no longer sticks to the sides of bowl as it mixes. Let knead for 5 to 10 min. Roll out into desired shape.
Bake at 350˚ for about 20 minutes (for the large rolls like these, if you make them smaller, bake 10-15 minutes, depending on the size. The tops should be a light brown.


So this is what I do: separate into 2 blobs of dough. (I bet there's a more technical term for that...)


Roll out to about a 15" circle. (More or less.)






Cut into pie shape wedges with a pizza cutter.










Start rolling from the wide end of the wedge to make a crescent roll look.








Continue rolling.






Ah, all rolled up!









Place on baking pan.







Put the first batch in the oven, allow the next batch to rise.









Serve warm with butter.

YUM!!

Swedish Raisin Rye Bread

*Reposting from 2007*
It's that time of year again- I need to make this!

My mom's side of the family is Swedish and one year my mom made this bread for Thanks-giving or Christmas and we all loved it- she has made it each holiday ever since and to me, it's just not a holiday without it! Serve with butter to spread on it.

Swedish Raisin Rye
1/4 c molasses
1 T. yeast
3 c water
1 c wheat flour
mix and let set 10 minutes.

Add:
1 tsp. salt
2 c. rye flour
3-4 c wheat- or more till dough no longer sticks to side of mixer.
Mix 10 minutes-- in the last 4 minutes put in 2 c. raisins.
Form into 3 round loaves and place in greased pie pans.
Let rise till doubled, then bake 30-40 minutes. (knock on bread to hear a hollow sound- then it's done)

French Toast

We have had a really busy summer so far! We vacationed in Estes Park, Colorado in early June and since then I've been trying to spend more time on the house than on the computer... so, not much for posting on here! We've hand textured the finished side of the kitchen and painted it. My mom came for a few days and helped me make a bi-fold door for my laundry closet, out of pallets. She's so good at making things!
I haven't really been working on many recipes, and the ones I have been working on still need some tweeking. Brian has been working on a cookbook though, it looks really pretty. I still haven't looked into printing/publishing. Anyone know anything about that or have tips?

Anyway- moving on to the recipe... I love French Toast! This is not the healthiest, just because I like using plain old white bread. I have used homemade whole wheat bread, and it's good, but I just like the texture when it's made with white bread.


French Toast
In mixing/measuring bowl beat:
5 eggs
1 TB vanilla
then pour in milk so it reaches the 4 cup mark and mix together.
2 loaves regular white bread
Quickly dip one slice of bread at a time, making sure to coat both sides. Fry on hot griddle 3-5 per side. Serve- YUMMY!

This uses about 36 slices of bread (1 1/2 20 oz. loaves) It's enough for our 6 big eaters (and Naomi is a big eater- she will eat 3 or 4 slices!) and 2 others- so 8 big eaters total.

Brian likes his with Cinnamon, so after I make a couple griddles of this type I sprinkle cinnamon into the milk mixture.

Pizza Rolls

I apoligize in advance: I don't have a "recipe." This is one that I wing it, I know that will bother some of you but here's what I do:

Pizza Rolls
1 recipe basic roll dough
Pepperoni
5 c. shredded cheddar cheese (approximately)
Artichoke hearts
(This would also be good with: onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, etc.)

This works best if you split the dough in half and roll out each half separately, which is what I normally do- but didn't this time and it was alot harder to manage.
Roll the dough into a rectangle, place pepperoni pieces on, followed by cheese and separated artichoke hearts.
Roll up like a cinnamon roll and cut into equal slices (full recipe makes 24).
Place in greased muffin tins, let rise for about 30 minutes. Bake at 350˚ for about 30 minutes- until slightly brown on top.


A picture to show you the approximate amount of pepperoni I used. This counter is 21" x 25".


Naomi only pigs out on cheese when I'm cooking.


And she only eats artichoke hearts when I'm cooking... See my torn up kitchen? I'm getting used to it.


I cut the rolled dough into 4 equal portions, then marked out 6 on each piece before cutting.


If you just work with 1/2 of the dough at a time these look alot prettier. Though after they are cooked, they all look the same.


And the finished product!

Amish Friendship Bread

My Mother-in-law gave me a starter for this last year sometime and it is SO good-- not the best in health, but very tasty. (Must be the pregnancy- I've been making more "junk food").
I found a recipe for the starter on allrecipes.com:

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

And I didn't share any starter with friends this time- I just baked a bunch of bread and froze some loaves. I have tried making pancakes with the starter- but I'm not really a fan of sourdough pancakes, and that's what they were like.
At the end of the 10 days you end up with 5 cups of starter.
Anyway- here's the recipe for Bread:

Amish Friendship Bread

1 c. starter
1/3 c. oil
1/2 c. applesauce
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 c. flour
1/2 c. milk
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
2 t. cinnamon 
Pour into two greased loaf pans. (If you use stone ware pans- line the bottom with parchment paper.)  You can sprinkle some extra cinnamon and sugar on top.  Bake 325 degrees for 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Greek Easter Bread

Every year, the day before Easter, I stay up late to finish baking this bread. This is an all day bread, it takes about 10 hours from start to finish. This year, I was planning on starting it in the morning, rather than at noon like I normally do... but I ended up with the flu this week and just started feeling somewhat normal about noon on Saturday... so that's when I started making the bread.
This is a huge batch, I tried to 1/2 in once and it didn't come out so well, besides- we give some as gifts for Easter and then eat a ton of it. If you use a kitchenaid, it cannot handle this much dough- a Bosch bread mixer can, I have a k-tec mixer and it barely can handle it, I think it's slightly smaller than a Bosch.

Greek Easter Bread
2 c. milk
2 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. butter
3 tsp. salt
1 tsp. crushed anise seed*
4 Tb. yeast
1 c. warm water
6 eggs, beaten
16 c. white flour
Egg wash:
1 egg, beaten
2 Tb. milk
-sesame seeds-

In sauce pan, over medium heat, warm milk, then add sugar, butter, salt and anise. Stir and heat until butter is melted.
Mix yeast and warm water in mixer, let sit.
Beat eggs until they are light and fluffy.
Turn mixer on, add 2 cups of flour and then pour in the beaten egg and the milk either slowly, at the same time or alternating. (As long as you allow it to mix while you are pouring and don't dump it in at once.)
Add the rest of the flour 1 cup at a time, then let knead for 5 minutes. Put into greased bowl, flipping so that all sides are coated in grease. Cover with dish towel, set in oven with just the oven light on. Let rise until doubled, approximately 3 hours. (The bowl I use is about 14" wide and 5" deep.)
Punch down dough, put on floured surface and divide into 5 equal sections.
Divide each section into 3 and make "snakes", with your fingers put a little cold water on the tips of the 3 "snakes", squishing them together to seal. Braid and then seal the other end the same way, tucking slightly so the loaf has a nice finish look. Place on baking sheet, cover with dish cloth and place back in oven (with only the oven light on). Let rise approximately 1 1/2 hours. Just before baking: mix egg and milk for egg wash, brush on loaves and then sprinkle on sesame seeds. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes for skinnier loaves (12-14 inches long) or 50-60 minutes for fat loaves (10-12 inches long). This bread rises more when it's baking.
*Anise seed- I but anise seed in the spice section at the grocery store, and crush it with a mortar and pestle. This seems to have the best flavor.
Traditionally, the breads should have red eggs in the braid, it looks beautiful, but the time I did that the loaf was so huge it didn't get done on the inside, so I gave up and just make smaller loaves- which still come out really big.
This year, because I only have the round stones for baking sheets, I had to make my loaves curved, rather than straight and I put some in loaf pans- I cut one braid in half and put each half into a loaf pan.

Homemade Pizza

Could there be anything better?? My mouth waters just looking at the picture. MMMM!
And for those of you who think the broccoli would be weird- just try it! One time we invited friends over for dinner and I slipped up and mentioned broccoli and pizza in the same sentence- (I try not to do that), so they were concerned. When they took their first bite the look of surprise could not be hidden-- the lady said: "Wow, this is actually good." Then they admitted that when they heard there was going to be broccoli on the pizza they had plans to go home and eat "real" food. Hence the reason they brought such a large dessert when they came... they thought they would be starving and unable to eat our "healthy" food. Sheesh- some people! :-) LOL- don't worry Teresa- I still love you.

I use my Basic Roll Dough and add about 1 cup whole wheat flour.
Grease 2 large (approximately 15" round) pans, sprinkle with corn meal and roll the dough right onto the pan. I made these rectangle for quite a few years- so don't let that stop you!
Pizza Sauce:
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
mix and spread on rolled out dough.

Put on your favorite toppings- ours are:
Pepperoni
Finely chopped broccoli
sliced mushrooms
diced bell pepper
diced onion
(as a warning- shredded carrots add too much juice and the dough doesn't get done)
Top with a mix of mozzarella and cheddar cheese, grated.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. Till cheese is completely melted and both cheese and crust are starting to brown.


Cost:
Pepperoni: $2.50
Cheese: $4.
Tomato sauce: $.35
Broccoli: $1.
Pepper: $.50
Mushrooms: $.50
Meal Total: $8.85
or $4.42 per large pizza

Chicken Burgers

These are really good.

Chicken Burgers
4 chicken breast, cooked and diced
1/2 med onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp. sugar
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of white pepper
3 T. soy sauce
4 eggs, beaten

Put everything in a food processor, when completely mixed, form into patties and fry in olive oil about 5 minutes each side.
(I actually don't have a food processor, so used my blender and it took extra time because I could only put about 1/2 c. diced chicken in at a time. Then had to mix everything together in a bowl. Canned chicken would work just as well without having to blend or process it- similar to tuna.)


I used my Italian Bread recipe for the buns, but made a smaller batch:

Rachel's Hamburger Buns
2 c. warm water
2 T sugar
2 T yeast
1/4 c. dry milk
1/2 T salt
1/4 c. olive oil
1 c. whole wheat flour
4-5 c. white flour

Mix water, sugar and yeast and let set for 10 minutes until the yeast is foamy. Add the rest of ingredients until you get to the flour then as the mixer is going add the flour one cup at a time until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the mixer. Let it knead (mix) for 10 minutes. Flour the counter where you plan to shape the loaves.
I put the whole batch of dough on the counter and flattened it a little- so it was about 1 inch thick. Then took a pizza cutter and cut a 1 1/2" strip off the end, then cut that into about six 1 1/2" squares. Each square: squish down to 1/2 inch thick, it should be about 2 to 3 inches square. Take all corners and squish together, turn the "loaf" so the seam is on the underside and place on baking sheet (these did best on stoneware). Let rise till doubled, bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Serve with Mayo, lettuce and tomatoes.

Cost:
Turkey: $5.
Eggs:$.60
Lettuce: $.75
Tomato: $1.35
Buns: $.60
Chips: $2.5 (natural w/ sea salt)
Meal Total: $10.80
This didn't really cost me this much, as I was given farm fresh eggs (thanks to my mom!) and some chicken from someone and this will also cheaper in the summer when we have our garden lettuce and tomatoes.
But I really only spent $5.20
And we had 2 extra adults joining us for dinner last night, so it fed quite a few.

Rachel's Italian Bread

Here is the bread I made for the Valentine Banquet last week. It was so delicious. I worked all week tweaking recipes trying to get it just right and finally was satisfied with this one.


Rachel's Italian Bread
4 c. warm water
1/4 c. sugar
2 1/2 T yeast
1/4 c. dry milk
1 T salt
1/2 c. olive oil
2 c. whole wheat flour
8-9 c. white flour

Mix water, sugar and yeast and let set for 10 minutes until the yeast is foamy. Add the rest of ingredients until you get to the flour then as the mixer is going add the flour one cup at a time until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the mixer. Let it knead (mix) for 10 minutes. Flour the counter where you plan to shape the loaves.
I put the whole batch of dough on the counter and flattened it a little- so it was about 1 inch thick. Then took a pizza cutter and cut a strip off the end, then cut that into 4 or 5 squares. Each square: squish down to 1/2 inch thick, it should be about 3 to 4 inches square. Take all corners and squish together, turn the "loaf" so the seam is on the underside and place on baking sheet (these did best on stoneware). Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, cut an "X" shape in the top. Let rise till doubled, bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
These made awesome sandwiches!
This recipe should make about 30 big rolls. It would taste great with a 1 or 2 tsp Italian seasoning.

The Perfect Loaf

So, on my quest of the perfect loaf of bread, I have wanted to see first hand the difference between bread that was mixed, kneaded and baked and bread that was allowed to knead, rise, knead and risen again.
I tried it with French Bread this week:


On the Left:
Mixed, kneaded, rose, baked.
On the Right:
Mixed, kneaded, rose, kneaded, rose, kneaded, rose, baked.

It might be a little hard to see, but the one that was allowed to rise several times had a finer texture and felt a little softer. The air pockets inside the loaf were smaller.

French Bread and Spaghetti

I made French Bread last night-- for the first time. Brian loves French Bread but I've always thought it would take all day to make it, so I've put it off for a long time. But I finally decided to try it last night, and I am so pleased with how it came out- it was delicious!
I used a recipe from allrecipes.com: French Bread

I only added 5 cups of flour and skipped the first rise, as I normally do. Just because I started it around 4pm and wanted it to be done in time for dinner.
The crust was perfect. It was a little heartier than store-bought, but it was wonderful.

With it we had Spaghetti and Broccoli
Pasta $.34
Hamburger meat $2.
Sauce (Classico Caramelized onion and roasted garlic) $1.
Bread $.50
Broccoli $1.
Meal total: $4.84
(or w/ venison: $3.68)

Swedish Raisin Rye Bread

My mom's side of the family is Swedish and one year my mom made this bread for Thanks-giving or Christmas and we all loved it- she has made it each holiday ever since and to me, it's just not a holiday without it! Serve with butter to spread on it.

Swedish Raisin Rye
1/4 c molasses
1 T. yeast
3 c water
1 c wheat flour
mix and let set 10 minutes.

Add:
1 tsp. salt
2 c. rye flour
3-4 c wheat- or more till dough no longer sticks to side of mixer.
Mix 10 minutes-- in the last 4 minutes put in 2 c. raisins.
Form into 3 round loaves and place in greased pie pans.
Let rise till doubled, then bake 30-40 minutes. (knock on bread to hear a hollow sound- then it's done)