Almond-Orange Rolls!

All right, I could not believe how perfect these breakfast rolls turned out to be. I have little experience baking with yeast (besides last summer–), and I guess I’ve always been a bit intimidated by it. The waiting for dough to rise, the “right” warm temperature, my lack of a mixer/dough hook at school, a lack of workspace to really go at it–all of these factors have kept me from it for too long! In all my dorm baking, yeast breads have been the one exception to my usual “when there’s a will there’s a way” mindset.

But guess what? You don’t need a mixer/dough hook for these, or an entire day of dedicated labor. The time and energy put into these is negligible in comparison to the overwhelmingly satisfying results. (though these really are of the kind of deliciousness that could move me to Herculean feats, which I’d forget about as soon as I smelled the WONDERFULNESS from the oven.)

There’s something about that yeasty richness that completely outdoes other baking aromas. It seems to have greater depth, possibly since it’s complimented but not defined by levels of sweetness. And what endless possibilities of sweetness there are! I followed the original recipe’s orange-almond theme, but…I had some crumbs left-over from the cheesecake crusts, and decided to incorporate them somehow. So I made a few of these rolls with a pecan-graham cracker-chocolate-cinnamon filling. Absurd.

And one more note! I realized that I was out of all-purpose flour half-way into baking, and ended up having to substitute cake flour for half of the required amount. While I was aghast at the time, I think the results were actually better than they’d have been otherwise. I was bowled over by how soft and delicate these were–not something you’d usually experience from a cinnamon roll! The actual bread part is just phenomenal, and seriously tears apart just as elegantly as brioche. Unfortunately I don’t think my pictures do this phenomenon justice, but…it’s completely bothersome to fiddle with photography when all you want to do is eat!

Almond-Orange Rolls

(Adapted from culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com )

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen

– Ingredients –

For the dough:

1 2/3 c warm milk (105 F)

4 1/2 t active dry yeast (2 packages, 1/4 oz. each)

3 T granulated sugar

1/2 c (1 stick) butter, softened

1 t almond extract

2 eggs

1 T salt (seriously!)

3 1/2 c all-purpose flour

3 c + 3 T cake flour

For the filling:

3 T melted butter

1/2 c almond paste

1/2 c sugar

1/3 c brown sugar

zest of 1 orange

For the frosting:

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 1/2 c powdered sugar, sifted

3 T fresh squeezed orange juice

zest of 1 orange

1/2 t vanilla

– Directions –

1) Make dough: mix milk, yeast, and sugar in a standing electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment until well combined (can do by hand-). Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2) Add butter, eggs, almond extract, salt, and 3 cups flour and beat until smooth. Fit mixer with dough-hook attachment (I did this with a wooden spoon…talk about elbow grease! but completely do-able), and with mixer on medium-high speed, gradually knead in remaining 3 1/2 cups flour, occasionally scraping down side of bowl with a rubber spatula, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes.

3) Transfer dough to a large oiled bowl, turning to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm place until almost doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours (I preheated the oven to 250 F, turned it off when it reached 100 F or so, opened the door and waited a minute for the intense heat to escape, and then put the dough in. I kept the door ajar until it was a bit cooler but still warm).

4) Make orange-almond filling while dough is rising: mix together the almond paste (may be kind of hard, but it can be broken up–) both sugars and orange zest. Set aside.

5) Shape, fill and bake buns: Butter a 13″ x 9″ x 2″ baking pan. Punch down the dough, then halve it. Pat each piece into a flat rectangle. Starting with one, roll out on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 17″ x 13″ rectangle (about 1/4″ thick). Brush top with half of melted butter and sprinkle evenly with filling. Roll up, beginning with a short side, to form a 13″ log and press seam to seal. Cut log crosswise into six pieces and arrange, cut sides up, in 2 rows of 3 buns in half of the baking pan. Make six more buns in same manner and let buns rise 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F.

6) Bake buns in middle of oven until golden brown, about 40 to 45 minutes. Make glaze while buns bake: beat together glaze ingredients until smooth.

7) Cool buns in pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then spoon glaze evenly over warm buns. Sprinkle with slivered almonds if you desire.