Do you want the original recipe, like my mom makes it? :-) At the end I’ll tell you how I tweak it a bit.
Sweet Roll Dough (from a 1950s or 60s Betty Crocker cookbook)
“For delectable rolls and coffee cakes”
½ cup warm water (110-115 F)
2 pkg active dry yeast (1 pkg = 2 ¼ tsp)
1 ½ cups lukewarm milk
½ cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
½ cup soft shortening (butter!)
half of 7 to 7 ½ cups sifted Gold Medal flour
Mix with spoon until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to handle easily; mix with hand. Turn onto lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 min.). Round up in greased bowl, greased side up. Cover with damp cloth. Let rise in warm place (85 F) until double (about 1 ½ hr). Punch down; let rise again until almost double (30 min). Divide dough for desired rolls and coffee cakes. Shape, let rise, bake according to directions on following pages.
Makes 1 large coffee cake and 1 ½ to 2 dozen rolls.
Dinner Rolls ~
I usually make crescent rolls (butterhorns). Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Roll each ~1/4” thick into a 12” circle. Spread with soft butter. Cut into 16 pie-shaped pieces. Beginning at rounded edge, roll up. Place on lightly greased pan, point underneath. Let rise 15-20 min. Bake 10-13 min at 375 F. (You can shape into clover leaf rolls, twists, etc. – but these are so easy!) Note that my dough circle is much larger than 12 inches. This is why I love the nice big island in our kitchen!
Cinnamon Rolls ~
Divide dough into 2 equal parts. Roll dough into oblong 15x9 inches. Spread with 2 T softened butter and sprinkle with ½ cup sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon. Roll up tightly, beginning at wide side. Seal well by pinching edges of roll together. Stretch roll slightly to even. Cut roll into 1-inch slices. Place a little apart in greased 13x9 inch pan or 18 greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise until double in bulk (35-40 min). Bake until golden brown ~ 20 min at 375 F.
While slightly warm frost with Quick White Icing (powdered sugar, butter, milk).
Variation: Butterscotch Rolls ~ Make cinnamon rolls as above – except place cut slices in baking pan coated with…
1/3 cup butter, melted
½ cup brown sugar
1 T corn syrup or water
½ cup pecan halves
Bake. Immediately turn upside down on a large tray. Let pan stay over rolls a minute so butterscotch runs down over them.
Hamburger Buns ~
I have used 100% whole wheat bread dough to bake buns, but of course, my family thinks a leetle white flour and the other goodies in sweet roll dough make them extra tasty. I might use 1/3 batch of sweet roll dough to shape 8 hamburger buns. Divide, form balls and shape, then flatten a bit.
(Do the math ~ That’s like two butterhorn rolls in ONE bun ~ lottsa bread!)
Last time I made buns, I *tried* using a round cutter after rolling out the dough, but got waaaay too many ‘buns’ out of it because I rolled the dough too thin. They were interesting. Think very low-carb, thin-sliced bread. Especially after you sliced the ‘bun’ open. Too small for our burgers, but they were YUMMY for some hot deli-turkey and cheese sandwiches in the oven. They were perfectly round anyway. And I will try again.
+ + + Melanie’s Adjustments to Sweet Roll Dough + + +
Not much really ;-) I mix the dough like my bread dough (without proofing the yeast) in our mixer. I can double the batch in the big mixer. I have tried using 100% whole wheat flour, but my family thinks that it’s all much better with a little white flour. So, I generally use about 1/3 white to 2/3 whole wheat (In this batch, about 2 cups of white flour with the rest as whole wheat)
I try to reduce the sugar a little bit at least ~ and if I have it, I’ll use unbleached organic sugar. Then at least I feel better.
I don’t use any corn syrup in the butterscotch cinnamon rolls, and we don’t know what we’re missing :-) Butter and brown sugar make great caramel/butterscotch all by themselves. Oh, and I probably use less sugar and more cinnamon in the filling.
They are still a treat!
I have not made coffee cake with this dough yet, but as I’m reading more of the variations, the Hungarian Coffee Cake is looking really good! Use 1/3 dough and cut into pieces the size of walnuts. Form into balls and roll each in melted butter (1/2 cup) then in mixture of ¾ cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ cup finely chopped nuts. Place 1 layer so that they barely touch in well greased 9-inch tube pan; sprinkle with a few raisins. Add another layer of balls and sprinkle with more raisins, pressing them in slightly. Let rise; bake 35 min at 375 F. Loosen from pan and invert so butter-sugar mixture runs down over cake. Is this called Monkey Bread? Tim would like it without the raisins, but that’s probably what makes it Hungarian…
Or how about some Streusel Coffee Cake ~ Use ¼ dough and pat out to fit greased round layer cake pan. Sprinkle streusel topping (1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 3 T butter) over dough. Cover and let rise 30 min. Bake 25 min at 375 F. Serve warm. I would add chopped walnuts and maybe some chopped apple :-)
