Vegan MoFo Day 16: Cinnamon Rolls!

I've wanted to make these for a while. I don't baked breads much, so the thought of making cinnamon rolls is a bit daunting for me. The kneading and the shaping and the rising time-- it all seems like too much work to be worth it. But like most things I've tried in the kitchen, and in life, it's never as hard as you think.

And to make it that much easier for you, I created step by step instructions with photos. Sometimes, especially in pastry recipes, I'll read an explanation of how to do something, and it's gibberish. That's usually when I get frustrated, throw something in the sink, and tell Andrew I'm never cooking again. Luckily, most of my baking time is while I'm home alone now, so he doesn't get to see the tirades.

I got this recipe online. The pictures sold me. However, the recipe did not come with "by hand" instructions, just bread machine, stand up mixer, and food processor. Since I broke my food processor the first day I bought and I have been too stubborn to go buy a new one, I just did it all by hand. If you want other instructions, go to the link.

[[Cinnamon Rolls]]
by these people with some additions

bread:
Ener-g eggs, room temperature and beaten -- next time I'd try a flax egg
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F.)
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raw sugar
5 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup plain soy milk (heated approximately 1 minute in microwave)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

filling:
1/2 cup earth balance
1 cup soft brown sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons ground cinnamon

icing:
1/2 tub vegan cream cheese (like Tofutti), room temperature
1/4 cup vegan margarine, room temperature
1 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

By hand preparations:
1. Whip the egg replacer [[check out the box instructions]] until foamy. Set aside.
2. With a tsp sugar, mix the 1/4 cup warm water with the 3 tsp of active dry yeast. Set aside for 10 minutes.
3. While you wait for your yeast to look foamy and "alive", prepare the dry ingredients. Mix bread flour, vital wheat gluten, sugar and salt together.
4. Cut the room temperature butter into the dry ingredients.
5. Add warmed milk, vanilla, egg replacer, and yeast/water mixture to the butter/flour mixture. 6. Knead until it comes together to form a smooth, sticky ball. All the flour may not incorporate and that's ok. Just knead until it just comes together.
7. Place in a clean bowl and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
8. Get together your ingredients for the filling. Here comes the hard part... for me anyway.






9. Remove the dough after it has rested and roll it out into a large rectangle.















10. With a basting brush, spread softened butter onto the rolled out dough.












11. Sprinkle with brown sugar. In this photo it looks like a lot less. I halved the brown sugar just to make it a little lighter, but I'd recommend using it all.











12. Sprinkle with brown sugar.















13. Like a hot dog, roll from the longest side up. The tighter you roll it, the more it will buff up in the middles, so try to avoid rolling it too tightly. When you roll it up, seal the flap with a little water by pinching it and smoothing it.












14. With a knife, slice little lines so you cut them into even rolls.














15. Slice them and lay them in a grease baking dish about 1/2 inch apart. Flatten them a bit with your hands. Do not have them touching. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2-3 hours, or until they double in size. You can also refrigerate them and let the slow rise overnight for the morning. Or you can freeze them and save the 2-3 hours of rising for later.



16. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
17. While they're baking, mix together all incing ingredients. My rolls' icing looks different because I ran out of earth balance. So, if you want to make a thinner icing, you can do it without the butter and with a little soy milk, about 2-3 tbs. Use icing at room temperature.
18. When they're done, cover in icing and top with chopped nuts or raisins if you so choose.