French Cinnamon Brioches

French Cinnamon Brioche ( rolls )

These cinnamon rolls are melt in your mouth soft...you will have a hard time eating only one! I am very picky when it comes to breads and pastries. They have to be soft and fresh tasting for me to eat them, and because of my pickiness I will try recipe after recipe to find only the best and softest bread recipes. I first tasted this recipe when a friend of ours made them over 6 years ago for a potluck dinner. He had gotten the recipe from a lady in France and I asked him repeatedly for over 6 years ( he moved a year after I tasted them ) to give me the recipe, and he always said he would give it to me, but never did!lol...So, when we he was down this way for awhile last year, I again asked him for the recipe and told him how long I had been waiting for this recipe...and the night before he left he finally gave it to me!

And now without you having to wait as long as I did for this delectable pastry, I give it to you! Bon appétit!

*A small note before you begin: The original recipe given to me doesn't specify the type of flour. I used all purpose flour the first time I made this, however, I didn't think it came out soft enough. Since then I have played with different flours and talked with a professional baker about what flour ratios give different results and I tried the recipe again with Pastry flour and Bread flour ( pastry flour is for a lighter result and bread flour is high in gluten which gives more elasticity). The result was very soft and enjoyable. I encourage anyone baking breads, cakes, etc. to try using the appropriate flours to enhance your results!

*30 mins prep. not including the rising times. 15-20 mins on the oven at 350.

You will need:

Dough

3/4 cup of shortening or butter melted * ( I used margarine because I was out of shortening and I didn't want to use butter since it gives a crispier texture )

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsps. salt

2 eggs

2 pkgs. yeast ( a pkg. of yeast is equivalent to 2 1/4 tsps. I used instant yeast )

2 cups warm water

6 cups of flour ( all purpose is fine, however, I used a ratio of 4 cups of Pastry flour and 2 cups of Bread flour )

Spread

2/3 cup sugar or brown sugar ( I used brown sugar...I think I will try sugar next time, it might be sweeter )

1/4-1/3 cup cinnamon

Mix and set aside

Butter Icing

1/4 cup of melted butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp. milk

whisk together

Directions for the dough:

1 In a medium sized bowl proof your yeast by dissolving the 2 pkgs. of yeast in the 2 cups of warm water and adding a tbsp. of sugar. Let it sit for 10-15 mins. until is frothy on top.

2 While the yeast is proofing, in a large bowl, combine the melted shortening, sugar and salt. Mix well and then add the 2 eggs. If your shortening is hot make sure to whisk in the eggs quickly and continuously to avoid scrambling your eggs.

3 Add the proofed yeast mixture to the egg mixture and mix well.

4 Add the 6 cups of flour all at once and combine the wet and dry ingredients well, until a nice sticky dough forms. Despite the fact that you have added all the flour at once, I found that the dough came together rather easily. The original recipe suggested adding one cup of the yeast mixture at a time...but it doesn't combine well when you do this. It becomes clumpy. All at once worked really well and it was well combined.

5 The original recipe calls to cover the bowl with plastic wrap and to put in the fridge to rise and double in size for 4 hours or overnight, this is recommended and does make a difference, however, I needed the recipe for a dinner party and didn't have 4 hours, so I covered the bowl with a clean dish towel and left it on the stove top for 2 hours. It doubled in size just fine.

6 Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down and divide the dough in half.

7 On a floured work surface, knead the dough for a minute or two and then form into a ball. Roll out the ball of dough into a large rectangle that is about 1/4-1/2 an inch thick. Make sure that the rectangle of dough is lightly floured underneath so that when you roll it later it won't stick to the work surface. Preheat the oven to 350.

8 Using a pastry brush, brush a light layer of melted butter all over the surface of the rectangle. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture over the entire surface of the rectangle. I like to rub it in.

9 Roll up the rectangle starting from the short end and pinch the seam shut all along the length of the roll. Turn the roll seam side down and using a knife or pastry chopper cut the roll into 1-1 1/2 inch rounds.

10 Repeat steps 7-9 with other half of dough and proceed to step 11.

11 Transfer the rounds, swirl side down into a greased cake pan or casserole dish. Leave 1/2 an inch between rounds. When they rise they should all be touching. Cover both pans with a dish towel and let rise till doubled ( about 2 hours ).

12 Bake at 350 for 13-20 mins. Mine were ready after 13-14 mins. They should be slightly golden and spring back when touched. Cool off for 20 mins and then ice while still warm.

Directions for icing:

Combine melted butter and powdered sugar until it forms a paste. Add 1 tsp. of milk at a time until you have a medium thick consistency. Taste the icing and add more powdered sugar and milk alternatively until you have a balanced taste of sugar and butter. Use all of it on the rolls...it will seep down into all of the crevices of the swirls and enhance every inch of them!