If you’re a follower of The Sweetest Kitchen, you may know that I have never baked with yeast because I lack the courage to do so. I want to make a batch of cinnamon rolls using yeast sometime, but because I’m too scared of yeast, I settled for a yeast-free version. Oh, they were very yummy, indeed, but they had a cake-like texture which was far from a real cinnamon roll. This post isn’t about cinnamon rolls, by the way, but I’m working up to that.
Three weeks ago, I faced my fear of making macarons, so I felt brave enough to take on the yeast challenge. I couldn’t find the best recipe, so a friend recommended the basic bread recipe from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. She sent me a link to a video of the authors of this book making the basic recipe and I basically made my decision right then to make it.
It was so easy, I was nearly laughing at myself for having never done this before. Of course I realize that this is a no-knead bread and other types of bread may be a bit more difficult, but this particular recipe is a great introduction to those who may be a little timid around yeast because it is so laughably easy.
To sum up the recipe, you mix 3 cups of lukewarm water, 1 1/2 tablespoons of yeast and 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt. Then add 6 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and use a wooden spoon to mix until the ingredients are uniformly combined, without over-mixing. Cover with a lid (with a small gap), let rise for 2 hours, then either use it straight away, or put it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. I made baseball-sized rolls with my bread, but you can make one big loaf with it, or even a pizza crust. I found the actual recipe typed up at Gardens By The Lake, where instructions are listed for making a pizza crust.
My oven is a little strange. Maybe it’s because it’s fan-forced. It rarely turns anything golden brown; I once stuck a slice of bread in there to toast it and it never got a single hint of brown, but it did become harder than a brick. My homemade bread got a little golden brown here and there, but mainly the crust stayed pale. I wanted it to turn golden brown, but I didn’t want to over-bake the bread.
As it turned out, the bread is slightly more firm than what I like, as I like really soft bread with a crunchy crust, but I was so proud that I baked with yeast for the first time and I did think it was actually quite nice. My husband really liked it as well.
I have plenty of yeast leftover and I bought an extra bag of flour, and I think I may bake a single large loaf today. I may even buy the Artisan Bread book! I completely recommend that if you have not yet baked your own bread, but would like to, use this recipe immediately! Baking your own bread is so satisfying, and you have to admit, there isn’t any bread that’s quite like fresh-baked bread!
Now, to hunt down a great recipe for real cinnamon rolls! :)
Your rolls look perfect! and really professional.
Well done :]]
If you are at all into whole grains, I recommend buying their newer book: Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day! I’m baking my way through it with a blogging group and I had only made bread once before I started. I’m loving it, and there is a fabulous cinnamon roll recipe ;)
De-lurking to say “Congratulations!” on your yeast bread success!! I love to bake & often make my own bread. Here’s a link to absolutely yummy cinnamon rolls: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/. I’ve made them myself & they’re wonderful! Then again, I like gooey cinnamon rolls. :-)
I’m glad you faced your yeast fear. These look great! Go for the cinnamon rolls, you can do it!
Good on you for facing your fear!! Personally, I think that macarons are harder to make than cinnamon rolls. Or maybe it’s the are they going to work/are they going to fail factor with macarons that make cinnamon rolls SEEM easier!! Either way, cinnamon rolls are definitely nothing to fear…….you should make them soon, they’re sooooo good!! Here’s a link to the recipe I use:
http://cookiescakesandallthingsbaked.blogspot.com/2009/10/cinnamon-rolls.html
Congrats! :) These cinnamon rolls RULE and use yeast; it’s tricky, though, so be sure to read the comments and make sure the milk/butter combo is the right temp before adding the yeast! They are SO worth it, when done right! http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/04/cinnamon-swirl-buns-so-much-news/
just made a few of these. they turned out pretty good, although they never turned golden/brown in my oven either (food usually does) and as a result i almost burned them! i’ve never made bread from scratch but i’m very satisfied with how these turned out :). good luck with the cinnamon rolls!
Hello :-) I’m new to your blog and just wanted to say “hi!”
If you are going to go for cinnamon rolls, you should try Pioneer Woman’s recipe. I had never made cinnamon rolls before at all, let alone with yeast, and these turned out amazing! :-) Here is the link for the recipe:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/
~Amber
Thanks Amber, I have seen The Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls, they look a little more time consuming which is why I haven’t made them yet. Everyone has raved about them though, so I will definitely try them when I’m expecting some free time! :D
I’m still working my way up to real cinnamon rolls, but I made these the other day and they were INSANE.
http://babble.com/best-recipes/kids-cooking/cinnamon-roll-sugar-cookies/
The only change I made was to the filling where I added 2 Tbsp flour, and I creamed it all together instead of spreading the butter and then sprinkling the cinnamon sugar. Oh, and I was out of milk so I used heavy cream.
Also, I ended up with way more than 6 dozen cookies…