Sweet Thoughts: June 2014

This month the Daring Bakers kept our creativity rolling with cinnamon bun inspired treats. Shelley from C Mom Cook dared us to create our own dough and fill it with any filling we wanted to craft tasty rolled treats, cinnamon not required!

I was a bit ahead of the game on this one as I have spent the last couple of months working on a sourdough cinnamon roll. I felt like, with this challenge, I would omit the cinnamon and go for something different. That's when I started dreaming about the orange rolls from The Club in Birmingham, Alabama. My grandmother, Mimi, was a member of The Club ( pronounced Thee Club), a dancing and dining venue on top of a big hill overlooking downtown Birmingham.
The Club was considered very luxurious and added to your cache if you belonged there,which of course needed mentioning to anyone who may not have been informed of the prized membership.
I loved The Club for the food. Well maybe I did not love all the food...maybe just the orange rolls. They were super sweet and my grandmother would say they were more a dessert than a side bread. She said this while waiting for lunch to arrive and munching on them with sweet tea that was so sweet, it made your head hurt. My Mimi loved her sweets. I got to go to lunch with her each year when the doll show came to The Club. My grandmother loved looking at the antique and modern doll displays with their fancy dressings. She towed me along as the excuse to attend. I loved it too.
Let's get back to today though. I found a recipe online for the authentic The Club orange sweet rolls. They were easy to prepare and did not take much time. No one liked them...not even me. They were sickening sweet to me. We don't eat like that anymore and they just tasted like sugar. So, I started tweaking a bit. I halved the filling of coconut and sugar and whirled it in the food processor so it was finer textured. I increased the amount of liquid in the glaze as well as doubling the glaze.The recipe said that it made twelve rolls but I cut them so they made twenty four. They were smaller...cuter and popped right in the mouth.
The new version of orange rolls were a huge hit with family and co workers. I ate one just after the glaze set but still warm. The roll melted in my mouth yet I did not feel like I just ate one of the most decadent breads ever. These rolls are well worth the minimal effort. Make them fresh. I made a batch and formed the rolls leaving them in the fridge overnight. I gave the rolls about 30 minutes outside of the fridge before baking and they were delicious for breakfast.

Here is my adapted version to what I am sure was an adapted version of The Club's Orange Sweet Rolls. I am not great with conversions for those of you outside of the U.S. but I gave it a big effort!

Orange Sweet Rolls

- adapted from a recipe called The Club Sweet Rolls

1/4 ounce (6 gm.) dry yeast, 1 package
1/4 cup warm water, about 125 degrees
1/3 cup (60 ml) (2 oz) (50 gm) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup p (240 ml) (8 oz) (200 gm) sour cream
1/4 cup (60 ml) (2 oz) (50 gm) sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (1/4 oz) salt
3 1/2 cups (840 ml) (12 oz) (450 gm) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (60 ml) (2 oz) (50 gm) sugar
1/2 cup (120 ml) (4 oz) (100 gm) coconut, flaked
2 teaspoons (10 ml) orange rind, grated
2 tablespoons (30 ml) unsalted butter, melted
Glaze:
1 cup (240 ml) (8 oz) (200 gm) confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) orange rind, grated
3 tablespoons (45 ml) fresh squeezed orange juice

Dissolve the yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Add the next five ingredients, mix well. Gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. mix well.
Place dough in a greased bowl turning to grease the top.
Cover and let rise until double in bulk, about 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Combine sugar, coconut and orange rind in a food processor and use the pulse feature to make a finer texture,set aside.(If you don't have a food processor, chop the flaked coconut a bit with a knife to make a finer texture.)
Punch down the dough. Knead until smooth and elastic on a floured surface.
Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a rectangle(I rolled it to about 12 inches by 10 inches).
Brush the rectangle with melted butter. Sprinkle coconut and orange rind mixture over top.
Roll up from the long side. Cut into approximately 1 inch pieces (30 mm), turn on end and place in a greased pan. Cover with wax paper and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 degrees for about 20 minutes.
Cool 5 minutes. Turn out onto a rack.
While still warm, drizzle with glaze.