All Roads Lead to the Kitchen: Pumpkin Pie Brioche

There's no stoppin' me now! Me and the BBY are getting to know each other. And we like what we see. I even made cinnamon rolls that you didn't have to pop from a can first! Not that I'll totally shun that convenience, because yeast takes time...but I will definitely make them from scratch any chance I get!

When I made the Pumpkin Pie Brioche dough last week as a part of the new baking group Healthy Bread in Five, I had half a recipe left in the fridge. After seeing many tempting variations on a plain loaf, I knew cinnamon rolls was the way I had to go. And guess what...it wasn't hard! In fact, it was heavenly. I love the feeling of the dough in my hands...the rolling of the pin...the slight resistance of the dough...perhaps I was a baker in a different life.

Pumpkin Brioche Cinnamon Rolls w/ Cinnamon Icing

(Pumpkin Pie Brioche dough from HBin5)

yield: 12 (big ones)

Rolls:

½ recipe Pumpkin Pie Brioche dough

4 Tbs. butter, soft

2 handfuls brown sugar

cinnamon, as needed

Cinnamon Icing:

2 Tbs. butter, melted

3 Tbs. milk

2 c. powdered sugar

¼ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. vanilla

Turn your dough out onto a floured surface. This dough is pretty wet, so pat it in a bit of flour, just so that you're able to work with it.

Shape it into a rectangle.

Roll out to about 1/4" thickness. I'm sorry, I forgot to actually measure the dimensions...but you can basically see in the photo to get an idea.

Rub the softened butter all over the top surface of the dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon...as much as you'd like. I went fairly light since my icing has cinnamon in it.

With the long edge horizontal in front of you, begin rolling, jellyroll fashion.

Continue rolling, keeping it as tight as possible until you reach the end.

You should now have a thick log. Push it in at the ends a bit if it seems to thin out.

Using a lightly floured bench scraper, cut into 12 even slices. The easiest way is to cut in half, then quarters...then cut each quarter into 3 equal parts.

Place in a greased 13 x 9 pan and set in a warm place, loosely covered to rise for 90 minutes. It's going to seem like the pan is too big...but no worries.

Those BBY really get busy in this 90 minutes!! The original dough that didn't fill the pan...it's puffed right up and out and the rolls are now crowding each other. Nice! Place your pan in the center of a pre-heated 350° F oven and bake for ~18-22 minutes. But as ovens vary, use your eyes and your nose and touch 'em!!

While they're baking, mix up your icing. Simply place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix them up! Set it aside until the rolls are ready.

You should be able to tell when they're done...even if you've only ever made the pop can kind! Take those babies out of the oven...

...and drizzle or spread with icing while still warm.

Pull one out...

...and enjoy.

Immensely!!!

If I can do it...you can do it! Now I wish they weren't all gone...because I want another one :)

If you're interested in baking Healthy Bread in Five, please join us...just click on the button!

I did it. I did it. I did it. Yay. Yo lo hice.... Seriously, I want to bust out in a Dora song!!! Remember scaredy cat me? You know, afraid of the big, bad yeasties? How long have I been telling you I'm just going to do it? Jump in. Make friends with BBY (big bad yeasty). I bit the bullet. Michelle of Big Black Dog has started a new group based on the new book by Jeff Hertzberg MD and Zoe Francois called Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It's called (fittingly) Healthy Bread in Five (or HBin5, as you'll see me refer to it from here on out). We're going to be...baking bread. Healthy bread. And I couldn't be more excited! Oh yes, I'll still visit my favorite bakeries to bask in that beautiful smell and tear into that warm bread....just not as often. Because I am conquering my fear. HBin5 officially starts at the beginning of 2010 to give people time to get through the craziness of the holidays and to purchase the book. But until then, we'll be baking a bonus recipe once a month! Never before published recipes from Zoe and Jeff...Novembers recipe being Pumpkin Pie Brioche. I can't give you the recipe because of copyright laws, but Michelle has permission to print it, so you can head over there to see it. But I'll show you how I accomplished step #1 in conquering my BBY fear...just doing it. A yeasted bread, baking in the oven is one of my most favorite scents in the whole wide world! And even though there is both pumpkin and spices in this bread...they are very understated. I smelled that heavenly scent after 10 minutes or so in the oven...and then tasted it in every bite. Goodbye BBY, hello homemade yeast bread!

So, don't forget to follow that link for the recipe if you want to give it a try (you totally should). But I can't help but show you the process...you know me.... Those BBY were ready to taunt me, but I threw them in with the other ingredients without a second glance. I mixed the dry and added the wet.

I put it in a container. And it rose! It really, really rose!

Pretty, huh?

I tore off a piece and I shaped it. And then I set it aside to rise again. And it rose! Again!! Woot, Woot! I prepped it for the oven and sat in a mix of anticipation and sensory ecstasy while it baked.