Oh how SWEET it is!!!

Nothing says weekend breakfast like a yummy, gooey, sticky sweet cinnamon roll. I have fond memories of waking up to my dad pulling this gems out of the oven and slathering them with cream cheese frosting. Ah, but the days of butter and cream cheese for this vegan are long gone. So I thought, why not. It can't be that difficult. Honestly, it's not.

This is truly a labor of love, and can be spread out over a two day period. The key here is patience. Letting the yeast bloom, the scalded milk cool and incorporating the flour slowly.

When baking people often neglect a few key points. The measuring must be exact and the ingredients room temperature. Not only does this insure a great end product, but also guarantees ease in putting the ingredients together.

For my sweet roll creation I've gotten great results with a German recipe for Kuchen. It's a very forgiving dough with an excellent crumb. It's also versatile. I've made donuts, danish, event coffee cake with this very same dough. So, once you've mastered it, you're going to LOVE IT.

The recipe, as originally written suggests kneading this dough by hand. Well, if you want a good work out have at it. Personally, I'll take a kitchen aid any day of the week.

German Kuchen

1/4 oz (one package) or dry yeast
1/4 c warm water (not to exceed 105 degrees)
1 3/4 c scalded milk unsweetened soy milk
1/2 c margarine
3/4 c vegan sugar
1 tsp sea salt (fine grain)
zest of 1/2 lemon
6 c flour set aside
1/4 c for dusting and rolling 
1 tbsp ground flaxseeds/flaxmeal + 3 tbsp warm water (mix for 2 minutes until well combined.)

Filling 

3/4 c light brown sugar 
2 tbsp cinnamon 
1 tsp vanilla extract 
1/2 stick vegan margarine 

Glaze

4 oz vegan cream cheese 
1 c vegan powdered sugar 
1/4 c vegan margarine
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

For the dough:Dissolve the yeast into the warm water and set aside. In a medium sized sauce pan, bring soy milk to a quick boil and remove and whisk in, margarine, sugar, salt and lemon zest. When milk is warm to the touch but not scalding hot (105 degrees) add flaxmeal mixture. Whisk into yeast and stir in enough flour to knead dough. Knead until smooth and elastic. (If you are doing this in a kitchen aid stand mixer about 2-3 minutes. Be sure not to over knead the dough) Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic. Let rise until doubled in bulk. (For better flavor place in refrigerator overnight to rise for 24 hour. For this method remove 30 minutes before to bring to room temp before rolling)

When you are ready to roll, try your hand at making it a 13 x 9 rectangle 1/4 inch thickness.  I know it sounds difficult, but try your best.  Once you find a shape you can call your own, brush lightly with 1/2 cup melted vegan margarine.


For the filling: 
In a small bowl whisk together all the ingredients and sprinkle over the top of melted margarine mixture  


Along the long edge of the  dough, begin to roll away from you.  Go slowly to insure a tight seal, squeeze as you go.  When your done, you are ready to slice!  Here's the tricky part.  You want equally sized slices.  Spray a 13 x 9 inch pan lightly with oil.  Place dough in pan sliced sides up, try to leave as little space between them as possible.  Cover lightly with a damp kitchen towel in a warm place and let rise until doubled in volume 40-60 minutes. 

Time to bake!  In a 375 degree oven, place pan on the middle rack. Bake until the tops are golden brown.  [To be extra certain of doneness you can take a kitchen thermometer placed in the center of one of the rolls.  It should reach a temperature of 180 degrees.] When rolls are done. removed them from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes.  


For the glaze:
Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, margarine, and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk until smooth and creamy. Spread glaze over warm rolls and serve immediately or at room temperature