For a reason I’ve yet to understand, cinnamon rolls recently became my nemesis. How is it that I could make perfect croissants from scratch on my first attempt, chocolate and raspberry macarons, brioche, a boule…yet cinnamon rolls and sticky buns eluded me? In two of three attempts, I ended up with little hockey pucks, and in the third attempt (my pizza dough attempt), my rolls “unrolled.”

Really?

So, I did what any usually-confident baker would do. I threw out the recipes and went my own way. I used my go-to brioche recipe, and simply divided it in half. You can use the other half to make a loaf of bread, brioche rolls, or another pan of cinnamon rolls.

Sticky Buns

Caramel:

6 tablespoons salted butter
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons honey or corn syrup

Cinnamon Rolls:

½ recipe brioche
3 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

For the caramel:

Melt butter in medium saucepan over moderate heat. Whisk in brown sugar and bring to a boil. Off heat, add heavy cream and honey, whisk to combine. Pour caramel in bottom of 7×11 inch glass baking dish.

For the cinnamon rolls:

Mix granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in small bowl. Roll brioche into 12×16 inch rectangle, about ¼ inch thick, and brush with butter. Sprinkle evenly with sugar-cinnamon mixture. Roll dough up jelly-roll style from the shorter end. Cut into 6 rolls with very sharp knife.

Place rolls cut side up in pan on top of caramel. Cover with plastic wrap and proof until puffy, about 3 hours. Bake at 350 for 22-26 minutes, or until golden.

(You can also freeze the unbaked rolls by wrapping them individually with plastic wrap. Thaw overnight in the fridge, and proceed with the recipe by placing them on top of the caramel mixture.)

It’s zucchini season for me, courtesy of my mom’s garden.

For my first “large” zucchini of the year, I just had to make zucchini muffins. They freeze wonderfully for several months, so when the temperature has dropped and you are missing summer so much it hurts, you can always pull a muffin out of the freezer. I think they taste best if you let them thaw at room temperature, but if you’re in a hurry, there’s always the microwave…

Zucchini Muffins*
adapted from allrecipes

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
1 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 cups shredded zucchini

Grease 2 muffin pans or line with paper baking cups. Preheat oven to 325*F.

Sift dry flour, salt, soda, powder, and cinnamon into medium bowl.

Mix eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugars in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Fold in zucchini. Divide batter among pans.

Bake 25-32 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes in the pans, then remove muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

*Several substitutions can be made with this recipe: I’ve substituted 1 cup of the flour with plain whey protein powder to give the muffins a bit more heft for breakfast. I’ve also done half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat pastry flour with good results.

You can also substitute one half cup of applesauce for half of the oil. While I don’t think they taste *quite* as good this way, you probably won’t feel as guilty eating a muffin then.

Croissants: buttery, flaky, decadent. And absolutely delicious.

I’ve wanted to make them for ages, but I never seemed to plan ahead enough to make them in time for the weekend. You need to start the dough a day or two before you want to actually bake the croissants, and I used the “not planning” excuse to put off making them. In reality, I was slightly intimidated, though I’m not exactly sure why because I don’t often screw up baking.

Since I currently have some extra time on my hands and am looking for ways to keep myself busy, I decided to tackle croissants over the weekend. After the first bite of layers of buttery richness, I kicked myself for not making these sooner.

Letting the dough sit in the fridge for an extra day or two only resulted in a more complex flavor – sometimes it does pay to procrastinate! I’m telling you, these make the perfect Sunday morning breakfast. You’ll need to get up a little early to do the turns in the dough, but it’s so worth it.

Just a quick note – use a rolling pin with handles so you can make long, even strokes. This will help to ensure an even distribution of the butter.

Croissants
recipe from The Secrets of Baking

For the dough
1 cup cold whole milk
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 cups bread flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons salt
¼ pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter

for the butter block
¾ pound (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 egg + 1 egg yolk, for egg wash
sliced almonds (optional)

instructions for the dough
Whisk the milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer until yeast is dissolved. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and work with your fingers until blended. Add the flour to the milk and knead on low with dough hook for one minute. Increase speed to medium and mix for 3-5 minutes, or until smooth, being careful not to overwork the dough. (If the dough is dry, add a tablespoon of water.)

On a floured surface, shape the dough into a ball. Cut an “X” half way through the dough and wrap well with plastic wrap. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate overnight.

instructions for the butter block
Sprinkle a sheet of parchment lightly with flour. Cut each stick of butter in half length-wise and place on parchment. Sprinkle butter with flour. Using a rolling pin, give the butter a few light bangs to tenderize it. Form the butter into a block measuring 6×6x1 inches.

to laminate the dough
Remove the dough from the fridge. Unwrap it and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll along the “X,” from the center to the corners into a 12 inch square. Place butter block in the center in a diamond pattern. Bring the corners of the dough towards the middle. Press the edges together to seal, leaving no pockets of air. Tap the top of the dough with the rolling pin to help seal.

Roll the dough in the X pattern, always rolling the dough away from you to properly distribute the butter, dusting the dough and board with flour as necessary. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 10×18 inches. Turn the dough so the longer edge faces you and mentally divide the dough into thirds. Roll the first third over towards the middle, and roll the remaining third over on top of the first third (kind of like folding a piece of paper up so it fits in an envelope).

To “lock” the dough, use the rolling pin to gently roll along the edges to seal the dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Repeat the process of rolling out the dough into a rectangle, and folding the edges towards the middle two more times, refrigerating for 30 minutes in between.

Roll dough out into a 20×18 inch rectangle, with the longest side facing you. Use a ruler to mark the sides of the dough at the 9 inch mark; cut along this line to form two rectangles (one above the other), each 20×9 inches. Use a ruler and small knife to mark off the top and bottom of the two rectangles at 5 inch intervals.

Using a sharp knife, cut from the top left corner of the top rectangle to the first mark on the bottom rectangle. Continue moving along the top rectangle, cutting a line to the next mark on the bottom rectangle. Now do the same thing in reverse until you end up with a total of 14 isosceles triangles and 4 small right triangles. Starting at the small end of each triangle, roll the dough up into a crescent shape, sealing the tip well underneath. Place croissants on two baking sheets lined with parchment or silpats.

Cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. Proof the dough at room temperature for 2.5 hours.

Preheat oven to 400*F. Brush each croissant with egg wash. If desired, sprinkle croissants with sliced almonds.

Bake for 12 minutes on the middle rack, then reduce oven temperature to 350*F and rotate the pan. Bake another 10-12 minutes, or until brown. Cool and serve.

(If making almond croissants, brush each croissant with simple syrup after removing from oven. To make simple syrup, combine equal parts sugar and water in a small saucepan. Boil until the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and allow to cool.)

The croissants can be frozen up to a month.

I’ve never been a big fan of arugula, but the thought of having it with chicken-flavored croutons and roast chicken was enough to convince me to try out this recipe.

I was not disappointed. This recipe is worth it just for the croutons. Seriously. I love roasted chicken, but I was tempted to subsist solely on croutons the day I made this meal. Yes, they really are that good. I managed to abstain from eating an entire loaf of bread for a meal, however, and I rounded things out with the salad greens and chicken.

I’m already planning on making this meal again soon . . . next weekend, maybe?

Recipe adapted from EveryDay Food, March 2010 issue

1 whole chicken (4 lbs)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
kosher salt
black pepper
1 lemon, halved
1 loaf sourdough (8 ounces), torn into chunks
12 ounces arugula
1 teaspoons red wine vinegar

24-48 hours before the meal, salt and pepper the chicken inside and out. Wrap well in plastic wrap and place in a glass dish with raised sides. Refrigerate.

One hour before you plan to start cooking, remove the chicken from the fridge to bring it closer to room temperature. Preheat oven to 450. Place chicken on wire roasting rack and rub with 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with thyme, and squeeze lemon juice into cavity; place lemon halves into cavity. Roast chicken breast-side down until juices run clear, about 45-50 minutes. Transfer to a platter.

Place bread in roasting pan, toss with pan juices to coat. Season with salt. Bake until croutons are golden, 7-10 minutes. Pour any accumulated juices from the platter to a bowl; add arugula, croutons, 1 tablespoon oil, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, and toss. Carve chicken and serve with arugula and croutons.

When you have the time, nothing beats homemade bread. I love the feeling of working the dough with my hands, the scent of the yeast as the dough first rises, then bakes. And let’s face it, a sandwich, or even toast, is infinitely better when you know the bread is homemade.

I’ve been eyeing up this recipe for several years, simply to be able to use the bread for sandwiches. Earlier today, I enjoyed the first of many sandwiches from these loaves, and I was immediately transported to childhood. My grandma thought nothing of making fresh bread – in fact, she made so much bread that she bought 50 pounds of flour at a time!

Honey White Bread
recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home

½ cup warm water (about 105-110*F)
2 pkgs dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ cups warm whole milk*
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 ½ tablespoons honey
2 large egg yolks
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 egg white, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Combine water, yeast and sugar in the bowl of stand mixer; let stand for 10 minutes.

Add milk, butter, and honey. Mix on medium until blended. Add egg yolks, 3 cups of flour, and the salt. Mix on low with paddle attachment for 5 minutes. Add 2 more cups of flour. Increase speed to medium and slowly add just enough of the remaining flour so the dough doesn’t stick to the bowl. Knead on medium for 8 minutes, adding flour as necessary.

Dump the dough on a floured surface and knead by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic. Grease a bowl with butter or cooking spray; place the dough in the bowl and turn it until it’s coated with butter. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rise for one hour, until doubled in volume.

Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans. Divide the dough in half, roll each half into a loaf shape and place in pan. Cover with damp towel and allow to rise for an hour.

Preheat oven to 350*f. Brush top of loaves with egg wash and bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.

*Be careful with the temperature of the milk – slightly lukewarm is best. If the milk is too hot, it will kill the yeast and your bread won’t rise.