Cinnamon Rolls | In Cold Blood

The travellers stopped for dinner at a restaurant in Great Bend. Perry, down to his last fifteen dollars, was ready to settle for root beer and a sandwich, but Dick said no, they needed a solid 'tuck-in', and never mind the cost, the tab was his. They ordered two steaks medium rare, baked potatoes, French fries, fried onions, succotash, side dishes of macaroni and hominy, salad with Thousand Island dressing, cinnamon rolls, apple pie and ice-cream, and coffee.
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote

In Cold Blood is renowned for being possibly the best crime novel ever written, and there’s a reason behind that. It is such a compelling read and demands your attention after every page. I read this book probably almost a year ago and was reminded of it when I noticed it balancing precariously at the top of a book pile at a local opshop.

There are a number of interesting meals within its pages, notably the last meal that Richard and Perry choose. I think though, I was interested in the idea of what they would have eaten on their journey - and the almost calculated and calmness that comes with a meal like that. Instead of making their entire dinner I chose to just make the cinnamon rolls. Partly because I have just, so much bread flour to use up. And also because cinnamon rolls are delicious and I generally can eat around 5 in one sitting.

The road trip journey is something that I did recently (not with murderous intentions), taking a long weekend to go and stay at a tiny air bnb that had been built on the bush property I grew up on in rural Victoria. We had no wifi or phone reception for our time there and spent all of it reading books, drinking wine, and watching seasons of Xena.

Cinnamon Rolls
Makes approx. 9 rolls
Ingredients
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tbsp caster sugar
275ml water, lukewarm
100ml milk, lukewarm
525g bread flour + 2 tbsp for dusting later
2 tsp salt
60g butter
Filling
60g butter, softened
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
Glaze
2-3 tbsp milk
400gm icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine the lukewarm water, milk, yeast, and sugar together in a bowl. Leave to sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast becomes frothy.

2. In another bowl mix together the flour and salt, pour in the frothy yeast mixture and combine until a rough dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and begin kneading. As you do so begin kneading the 60g of butter into the dough.

3. Continue kneading for about 10 minutes or until the dough has become soft and elastic like. Place the prepared dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and place into a warm place for around an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. While the dough is rising is a perfect time to make your filling. Combine the softened butter, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon together and mix. Put to the side.

5. Remove the doubled dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and gently roll the dough out until it is a few cm’s thick, and in a rough rectangular shape. Spread the butter / cinnamon filling onto the rolled out dough, evenly spreading it across.

6. From the longest side of the rectangle begin to tightly roll the dough up into a spiral. Once it is all rolled up use a sharp knife to evenly cut rolls that are 1 1/2” thick. You should get about 9 rolls from it in total. Line a baking tray with baking paper and place the prepared rolls on it, with the spiral facing outwards. Cover with a damp paper towel and leave for another hour to rise again.

7. While the cinnamon rolls are doing their second rise, preheat the oven to 180C. When the rolls have risen again, place them into the oven to bake. They should take around 15 - 20 minutes, depending how gooey you like your cinnamon rolls.

8. Leave them to cool, and make your glaze while they do. Combine the milk, icing sugar and vanilla and mix until it reaches the consistency you prefer. Drizzle over the cinnamon rolls and enjoy!

Fruit and Nut Brioche | Caging Skies

This was because she was being spoiled by her two new 'breadwinners,' as she called them, Janusz and Krzysztof, who brought her fresh bread filled with nuts and raisins, and Viennoiseries too, as Pimmichen liked to call them.
Caging Skies
Christine Leunens

I’ve gotten, like everyone I assume, stupidly into making my our sourdough bread during the lockdown months. A colleague mailed me some of her own starter in exchange for an array of homemade marmalades from myself. I’ve managed to keep it alive for the last three months as well, so I consider that an accomplishment. I’ve made an absolute array of different breads, some with roasted garlic throughout it, others with onion - to stop my onion hating partner from eating it.

While technically this isn’t really brioche (missing the all too important eggs component), it still has that same rich taste, the same texture that almost melts in your mouth. I’ve experimented with some different add ins to create a brioche bread before, and have found that adding in a ton of butter (well, your plant based alternative to butter) and your choice of milk, can replicate the fat elements that is needed to create a rich brioche. This was my first experiment in adding it into a sourdough starter however, and it was so very successful.

I was maybe expecting a tad funnier read from Caging Skies, considering I knew it had inspired the recent film Jojo Rabbit. I probably shouldn’t have been all that surprised to read a particularly sad coming of age tale. Despite not containing the comedic elements i was expecting, it was still a great read. Overall quite sad and poignant but good. There are a lot of books commonly mentioned when talking about WW2 literature, interestingly Caging Skies never seems to come up.

Fruit and Nut Brioche
Makes one loaf - or can be done in little buns if preferred
Ingredients
150g sourdough starter OR 2 tsp instant yeast
450g strong bread flour + extra
2 tsp sugar
1 cup milk, lukewarm
4 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
150g dried fruit, your choice, roughly chopped
50g buts, your choice, roughly chopped
1 tbsp milk + 1 tsp maple syrup, mixed for glaze

1. If you’re using the instant yeast, combine that, the sugar, and the warm milk together in a bowl and leave to sit for five minutes or until the yeast becomes frothy. If you’re using a sourdough starter you can skip this step and just continue from the next.

2. Add in the flour, oil and salt to the yeast mixture (if using the sourdough starter, add in the milk and the sugar as well at this point). Mix until it begins to form a dough.

3. Lightly flour a surface and pull your dough out onto it. As you begin to knead it, you want to mix in the butter. Do this as you are kneading the dough, pulling it towards yourself and incorporating the butter in. It will probably get a bit slippery during this from the butter, you can dust your hands with flour to make the process easier. Knead the dough for about ten minutes, it should be elastic like and soft when done.

4. Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough inside, covering with a damp tea towel. Place in to a warm area and leave to rise. If you’re using instant yeast, it should only take an hour or two to double in size. If you’re using the sourdough starter, you’ll want to leave it overnight to really get the flavour amplified.

5. Once your dough has doubled in size, pull it out again onto a lightly floured surface, pressing the air out. Press the dough down and scatter your chopped dried fruit and nuts on top, working it into the dough until they are well distributed. Shape the dough however you like, place it into a loaf tin if you want, and cover again. Leave for another hour.

6. When you have a half hour remaining on the last rise, preheat the oven to 180C.

7. When the dough has finished its second rise, glaze the top with the milk and maple syrup mix, placing into the oven. Bake for approximately 35 - 40 minutes. Checking on it regularly. When the bottom sounds hollow when tapped it is ready.

8. Leave to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. Absolutely splendid toasted, served with cinnamon butter.

Scones | Rebecca

Those dripping crumpets, I can see them now. Tiny crisp wedges of toast, and piping hot, floury scones. Sandwiches of unknown nature, mysteriously flavoured and quite delectable, and that very special gingerbread.
Rebecca
Daphne du Maurier

I have faint memories of picking Rebecca up from the school library shelves when I was in high school - I was quite an ambitious reader at the time, trying to work my way through such classics as Moby Dick (inspired by part from my love of Gilmore Girls I'm pretty sure, I would write down whatever book it was that Rory happened to be reading in an episode). I do faintly remember enjoying Rebecca, but if someone had asked me what the plot of it was in years since then I would have struggled to name anything outside of - dead wife, big house...mean lady? Like many I'm sure, I picked up the book again with the recent release of the Netflix trailer of the adaptation of the story.

I'd forgotten, I think, just how haunting the tale was. The words seem to bring about any memory of feeling like an outsider, and alone - keeping the reader in a state an anxiety almost the entire way through. I finished it only recently, fighting sleep and hurriedly devouring the last few pages before closing them - no one I know has read it recently, but I have the overpowering urge and need to discuss it with someone, to admire the characters and make noises about the wicked Mrs Danvers.

I've made crumpets already, and ginger bread. I haven't however yet tried my hand at scones. Being Australian, the classic British scone is something I've grown up with. A common delicacy at most school bake sales or afternoons at Nanna's, usually served with jam and cream. The recipe is quite simple - the biggest mistake will leave you with flat scones, but honestly, cover them with butter and jam and it will still be incredible tasty anyway.

Scones
Makes approx. 10 - 12
Ingredients
400g self raising flour
100g butter
100g raw caster sugar
1tsp baking powder
185ml milk
1tsp maple syrup
1 tbsp milk
Salt

1. Preheat oven at 220C. Combine the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a owl. Add in the butter and rub in with your finger tips until it resembles wet sand. Add in the raw caster sugar.

2. Pour the milk over the top of the butter and flour mixture, combining until it comes together into a ball of dough - try not to knead it too much during this time otherwise they will not rise properly.

3. You can split the dough into two parts or keep it as one for this next stage. Press the dough down onto a lightly floured surface, using your hand to press it down till it is only around 3cm thick.

4. Prepare a baking tray with baking paper. Press a scone cutter, or the rim of a glass (Whatever you're using to cut your cones out) into flour and press down hard into the dough, pulling out the prepared scone onto the baking tray. Repeat the process with the remaining dough, bringing the scraps together until you run out of dough.

5. Combine the 1 tbsp milk and maple syrup, using a pastry brush glaze the tops of the raw scones with the mixture before placing them into the oven. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until the tops are golden. Enjoy hot, with butter and jam and of, course, tea!