Cinnamon Roll Brioche

Oh. My. Word.

 

Up until three days ago I had never dreamed of making brioche. I had never even eaten it before. The thought of making it had not once crossed my mind. But then I saw this and all of that changed. (Even though my shoes and a not very pretty pipe are in the background, the photo above is still one of my favorites.)

 

 

This is (well, I should say was) delicious. If you think cinnamon rolls are good, this is even better!

 

I think I cut the rolls a little on the gigantic side and next time I'll cut them a little bit smaller. It was still really good though!

 

 

Canned, store cinnamon rolls are actually (and I am ashamed to admit this) good. Although fresh homemade rolls are delicious, the store ones have a little crust on the outside and a certain amazingly yummy taste that homemade ones don't seem to have. 

 

 

You might say that's because the store cinnamon rolls contain preservatives and harmful chemicals etc... that make such delightful tastes. This Cinnamon Roll Brioche has none of the those and possesses all of those delicious, store cinnamon roll tastes. The little crust on the outside, the creamy, vanilla-y icing, the amazingly yummy taste that only the store rolls seemed to have. This has all of those and tastes even better!

 

 

It is super-duper, incredibly easy to make and is super-duper, incredibly delicious too!

 

 

Recipe:

Makes one large loaf

 

Dough:

1/4c. warm water

1 Tbsp. yeast

5 Tbsp. sugar

1/2c. warm whole milk

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

12 Tbsp. melted butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

4-5c. flour

Filling:

2 Tbsp. cinnamon

8 Tbsp. melted butter

1/2c brown sugar

Icing:

4 Tbsp. melted butter

2 Tbsp. heavy cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2-3c. powdered sugar

1. Combine warm water, yeast and sugar in a large mixer bowl and mix on low speed until incorporated. Allow the mixture to sit about 3 minutes or until poofy.
2. Add the warm milk, salt, eggs and melted butter and mix until combined. Gradually mix in the flour until the dough comes together. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Kneed into a smooth ball. Grease a large bowl and add the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit 1-2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
3. To make the filling. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt to a bowl and mix well.
4. Lightly dust a surface with flour. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough down and roll the dough into a rectangle (about 9x24 inches). Spread about the butter evenly over the dough. Spread the brown sugar + cinnamon evenly over the butter and lightly push the brown sugar into the butter. Starting with the long edge closest to you, pull the edge up and over the filling and carefully roll the dough into a log, keeping it fairly tight as you go. When you reach the edge, pinch along the edge to seal.
5. Preheat the oven to 350F.
6. Place the log seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With a pair of sharp kitchen scissors cut diagonal slices almost to the bottom of the log. Arrange the cut sections so that they lean to alternating sides. Use your hand to gently push the dough together to help compress the log better. Alternately, you can bake the bread in two 9x5x3 bread pans to make two bread loafs. Cut and shape the dough as directed and then use your hands to push the dough together to almost the size of you bread pan. The dough will zigzag slightly. Using the parchment paper, lift the dough up and into the bread pan. Cover the dough and let it rise until doubled in size.
7. Bake the bread log for 30-35 minutes (the bread in the loaf pan needs about 40-45 minutes).
8. To make the icing mix the butter, sugar, vanilla, and cream together. If the icing is too thick add more cream and if it is too thin you can add a little more powdered sugar. :)

 

~Adapted from Half Baked Harvest