Overnight Cinnamon Rolls and Welcome Remy

I know, it’s Christmas Eve and I’m just now posting this. Forgive me. This recipe is worth the wait - and hopefully you have some time after Christmas to make it - because they’re pretty stinking amaze. Read on. xoJust a minute ago I got a q-tip to clean underneath my eyes - thinking I was going to wipe away left over mascara, I realized after glancing at a clean q-tip that there was no left over mascara at all, it’s simply how dark the circles under my eyes are at the moment.When I first started creating this post (seriously months ago - straight face emoji) I was pregnant with my little baby girl and still deciding on a name / still wondering what giving birth for the second time / being a mother of two would be like / still trying to get everything done before her arrival.Now she’s here and she has a name and it all feels like the perfect way to welcome Christmas and the New Year.Exhausting. Overwhelming. But perfect.Our Remy. She came quickly just a few days before her due date and just hours before my birthday.Labor was intense and fast and totally unexpected. I was induced with my son so the fact that labor came on naturally was a surprise. I tried to breathe through contractions as my husband drove me to the hospital. Just like they do in the movies.When we first arrived I was only dilated to a 3 so they made me roam the hallways until I progressed. They kind of thought it would take a few hours.It didn’t.Girl talk / mama birth talk: I went from a 4 to a 9 in a matter of 20 minutes and I’m pretty sure the whole labor and delivery floor knew it. A few nurses rushed in as I progressed I was told (in between lighting bolt contractions) that the anesthesiologist on our floor was tied up so they couldn’t give me an epidural yet.YOU’RE JOKING.They weren’t joking.That news made me think: “This is how woman died giving birth, the pain was just too much.”As I was rushed to a new room a new life-saving nurse ran to a another floor to grab a different anesthesiologist - saying “Doctor, I need you, NOW.” It only took 3 more eternal gut-ripping contractions before the epidural was given. He was fast. I’d never in my life been more grateful for the professional kind humans surrounding me and modern medicine. And I’m sure they were just as grateful to hear me quiet.As I was heavily comfortable with my last minute epidural I was talking to my two nurses about names. Baby girl was just about to arrive we all knew it. They called the doctor in.I told them my top 5 names - Remy being one of them and both of them exclaimed without prompt - Oh I LOVE that name.I totally beamed. But then I said - "But it doesn’t mean anything special. Like it’s a French boy name that means "From Reams" - which I’m assuming is a city in France or "ore", like, an ore that you row with."Bailey, my nurse was like, "So. I have no idea what my name means, I don’t know if that matters much. You’ll know when you see her."Funny how God places certain people in our lives at certain moments with the exact words we need to hear.When she was born she was perfectly quiet - like, didn’t cry at all. It actually worried me a little bit but she was just the most peaceful, beautiful little babe just resting there on my chest. That moment when it’s your naked skin against your fresh baby’s skin is one of my most favorite moments in life.Because when I have a babe in my tummy I’m often too distracted by life and discomfort to truly appreciate the fact that there is a tiny little growing human in there.But when they’re born and they’re right there - so raw and trusting like that - well, I just feel completely overwhelmed with love and responsibility. It’s like the whole world and all it’s crazy is put on pause, just for you two.After she was weighed, measured and wrapped like a burrito, John and I kept going over our top 5 favorite names. Claire was one of them - but then John said as he was holding our daughter “I actually don’t LOVE the name Claire” And I was like “Oh I love it still, but it’s not her name... that’s not who she is... I paused looking at her again. “I think she’s Remy.” John held her close and as if she could answer asked,“Are you our Remy?”Still hesitant to commit to the name because of the whole meaning thing - I had another nurse come in to help me hours later and she asked what our baby girl’s name was.“Still deciding,” I said, “But we’re leaning towards Remy.”The nurse said, “Oh! I know a Remy, and she is sooooo beautiful.” She looked at our little girl. “You’re beautiful.”Then my sister and mom were exchanging texts - my sister (who lives in Hawaii) asking if I had a name yet - when my mom said we were leaning towards Remy my sister said, “Yes, that’s her name!” My mom said she felt the same way and intuitively I knew it too.When you give a child a name that doesn’t have a super powerful meaning I’d like to think of it as giving them a blank canvas - it’s there’s now you know? I know she’ll turn the name into something extraordinary.So here she is. Someone I feel I’ve known my whole life, (and been waiting for) - Our Remy.She is fresh and new and beautiful and like holding a shiny bright light bulb in baby human form and for some reason, makes us feel more like a real little family.My son Myles loves her - he loves saying her name (babeee seeedter REMY!) and loves holding her and saying “bless you baby seedster (sister)!” at all times, whether or not she sneezes.My heart is exploding with the love I have for my little people (and my husband) and after an incredibly difficult year, it all seems to melt away with this fresh little baby. Fresh new addition to the family, fresh new start, fresh new year.And I end here exhausted, with a quiet babe on my lap who now as a name. My little Remy.It really is a wonderful life. May we take a chance to appreciate what we have this Christmas, instead of what we lack. Happy Christmas friends. xo(This post was made in collaboration with Flourist).

overnight cinnamon rolls

I’ve talked about these rolls so much on instagram I’m afraid they wont live up to the hype. But. Here’s the thing about most cinnamon roll recipes I’ve tried (other than the brioche rolls on my site here from the lovely Zoe). Most are way too yeasty and call for way too much yeast - I suppose it’s due to our impatience - we want something to rise quickly so we pump a recipe full of yeast.

These are not yeasty.

So. Because I love a good bun, I’ve made these rolls quite a few times and come up with a pretty fool-proof method for you so you get a good rise, and don’t have to spend an unreasonable amount of time making dough (like kneading and such) but you still get the texture and bounce of yeast without them being overly yeasty. The trade off is - you have to let these cinnamon rolls rise overnight - preferably at room temperature. I’ve found that a slow, room temperature rise leads to a perfect cinnamon roll. (Amen). 

for the dough:

• ½ cup / 1 stick unsalted butter
• 2 cups whole milk ((warm, not hot about 110 - 115°F))
• ½ cup / 100g sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoons / 5g active dry yeast ((make sure it’s fresh!))
• 5 cups / 625g all purpose or freshly milled flour ((see bakers notes, I usually love a combination of flours here - ie: spelt flour + bread flour))
• 1 teaspoon baking powder ((make sure it's fresh!))
• 2 teaspoons / 12g sea salt ((1 teaspoon if using kosher salt))

for the filling:

• ¾ cup / 170g / 1 ½ sticks unsalted or salted butter (I love using salted butter for the filling, if you use unsalted, add a little extra pinch of salt (kosher or sea salt will do!) )
• 1 ½ cups / 330g light or dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1-2 pinches sea salt or kosher salt

for the frosting

• <a href="/brioche-cinnamon-rolls-tangy-cream-cheese-icing/#icing">tangy cream cheese icing</a> ((located on gooey brioche cinnamon roll post))

Tips on making a really good cinnamon roll: (Please read this first!)

1. In bread making there are usually two rises, the first rise and the second rise.

2. The first rise takes place when our dough is a big ball of love - this is the first chance the yeast gets a chance to work and make that dough ball double in size.

3. The second rise happens after our rolls have already been formed. Meaning we have our beautiful swirls in the pan and we’re just waiting for them to grow again.

4. In this recipe, 2nd rise is significantly shorter than the 1st rise. (a few hours vs. 8 hours)

5. I feel like knowing this right off the bat can really help you understand how to make a proper cinnamon roll.

A word about making ahead:

1. This dough can rise / be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days on it’s first rise (aka before they’re formed into rolls).

2. For me, I have found it best to let the dough rise overnight at room temperature, and then form the rolls and let them rise again (for their second rise) in the morning.

3. Frosting can be made up to 5 days ahead of time, kept refrigerated and tightly sealed. 

to make the rolls:

1. Butter and grease a large bowl or very very large plastic container with a lid and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together warm milk, melted butter and sugar.

3. Add yeast to milk mixture and let it sit for a few minutes and the stir together.

4. Add 4 cups / 500g flour and salt to the wet mixture, mixing all together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Mix it all together until just combined - dough should feel / look very wet.

5. Place dough in buttered bowl or large plastic container and let it rise overnight at room temperature. (Needs about 8 hours to rise)

   OR if you don’t plan on using this dough straight away the following morning, let the dough rise in the fridge for up to 3 days before use.

6. You’ll know the dough is ready when it has roughly doubled in size.

7. After dough has risen - and while the dough is still in it’s plastic bowl or container, add remaining 1 cup / 125g flour (weight of flour may vary depending on type of flour used) and 1 teaspoon baking powder.

8. Mix the flour + baking powder in with your hands and eventually turn out onto a floured surface. Knead lightly until flour and powder are incorporated. Should take about 2-3 minutes max.

9. Dough should be soft, and no longer really wet or sticky.

10. Using a rolling pin, roll dough out into a rectangle. (I never measure this part, But dough should be anywhere from ½ inch to 1 inch in thickness or somewhere in between. Don’t stress about this too much.)

11. Rolling the dough out always requires some light pulling and stretching with your hands + in addition to the use of the rolling pin. I actually find this bit the most frustrating as the dough is so elastic, it tends to jump right back into a smaller shape as soon as I roll it out. But just keep working with the dough, it may take you 5 minutes, but it will roll out and eventually form a rectangle. Don’t worry.

12. Spread on room temperature butter, then sprinkle the brown sugar and then cinnamon liberally all over the dough. (Make sure you spread them in that order: butter, sugar, cinnamon. bakers tip: I also find that blending the butter, sugar + cinnamon using an electric mixer works like a charm. Just blend them together until fluffy and combined - about 7-9 minutes.)

13. Roll dough up forming a spiral + log. I usually roll with the smallest part of the rectangle onward (see pics). If you’d like smaller rolls (and not huge rolls like I’ve made here), stop mid-roll and cut straight down the middle. (See pics for reference.)

    

14. Slice your spiral log with a very sharp knife or with some fine bakers twine or string (non-minty dental floss works well too).

15. Butter one 9 x 13” pan and one 8 x 8” pan and place rolls in pans. Keep in mind that they'll roughly double in size - so space accordingly. 

16. Cover roll-filled pans with a light cloth / paper towel and let the rolls rise a second time. Should take 1-2 hours or until rolls have doubled in size. (Try to keep the rolls in a some-what warm-warm-ish space for this second rise).

17. Bake rolls, one pan at a time at 350°F / 180°C for 18-25 minutes. Baking time depends on the size of your rolls - and how doughy you’d like them.

18. I usually bake mine until they’re nice and golden on top.

19. Spread frosting on 1 - 2 minutes after rolls come out of the oven to insure the frosting gets in all the nooks and crannies.

20. Enjoy warm! Cinnamon rolls are best eaten within 3 days of being baked. 

to make the frosting:

1. note: If you’d like a thinner frosting, add a few tablespoons of milk to thin it out. I like a thicker frosting, that melts into the warm roll, but I totally get the thin thing. ;) 

bakers notes: I used ½ Flourist red fife flour and ½ red spring wheat flour for the cinnamon rolls you see here. The flavor these fresh flours from Flourist gave were simply amazing. Nutty without the nuts, wholesome without being heavy. I’ve found that every time I’ve used a whole wheat flour for buns / rolls it’s left me wishing I didn’t (aka heavy and dense) - but not these flours. These flours are so fresh you may never go back to that flour you buy on a shelf again.

I realize I’m leaving you this recipe in no time to purchase these flours before Christmas, but don’t worry - these rolls are super amazing with all purpose flour too. I just strongly encourage you to try GRAIN flour with these sometime soon. xo