JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING

I thought I would make up a batch of the Coolrise dough today, to make cinnamon rolls. I put the stick of butter and 2 eggs out on the counter, to come to room temperature. I got out the Kitchen Aide mixer and put that on the counter, along with sugar and flour and dry yeast. Then I went off to do some other things until the eggs and butter came to room temperature.

Later, I put together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar and mixed it together in the mixer bowl. Then I added the softened butter and hot water- before realizing that the mixer wasn’t plugged in. So I quickly plugged it in—and flour/water/yeast mixture splattered all over me, the counter, the coffee cups hanging on the cupboards—the on/off switch was turned to medium speed(I have no idea how that happened). I turned it off and surveyed the damage. How much yeast did I lose? I couldn’t be sure – but I had to change my clothing which was covered with splatter. I turned the mixer on low and then, for good measure, mixed some dry yeast with warm water…and added it a little at a time to the dough in the bowl, to make up for what I lost. I continued adding flour, until I reached 5 cups and it looked pretty thick, so I switched to the dough hook and turned the mixer on for 10 minutes of kneading…while that was going on, I tried to clean up some of the splatter (on the floor, me, the kitchen cupboards.)

Finally the timer went off so I removed the bowl and put it on top of the stove and covered it with a towel. Then I returned to cleaning up splatter. That’s when I noticed…the two eggs on the kitchen counter. I had forgotten to add the eggs. So, I put the dough back on the mixer—and put the two eggs in with the dough…this was with a wish and a prayer—I turned it on and it blended but now looked too wet – so I added the 6th cup of flour (which the recipe calls for anyway) – I mixed it for a few minutes and then put the bowl of dough back on top of the stove (the warmest spot in my kitchen & two fluorescent lights over the stove help keep it warm) – now the dough had to rest for 20 minutes so I used this time to clean up everything, including myself.

The dough rose like it’s supposed to – so after 20 minutes I divided it into two balls at which time I noticed..some little bits of green in the dough. (*I keep bay leaves in my flour, cornmeal, any kind of grain. This is a trick I learned from my mother. You will never get bugs or weevils in your flour if you keep a bay leaf in it). Well, you aren’t supposed to add the bay leaf to whatever you are making—somehow some got into the measuring cup). I managed to extract 4 or 5 bits of bay leaf. Told Bob – it won’t hurt, just remove any bay leaf bits you may find in your cinnamon roll. Well, I went on to roll out the dough and was almost finished when I realized I left out raisins. So I unrolled the second roll and added some raisins. How many years have I been making these cinnamon rolls?

Bob says watch, they will turn out to be the best you’ve ever made. I said if they are – I’ll never have that recipe again.

Ps while typing this, I burned a pot of potatoes. Yikes! (Maybe I need a vacation!)

Happy Cooking and cookbook collecting!

PPS – wrote this yesterday; baked the cinnamon rolls today and they were just fine.

February, 2011