Yesterday was what a rainy weekend afternoon should be made of: the LSC and I catching Inglorious Basterds at a Maison Du Cinema matinee, really excellent beers at Siboire (which has become, unofficially, my most favorite place to drink in Sherbrooke) and then homemade BBQ chicken pizza at home. Despite the onset of a headache for the hubby—something he has attributed to lack of sufficient caffeine—it was a great day. Would that all weekends were as easygoing.

One of my favorite very-very-bad-for-you treats when I was a kid were those cinnamon rolls (or even better, the orange ones) from Pillsbury. My mom, while an ace pancake maker, and my dad, Jack, an accomplished omelette cook, were not of the baking-sweet-rolls-from-scratch school. Of course, I didn’t know nor care at the time, because frankly, I was too preoccupied with stuffing my mouth with cinnamon rolls.

You can’t blame me for having understood that cinnamon rolls come from tubes or from brightly colored kiosks in malls. When you’re trying to raise two girls and make ends meet, then I think it’s pretty easy to let my folks off the hook. And now that I am a grown-up, I can totally stop making tube rolls and make real ones. Of course, that means making something like bread dough…which I haven’t been entirely successful at.

The final say from my husband can’t really be said because he had a happy mouth full of cinnamon roll at the time. I can say for myself that I think these turned out okay, but the dough did not proof anywhere near as much as it should have. I probably should’ve checked on the liveliness of my yeast or had a paddle attachment or something because I did everything by hand. They were quite edible—and slathered in cream cheese icing, how could they not be?—but not the bounciness and tenderness I come to expect from cinnamon rolls.

A word to the wise: these suckers take a long time to make. Two hours of proofing, plus 45 minutes for the second proof. I started these around 7:30 am and we didn’t get to tuck into them until close to 11.

The goods (i.e., the recipe) come from the combined awesomeness of Smitten Kitchen and Orangette. Oh, yeast-based doughs, how I will conquer you one day!

Cinnamon Swirl Buns with Cream Cheese Glaze
Adapted from Molly Wizenberg’s recipe in Bon Appetit, March 2008

Dough
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise or instant yeast (from 1 envelope yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch of salt

Glaze
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For dough: Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, about 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add additional 2 1/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. (You may also use a KitchenAid’s dough hook for this process.) Form into ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

For filling: Mix brown sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt in medium bowl.

Press down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15×11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture evenly over butter. Starting at the longer side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, trim ends straight if they are uneven (we baked them in a ramekin, incapable of discarding such deliciousness) cut remaining dough crosswise with thin sharp knife (a good serrated worked well here) into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes (an 8-inch square metal pan worked just fine, too) with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes, though yours, like mine, may take longer. Don’t skimp on the double-rising time.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

For glaze: Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: These buns were best the day they were baked. The second day, they were on the tough side. If you anticipate wanting them over a few days, glaze them to order, heating the buns beforehand to soften them up.