What's Cooking? Soft and Sticky Caramel Pecan Rolls

This week is an ode to my mother. She is retiring from the city of Sioux Falls this month and requested

that I make some Caramel Rolls. I thought I would share with you what I contributed to her retirement

party and these rolls pair nicely with some hobo chili from last year.

Soft and Sticky Caramel Pecan Rolls

Yields 12 caramel rolls

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 1 cup whole milk, warm
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 5 tablespoons granulated cane sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, very soft (Leave it out overnight)

For the sauce:

• 3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) salted butter
• 1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:

• 8 oz pieces of pecan (getting the broken ones should be cheaper
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• dash nutmeg, optional

Instructions

1. Make the sweet dough: Take the milk from the sweet dough, warm the milk to 105-110 degrees.
2. You can either do this in the microwave in 20 second burst or on the stove over low heat in a heavy bottom pan. If it gets over 110 degrees, stick it in the fridge for a second and cool it back down. Be careful not to curdle the milk.
3. Add the yeast and sugar, stir. Wait 5 minutes and check to make sure your yeast is getting bubbly. If it is not it is dead as the leatherneck’s offense was last week. Probably should start over and try again. Better to do this at step two than step 14. Key things to figure out, 
1. is your yeast still good?
2. Was the milk the correct temp?
4. While the yeast is resting take your flour and salt and add it to a large mixing bowl or stand mixer.
5. If your yeast is alive like the Jacks Defense, add two eggs to the measuring cup and whisk it all together until smooth
6. Combine all the joy from above into your mixer now. On low, mix for 30 seconds, scrape the sides, and mix again.
7. Run the mixer on low, add 1 tablespoon of butter every minute until all is incorporated
8. Mix for 5 more minutes on medium. We are looking for a shiny, silky, dough, but it has not cleaned the sides of the bowl yet. Should look very wet, and not something able to be worked.
9. Grease a large bowl with oil, make sure it is covered well.
10. Get your dough into the bowl, and then into the cooler for 2 hours. These two hours are when the dough comes alive like Mark Gronowski will be this weekend, calling it now 5 TD’s and 400 yards.  Ok, maybe I stick to the food. The process of chilling is not an option, do it or your stuff will flop.

While you wait:

1. Sauce time, over medium heat mixes the butter and the brown sugar together. Once it is incorporated, should look like a slushy slurry type snow.
2. Turn off the heat. You can add everything else under Sauce. Then allow it to rest and cool to room temperature.
3. Make the roll filling: Check your pecans are they pre roasted you can skip steps 12 and 13 then. Otherwise, oven on 350, spread the pecan pieces out in a single layer on a tray.
4. Stick them in the oven for 2 minutes, stir, 2 more minutes, stir, 2 more minutes and they should be done when fragrant. Keep a close eye on them at 6 minutes 45 seconds and beyond they can burn so we need to get them out sooner than later. Stick them someplace to cool, room temp is what we need. To speed this along get a cold tray to dump them onto.

Now in a bowl mix together the sugars and cinnamon. Then do your best spike of cinnamon. You take a pinch between your fingers and spike that into your bowl. It will not improve the quality of the dish but will hopefully make you smile. Then add about half the cooled nuts. The other half we will talk about in just a few steps.  This step involves one of 4 options pick whichever works for you:

1. Buy a proof box and turn on the proof box.
2. Place an oven safe dish in the bottom rack of oven, with another rack on top. Add about 1 cup  of water. Turn the oven on for 8 minutes. Then shut it off.
3. You are just going to proof your rolls for two hours at room temperature.
4. Option 4) Buy a combi oven and let it do both the proofing and baking for you.

Let us get our rolls assembled and ready to jump over the line like they will do when they block a kick this weekend. 

1. Add the sauce to the bottom of 9x13 baking pan, add the sauce, it might look like a lot. You’re welcome, but seriously, it is fine. Make sure it coats the entire pan, sides, and all. Once it is coated, add the reserved pecans.
2. Roll the dough like Caden Johnson’s been rolling up the other Teams QB’s.: Prepare an area counter, and dust with a good amount of flour.
3. Wash your hands again, then knead the chilled dough on this work surface. Probably will take four or five passes. Then press it into a rectangle shape about 12 by 16. We are looking for a ¼ inch thickness. Put your ruler away, it does not need to be perfect.
4. Put the premixed filling on the dough evenly across the entire rectangle of dough.
5. Roll the dough up, I have large hands, so you might need a friend. We want it tight, but not trying to push down on the dough to hard. Once rolled use your fingers and seal the roll.
6. Use a serrated knife that is extra sharp, cut the dough into 12 pieces. Probably around 1.5-inch slices. Remember to use a sawing motion to prevent pinching the dough. Then into your pan with the joyous sauce in it.
7. Now, spray the living out of some plastic wrap with pam. Then place in your desired method from step 15. Please note that your oven should not be on when the rolls go into it. We are hoping for 200 degrees and steam filled space. I would also recommend adding some boiling water to the pan that is in your oven before you set your rolls in it.
8. Once the rolls look puffier than the stay puff marshmallow man, after about 35 minutes pull them out. This is where blind faith in me is important. Because, if you open your oven door to soon. All your steam will be lost.
9. Once you have removed your rolls from the oven. You can also remove your water container. Then turn your oven on to 350 degrees F. I hope your oven is as slow as mine, probably takes 5 to 10 minutes to warm up. That is fine.
10. The rolls should be doubled in size now, bake them at 350 for 22 minutes and 45 seconds. Then place a loose piece of tin foil on them and finish baking another 15 minutes, and then temp to 190.
11. Pull out of the oven at 190 and let rest for 20 to thirty minutes. Then figure out how you are going to turn over the rolls. I get by here with a little help from my friends. We flip the entire pan over and serve these bad boys upside down on a service platter of some kind.
12. These will store for two days but are best served shortly after finished cooking.

Go Jacks and Block that Kick!

Tim

*Tim is an instructor at the Culinary Academy of South Dakota and proud Jackrabbit alum.