There are people who eat to live and then there is me. I live to eat. Especially carbs. Admittedly, cake is my favorite food, and it doesn’t take much persuasion to convince me to put on an apron and start kneading dough for bread. One of my favorite smells is that of freshly brewed coffee mingling with sweet dough and the enticing aroma of cinnamon. Unfortunately, that delightful scent is the product of getting up super early in the morning to form and rise and bake cinnamon rolls. Sometimes the effort is too much. Until now.
A few months ago, I was curious to see if anyone had a successful recipe for quick cinnamon rolls, so I jumped on Pinterest. So often yeast recipes that promise to be quick end up as dense subpar versions of the original. However, this recipe looked promising, so I looked to see what the ingredients were. What I found was a recipe that was very similar to my own cinnamon roll recipe. The major difference was the amount of yeast used and the method to rise and bake the rolls.
Basically, the amount of yeast is doubled in the recipe. However, I think it is the way the rolls rise that really creates a fluffy, amazing roll in half the time. Instead of mixing the dough and letting it rise until doubled, the dough only rests for 5 – 10 minutes and then is formed into rolls. The formed rolls are placed in a preheated oven, which is turned off beforehand, and they quickly rise. To bake, the rolls stay in the oven and the temperature is turned up to bake them.
I applied this technique to my own cinnamon roll recipe and was impressed how well they turned out. This got me thinking about the rest of my yeast recipes. Could this technique be used on loaf breads, pizza dough, and dinner rolls? After testing it on several recipes I can confidently say that it is successful. It is not quite as good as the original recipes. After all, there is no replacement for letting yeast slowly rise and work its magic. However, the results were still very good. (My family is very happy with the quick version.)
Now I know that time doesn’t have to be a limitation when I want to make yeast breads and rolls. I can have dinner rolls on the table with only an hour advance. And the heavenly scent of cinnamon and coffee fills my kitchen more often because I don’t have to get out of bed nearly as early!
Yeast Recipes in Half the Time
Ingredients:
Follow any yeast recipe for rolls, bread, pastries, or pizza dough.
Double the amount of yeast added. For example: if the recipe calls for one packet (2 ¼ tsp.) of yeast, add 2 packets (4 ½ tsp.) instead.
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Mix the dough and let it rest, covered for 5-10 minutes.
On a floured pastry board, form the dough into your desired shape. Place the breads/rolls into the appropriate pan and place in a preheated oven. Make sure the oven is turned off before you add the bread/rolls. We want to quickly rise the bread/rolls, not bake them.
Allow the bread/rolls to rise in the warm oven for 20 minutes, or until they look puffy. Bread may take a few minutes longer than rolls.
Keeping the oven door closed, turn the oven temperature on to the baking temperature of your recipe. Most breads/rolls are baked between 375-400 degrees, but follow the directions for your recipe. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Again, bread may take longer to bake, so check often after 15 minutes.
Enjoy the success of baking delicious treats in half the time!
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