Whole Wheat and Spelt Cinnamon Rolls {five ways}

Weather - we're confronted with it daily, the good and the "bad" (to be true, there's absolutely no bad weather for me, just the wrong clothing), the awakening, warm sunshine or the cold and i'd-rather-stay-in-bed-all-day-long kind of rain storm. A lot of the last one has been going on 'round here lately and to be true I can only dream of all the perfect snow storm situations that keep flooding instagram lately - want this right now, so don't hesitate to send some over soon ;-).

When the storm's all like: "I am going to make her feel like she's walking on a treadmill" and the rain wants to have it's part too by drenching you in water (not even stopped by a rain jacket or rubber boots...) it is fun as long as your outside, but wants back home some true comfort food is what I crave. And baking might be a really good way to get me right that - if I only would've time for it...

Why not you ask? To sum it up in one word: studying. Whose idea was it that if you'd like to finish school with good grades you have to analyse texts like a genius, solve maths problems like its no one's business, be able to educate your conversational partner about the past 200 years of history without any gaps and last but not least have to understand the whole damn neurobiology that's going on indide of your body 24/7? I'm not even talking about the remaining subjects here... So if anyone knows the one responsible for all this I'd like to have a his/her phone number for a detailed conversation 'bout it, okay?




So instead of spending hours covered in flour, sugar and butter or tomato sauce and herbs I'm drowning in excercise books, booklets, school books and a whole lot of yet uncategorized sheets of papers - all inheriting the material and themes I magically need to know perfectly by April. Stress? Ah, absolutely not! (Caution: irony might be included...)



The only chance to have a little date with my beloved kitchen is on the weekends. The rain and storm are still giving their best outside, lashing against the windows and whistling around every corner and what's better then some fresh, warm and buttery Cinnamon Rolls on such a Sunday morning spend in your Pjs? Nothing beats the cinnamon!

The old classic of brown sugar, butter and the above named spice nestled in some yeasted dough is a total synphony on it's own already, but to take it to a whole new level ('cause who am I kidding, a recipe without a special twist is pretty rare 'round here) I've chosen a mixture of spelt and whole wheat flour for the dough part and included four different ways to spice up the good ol' rolls: choose the one you like, stay true to the plain classic or invent your own variation - either way your family will sure be pleased to wake up to some fresh baked cinnamon rolls on sunday morning or any other day of the week!

Yaa, you've got it right: this is an overnight recipe - prepare everything the night before, give it a good overnight rest in the refrigerator and after a short rise in the morning you've got your puffy-fluffy fresh rolls delivered fresh out of your oven :) (and hey, no worries if it's already sunday morning, skip the overnight rise, do a two hour countertop one instead and prepare these for coffee time!). Now, off to the kitchen, you won't regret it! :-)



Whole Wheat and Spelt Cinnamon Rolls (the plain recipe - for adaptions see below!)
- makes 12 regular sized or about 30 small rolls
For the dough:
- 450g flour: I used 300g Spelt and 150g Whole Wheat
- 3 Tbsp ground flaxseed
- 2 eggs, seperated
- 100 ml water
- 130g yogurt
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 packet instant dry yeast
- 50g sugar
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 5 Tbsp water

For the filling:
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 3 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 50g brown sugar
- 1 pinch salt

Greek yogurt frosting:
-100g greek yogurt
-1 Tbsp honey

1. Activate the yeast: heat water until warm to the touch, mix in the yogurt, add in the sugar, mix in the yeast and let sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy.
2. Mix together the flour, flaxseed, one whole egg and one egg white, butter and salt. Set the remaining egg yolk aside (if doing the overnight method, place it in the refrigerator). Add in the yeast mixture and knead for 10-15min until a smooth dough forms. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let sit for 1,5-2 hours or until doubled in size.
3. Prepare the filling: melt the butter, then add in the cinnamon, the salt and the sugar. Stir in the optional add-ins.
4. Knead the dough once more, then roll it out into a rectangle. You want to achieve a thin dough sheet here, so you can almost look through it - so try to go on until it is maximum 5mm thick. Spread the filling on top and gently start to roll it up. Cut the dough roll into smaller portions about 2-3 cm thick and place in pans lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic foil and leave in the refrigerator to rise overnight or let sit at room temperature for further 30-50 minutes until respectably risen in size.
5. Next morning (skip if doing the direct method): take your cinnamon rolls out of the refrigerator and let them sit on the countertop for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat your oven to 175°C/340°F. Now mix the remaining egg yolk with 5 Tbsp tap water and brush on top of the rolls. Bake for 20-30 minutes until they sound hollow when tapped. Take out and let cool on the countertop for 10 minutes. Meanwhile mix together the greek yogurt with the honey or prepare your glaze of choice and drizzle or spread atop the warm buns. Serve and enjoy!

The adaptions
(note: the given ingredients apply to the whole dough recipe above. If you want to make all of the adaptions with one basic dough recipe, then quadruple the basic one or decrease the ingredients of the adaptions!)



1. The cherry bomb
- a lovely marriage of some soft, fruity cherries with the spicy touch of the cinnamon
Simply sprinkle 100g of cherries (fresh or canned) on top of the spread filling mixture before you roll the dough up.



2. The breakfaster
- a wake me up roll: fruity accents of apples, raisins and pears pared with a chewy sprinkle of steel cut oats, start your morning right!
Cut up half an apple and half a pear in small chunks and sprinkle them on top of the filling mixture before the rolling part together with 1 Tbsp steel cut oats and 2 Tbsp raisins.



3. The childhood classic
- cinnamon rolls with raisins, the usual "can I have one mummy" when stopping at a bakery in younger years.
Add 3 Tbsp of raisins to the filling mixture.



4. The sophisticated nut
A mixture of finest nuts adds in some crunch and special feeling to the plain rolls.
Sprinkle 4 Tbsp of chopped nuts of your liking on top of the filling before rolling the dough up (I used almonds, hazelnuts and pine nuts).