Pretzel Cinnamon Rolls

I'm a sucker for cinnamon buns. But each time I make them they're never Pinterest perfect. I guess with a little practice I could master them, so on the weekend I was feeling a little adventurous and got some dough proving.

I always find that it takes much longer for my dough to double up on first prove than recipes suggest. My flat is warm so I don't know what I'm doing wrong? If you've got any bun tips then help a girl out!

I first spotted these on Pinterest and couldn't wait to try them out. A combination of my two loves, salty pretzels and sweet sticky cinnamon buns. 

Think of those pillowy soft cinnamon coated pretzels you get in shopping centres but swirled into a bun. Instead of quickly boiling the buns like you would with pretzels to give that chewy outside, these are brushed with a bicarbonate of soda solution to do the very same thing. Sprinkled with salt these will turn pretty dark once baked but I promise they'll be squidgey cinnamon pillows on the inside.

P R E T Z E L   C I N N A M O N   R O L L S
(Recipe adapted from The Kitchn, makes 12 rolls)

450g plain flour, plus more for kneading

7g dried packet yeast

4tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 large egg

100g dark brown sugar

3tbsp ground cinnamon

75g unsalted butter, softened

1tbsp bicarbonate of soda

salt for sprinkling 

• Add the flour, yeast, sugar and salt to a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the egg and 175ml of warm water. Mix together with your hands to form a sticky lump and tip onto a floured surface. Knead for about 10 minutes until you have a smooth, slightly sticky ball.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for about 1 hour in a warm place.
• Lightly grease a large ovenproof dish or tray.
• Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, tip out onto a floured surface and roll out to a 20 x 12 inch rectangle. 
• Spread the butter over the dough, reaching all the edges. Sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar.
• Tightly roll the dough into a log starting with the short edge. Cut evenlt into 12 pieces, each an inch thick. Arrange onto the oven dish, leaving space between each roll. Loosely cover with some greased cling film and leave to rise once again in a warm place for about 30 minutes,
• Heat the oven to 180 degrees. 
• Mix the bicarbonate of soda with 3tbsp of hot water and use a pastry brush to brush over the tops of each of the rolls. Immediately sprinkle with salt and bake for 35 minutes, until risen and darkly golden.

These rolls are best eaten on the day, but if by rare chance you've some left, gently warm them and you're good to go.

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Balthazar Boulangerie, Russel St.

Balthazar's Russel Street window display.

       Late last year a friend and I flew out to New York with a list of sight seeing to fill 7 days. By sight seeing I mean Sprinkle's cupcake ATM, Dylan's Candy Bar, Bosie Tea Parlour.....get the gist? At the top of this list was Balthazar's Boulangerie. I'd heard great things about their macarons and was so excited to finally try them out for myself.

     Unfortunately, Hurricane Sandy hit during our first few days in the City and those 7 days were the most surreal I've ever encountered. Our days were spent walking around for hours on end in the wind and rain observing the aftermath. I would feel bad if I said Hurricane Sandy ruined our holiday, so many lost their lives, homes and were subjected to complete devastation, we were fortunate enough to have been staying within the evacuation zone and were completely safe the whole time.

     As you can imagine, when I first heard that Balthazar was to open in London I was excited that I'd finally be able to get my sweet tooth around one of their macarons. And that's exactly what I did today. So thank you Mr. McNally for sending your sweet treats across the Atlantic for us to enjoy, you did not disappoint!

Balthazar's Russel Street bread and lunch selection.

     Unlike all the rumours I've heard, I didn't have to queue and was served immediately by a very helpful member of staff. Two different breads were recommended to me; a rosemary salted focaccia and a potato-onion roll. 

Potato-Onion Roll.

Rosemary Focaccia. 

     Both entirely different but equally as good. I tried a small hunk of each, before photographing and can safely say that the focaccia with a little bit of balsamic oil is the perfect flavour combination. The roll has a hint of caramelised onions and baked potato but however good it tastes, I'm not sure what to eat with it. Any suggestions?

     And finally on to my favourite part...the macaron. I would like to think of myself as a macaron connoisseur (I did take three trips to Paris in 2012 alone) so what I am about to say is based on my professional macaron munching opinion:

      This is the best macaron you will ever eat. I challenge anyone to prove otherwise!

     Similar to Pierre Hermé's Ispahan, this macaron au framboise sandwiches fresh lemon cream with white chocolate, fresh raspberries and a secret raspberry centre. Heavenly.

  
     The Restaurant and Boulangerie can be found peeping out of Russel Street on the corner of Wellington Street. I just hope that the wholesale boulangerie in Waterloo arches is open to the public soon, then I can stop by on my route to work.

And here's some pictures from NYC!