Easy Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

These easy whole wheat cinnamon rolls will always bring a smile. Scrumptious and good for you!

Who loves a warm, fresh from the oven,
homemade cinnamon roll?
Uh, everybody!

However, if you are trying to eat healthier who wants regular cinnamon rolls made from not-good-for-you ingredients. If made at home, most of the time they would be made with bleached white flour, bleached white sugar, bleached white salt. On that same note, if they are store-bought then they are loaded with those same ingredients along with hydrogenated trans fat bleached white shortening and many crazy chemicals. Either way, yuk!

So, what do you do?

I say, if you are going to eat a mouth water,
delicious, soft and fluffy cinnamon roll,
then let’s make it healthy!!!

It is possible, you know.

Come with me and I will show you how.

Healthy ingredients

See, there are totally healthy ingredients available. Did I just say “totally”? Yes, because it is possible to make cinnamon rolls with ingredients that are good for the body. Let’s talk about them briefly.

Starting with the flour

You can use true whole wheat flour that has been freshly milled and un-sifted. Freshly milled whole wheat grain contains so many vital nutrients; all of which are required by our bodies to be healthy.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Next, Extra Virgin Olive Oil is mostly oleic acid, which is a stable monounsaturated fat. EVOO is rich in vitamins E, K & A and antioxidants.

Sea salt

Let’s be clear, all salt is sea salt; all salt comes from the sea. But, it’s where and how it’s processed that is important. Salt is absolutely, absolutely required by the body. Hey, when you go to the emergency room to what is the first thing to you? Salty water, saline solution. The thing is, we need to consume salt that is whole and in its natural form with all its trace minerals, with nothing taken away and nothing added like anti-caking additives and bleach. My choice is Real Salt Sea Salt by Redmond Trading Company.

Flax seed

Is another beautiful addition to our diet. Flax seed helps provide those all-important omega-3’s. You know the essential fatty acids that our bodies can not make. It provides a plethora of benefits from lowering inflammation to providing lots of fiber.

Sugar

Sugar is sugar as far as calories are concerned; however, as with all natural foods, each food offers its own healthy nutrients. Sugar is no different. Sucanat, real brown sugar, is simply dehydrated cane juice still containing its molasses, which provides iron, potassium, magnesium and other trace nutrients. So, if you are going to use sugar when you bake/cook, then at least choose one that will give you something verses empty calories, bleach and other chemicals.

Lecithin

What is lecithin? Basically, it is an emulsifier which helps soften bread; but more importantly, it is rich in B vitamins and aids in the metabolism of cholesterol and saturated fats. Who doesn’t need that? You can use a whole egg if you don’t have lecithin. Lecithin is in the yolk.

My point is, you do have a choice.

You can provide your self and loved ones with great tasting food using truly healthy ingredients. So, let’s get to it! Let’s make some soft and yummy, healthy, easy whole wheat cinnamon rolls that everyone will love and you will feel good about serving.

To learn even more about each of these healthy components, see the following pages:
Ingredients
Real Bread
History of White Flour
Getting Started- Milling

Recipe

Easy Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Dough Ingredients:

1-1/2 Cups Warm Water or Milk (110-115 degrees)
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil or butter
1/4 Cup Sucanat* (Brown Sugar) or Honey or sugar
1-1/2 tsps Real Salt Sea Salt*
1/4 Cup Flax Seed*, fresh ground (optional)
1 Tbl Lecithin* (optional)
1 tsp Gluten* (optional)
4 – 5 Cups Hard White Wheat Flour, freshly milled, divided
Bean Flour*, freshly milled (optional)
1 Tbl Yeast

Filling:

1/4 Cup Softened Butter
1-2 Tbls Cinnamon
1/3-1/2 Cup Sucanat or Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Pecans, chopped and/or Raisins

Glaze:

2-3 Tbls Orange Juice or Milk
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 tsp Vanilla

*See my Ingredients page for more details.

If you do not mill your own flour yet, no worries; simply replace the flour with 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 unbleached all-purpose flour.

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Instructions:

Simple Instructions

For simple instructions, click one of the plus signs below

Dough Instructions

Preheat oven: 350 degrees

Prepare Baking Dish: Butter-Grease or line with parchment paper a 9×13 baking dish.

Soak Raisins: If using raisins, they should be soaked first to soften them. Place in a bowl and cover with 1 inch of water, apple juice or bourbon. Drain well before adding them to bread.

Dough: Blend together first 7 ingredients, half the flour and yeast. Cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes or so to absorb the moisture.

Add Remaining Flour: Attach dough hook and turn on mixer to low. Start adding remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough cleans the side of the bowl. Once it does, STOP adding flour. The dough will be sticky/shaggy. That’s OK. It’s better to error on the side of sticky then be too dry.

Knead Dough: Start you timer and knead for 7-8 minutes (by hand 10-12 minutes).

Roll Out Dough: Pour a little olive oil on your hands and work surface. Hand knead a few turns, Cut dough ball in half. This dough produces 2 lbs; cutting it in half makes for easier handling. Roll out one dough portion into a 10×12 or so rectangle. Remember, rolled thinner means more goody in the middle.
(Do not use flour on your work surface unless your dough is very sticky. Added flour can make your rolls heavy.)

Inside Goody: Spread softened butter over dough, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon, then sugar. Add nuts and/or well drained soaked raisins.

Roll Up Dough: Starting on one long side (similar to rolling a sleeping bag.) As you roll, pull the dough toward you a little to make the roll tight. Pinch seam.

Cut Rolls: Cut rolls about 1-1/2 inches wide (2 fingers wide) using a dough cutter, sharp knife, or dental floss.

Place Rolls in Baking Dish: Place rolls into a well butter-greased or lined baking dish, cake pan or muffin tin. Cover with plastic wrap or light towel and let rise about 15-45 minutes in a warm place.

Bake 20-25 minutes in a preheated 350 degrees oven. Remove from oven and allow to cool about 5-10 minutes before glazing.

Glaze Instructions

Mix together juice or milk, powdered sugar and vanilla; adding more liquid or sugar as needed for desired drizzle or spreadable consistency. Allow rolls to cool slightly before glazing.

Full Instructions

Dough

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter-grease or line with parchment paper a 9×13 baking dish, cake pan or muffin tin.

Raisins: Remember, if the raisins are hard in the bag, they will be hard in the roll.

For softer raisins, place them in a bowl and cover by an inch or so with water or a flavored liquid such as apple juice or bourbon.

See how plump they became after soaking.

How much to mill: One cup of grain will produce about
1-1/2 cups flour. So, simply divide the total needed cups of flour by 1.5 to get the number of cups of grain you will need to mill. You may have a little flour left over, that’s OK; just put it in the freezer and use next time you bake.
Example: 6 cups flour needed divided by 1.5 = 4 cups grain to be milled. 6 / 1.5 = 4 cups

Did you say Bean Flour?

Bean Flour: I add bean flour into most of my baking: breads, biscuits, cookies, etc. Beans have so much to offer in the way of protein, fiber and tons of nutrients. So why not power-up those baked goods!

Add 1 Tablespoon dried beans per cup of grain. I like to use dried navy beans or baby Lima beans; however, pretty much any dried bean will work. Just add them in with your grain and mill all together.

Again, check out my Getting Started-Milling page to learn more.

Super Cinnamon Rolls- Why not?!

Adding Flax Seed

By adding Flax Seed to just about anything: baked goods, soup, salad, cereal; you name it, you are adding lots of other nutrients and those all-important omega-3’s, which helps lower inflammation. Check out my Ingredients page for more benefit info. But, just like the grains, you must to grind them fresh to reap those benefits. No, don’t use pre-ground flax meal from the store, because many of the nutrients will have already oxidized away. Don’t eat it whole, because the body does not break it down. So grind it fresh. Use your coffee grinder like Krups Ultimate Super Quiet Grinder (shown below) or blender. Zip, zip! (If you don’t have flax seed just replace the called-for amount with flour. But I encourage you to get some and use it often.)

Krups Ultimate Super Quite Grinder
Soooo quiet! Love it!

Time to Mix

In a large mixer bowl – (I use the Bosch Universal Plus Mixer – AWESOME mixer!),
Stir to blend the first 7 ingredients. Position dough hook on mixer; add half the flour and yeast; mix on low for about a minute. Turn off mixer, cover and allow flour to absorb the moisture for about 15 minutes.

Kneading Time

After the rest period, start adding the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough cleans the side of the bowl. Then STOP adding flour! Start your timer and knead the dough for about 8 minutes (by hand, knead at least 10 minutes). Dough should be slightly sticky. Adding too much flour will produce a dry and heavy roll.

‘Clean the side of the bowl’ means: as you add flour to the mixer, the dough hook is manipulating the dough and when the dough has enough flour the dough pulls all the dough stuck to the side of the bowl away leaving a ‘clean’ side. This action may only last a second or so and then the dough may pool back down to the bottom and sides of the bowl. That is ok, but don’t be deceived; usually, no more additional flour is needed. Start your timer and knead the dough. Dough should be slightly sticky, so do not add too much flour or your rolls will come out dense and heavy.

Roll & Cut the Cinnamon Rolls

Pour some olive oil on your hands and work surface. Hand knead dough a few turns. Cut dough ball in half. This dough produces 2 lbs; cutting it in half makes for easier handling. Work with one dough ball at a time.

Typically, do not use flour on your work surface; the added flour can cause the dough to become heavy. Use olive oil instead.

Roll or press dough: Roll dough into a rectangle about 10×12 inches. It doesn’t have to be exact. Roll the long side thin. Remember, the thinner the dough the more goody in the middle.

Spread the softened butter; sprinkle with plenty of cinnamon, Sucanat and chopped pecans and soaked raisins (drained well of course).

Lots of goody is needed here!!!

Starting on one long side, roll dough similar to rolling a sleeping bag. As you roll, pull the dough toward you slightly to make the roll tight. Pinch seam together.

If you roll from the long side will produce medium sized cinnamon rolls, but rolling from the short side will create a larger roll.

Cut rolls about 1-1/2 inches wide (about 2 fingers width) using a dough cutter, sharp knife or dental floss.

Place cut rolls in your well butter-greased or lined baking dish. For fluffier rolls, cover with plastic wrap or light towel and allow to rise 15-25 minutes. Place covered dish in a warm place while rising. You can place your covered pan in the oven with the light on only.

Time to Cook

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

Glazing Time

Mix together juice or milk, powdered sugar and vanilla. Add more liquid or sugar as needed for desired consistency.

Make your own powdered sugar. Powdered sugar is made from bleached white sugar, but you can make a healthier choice by blending the cup of raw cane sugar in the blender with a 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch or Arrowroot. Blend to a fine consistency, then make your glaze. See, good-for-you can be done.

Allow rolls to cool about 5 minutes or so before glazing. Drizzle or spread glaze on your beautiful, easy whole wheat cinnamon rolls.