Love Thy Dough: Cinny Buns and Italian Rolls (Where is Steve Perry?)

After discovering the amazing yeast master's book: The Bread Baker's Apprentice, I just had to have Whole Grain Breads by Peter Reinhart as well. Mostly for these cinnamon rolls--I could not bear the thought of only having an all-purpose flour option--I needed a healthy "out" for my cinnamon roll obsession (Thanks, Cinnabon!). These were all I wanted in a cinny roll--full of cinnamon, soft inside, a little chewy on the outside and topped with creamy powdered sugar/soy milk glaze--and, yes, a bit more healthy. And the aroma that filled my home was just like one big cinnamon party! Mmmm. I saw the writing on the wall with BBA--I was going to love bread baking, but I had to act fast--these rolls were calling me!

These are the rolls proofing--I think that's the term. I'll just call them, "Sitting Pretty"--because that's what they're doing--sitting pretty before I bake them!

Okay, let me draw your eye to the middle of this Italian Roll. Look at that airy crumb in the center! Heaven! When these came out of the oven, I said, Oh, here we go again, another addiction! These rolls should have a nice plate of vegan mostaccioli to join them--and they did!

This is what they looked like when they came out of the oven!

First of all--the Grammys last night. I never miss the Grammys--I love music. So here we were all settled in and Lady Gaga opens. I am like, okay, I'm no VHI-MTV nut (more of a CMT kinda gal), but I had never, ever seen her in person--on TV. Ever. I've heard the music--(when I run)--and generally love it--nice to run to, but had no idea what she looked like--I swear! So we sat there all slack-jawed. Me, I'm like trying to process it all--making past connections--who might she have been influenced by and all. So I turn to Mr. Thyme and said, "I feel like I'm watching the female Elton John"--no lie--I totally said this! Then BAM--here comes Sir Elton himself--I was blown out of my chair! He sounded amazing! A. Maze. Ing. Elton was the man--always--in his earlier music, there is nothing but pure genius coming from him. Madman Across the Water. That's all I'll say. A couple of the performances last night reminded me of Cirque Du Soleil. Not that I've seen it live, I haven't lived under a rock, I am familiar with the general theme. Then, another of my faves appears--but this time, sadly joined with T.S. I won't name her (I am not a huge fan). And if you listened to T.S.  for even a minute trying to kick out those low registers--she sounded awful--her live TV singing is for not--I wish she'd lip synch (bless her punkin' heart). But Stevie Nicks--OMG! I loved, loved, and still love her! I wish she'd grabbed that mike, taken her tamborine and jumped out off the stage and belted out Rhiannon alone! Then, I secretly wished for Lindsey Buckingham to jump out and make the whole night's affair one to remember--not that it wasn't--it really was a great show. Pink--what did she take to keep from, you know, getting ill--all of that twirling--my god. I have one wish for Grammy night next year--that in my lifetime, Steve Perry performs. That's all. Just one wish. He can sing alone, it doesn't matter. Journey or not. Just let Steve Perry sing. Where did he go?


I made it official Friday. The ink is probably dry on my application, my "money" already deposited: I am running the GO St. Louis Half Marathon on Sunday, April 11th. I've run a marathon once. It seemed enough--and it was on my bucket list--to be done before I turned forty. At the time, I had a few more years to go--but thought it important to run it a little ahead of turning forty-- if I didn't make it--I'd still have wiggle room for trying again in another year or so. It's taken me several years to feel like going any further than say, six miles. Don't get me wrong, the feeling of accomplishment after the marathon was very large and I wore it proudly as I beamed at work the following week, shuffling from break room back to my office unable to properly move my leg into a full extension for three days. But it's all mental really. After you pass mile marker 20, it's all in the head. Your body is just repeating what it's done the past three and a half hours--and you know, you just know, it's only six miles for crying out loud--that's a weekend jog--Snap out of it! (Picture Cher in Moonstruck here saying this to Nicholas Cage--I love that movie!) In all honesty, what kept me going was this kind, much older gentleman (white haired--not that that means old--it was just an indicator). I had paced behind him for several miles--you do that when you run--look for someone in front of you, who, given proper stride, you keep your pace with "reasonably well"--that is, not let too many other runners scoot past you, psyching you into thinking they are so much better--when you know you could out run them. . . if you hadn't just pounded out 20 miles, that is! Well, back to my friend. I hurt. Period., And I couldn't walk if I'd wanted to--my whole lower body was on forward motion, bent legs, all forward momentum. I had decided it was time to try to advance a bit further in the pack--to meet my "friend" I'd been pacing behind for so long. He saw me out of the corner of his eye--even had the energy to say, Hi! The gall. I smiled back, held my head high. He didn't miss a beat. Then a question from him: How you doing? Chit chat, NOW? I kindly replied, "Oh, just great--seeing the end now, a little sore!" He looked down at my feet, then around his neck. He had a long pill tube attached to a nylon necklace thing. "You need something for that pain?" I was like, OMG--a pill pusher--out here? Now? "Yes! I do need something!" That came out much faster than it reads. He kept running, unscrewed the tube he had around his neck and said, "Here's a couple ibuprofen to get you to the end--I never run a race without 'em." And then a water station appeared in the horizon and I grabbed my Dixie cup of water and chugged those babies down! He moved on ahead of me, and I lost track of him. I finished the marathon in under five hours: 4:49 to be exact. I owe it all to that man and his pills!

I don't have recipes to post today per se. Just more dough--and where to get the inspiration and recipes so you, too, can make great dough. I love this new bread baking adventure I am on. You can tell from the previous posts, I am sort of stuck in place--but a good place because I am learning so much! Today, it's bagels!