Several years ago my son Aaron reminded me: “Dad remember, you promised…” Aaron was right. I had promised. I had assured both my sons that on the first day of school I would bake some homemade cinnamon rolls. My biggest problem was the fact that I had forgotten to take the starter out of the fridge Saturday night. For those of you unfamiliar with sourdough baking the starter is the yeast used to make the dough rise. To make bread with starter (including rolls) takes about thirty-six hours. Anyway, on Sunday morning I remembered my promise. So a “rush” job was in order. I called Amy at home and had her deliver the goods on her way to church that morning. Between the morning worship and the funeral I had that afternoon I was kneading dough in the break room. In the end, the rolls came out just fine on Monday morning. A promise is a promise.
Honoring commitments, after all, is important in the big and small things. Baptism, for the believer, is the outward mark of an internal commitment. And for the rest of our lives we seek to honor our commitments. How are you doing? Need a little reminder, a nudge, a word of assurance? I don’t think I am overstating it when I say that the church is where we help each other honor our promises and commitments. The Old Testament word for this is “covenant.” Simply stated, it is agreement we share with God. I shall live among you; I shall be your God and you will be my people (Leviticus 26:12). God is keeping his promises. How are we doing?
Grace and Peace
Greg
Greg’s Cinnamon Roll Recipe
For the Starter: Dissolve one cake of yeast into 1C of warm water and mix with ¾ cup of sugar and 3T of dehydrated potato flakes. Sit out on counter loosely covered for 8 hours. Cover and refrigerate. Every five to seven days take starter out and “feed” with the above ingredients, cutting the yeast to no more than half a cake if at all.
The Dough: Take starter out, “feed” and place on counter for eight hours (or overnight) with loose cover. Take out one cup of starter and place the remainder back in the refrigerator. Mix starter with 1/3 C of sugar, 1T salt, ½ C of corn oil, 1 ½ C of warm water and 6 C of bread flour. Knead dough until rubbery and place in greased bowl and cover. Let it stand all day or all night.
After the first rise, roll out half of the dough onto a floured surface. Roll into a 12 by 6 rectangle. Top with the following: 1/3 C melted butter, ¼ C sugar, ½ C brown sugar. ¾ C nuts (optional). Stir together and sprinkle on dough. Roll up jelly roll fashion starting with the long side. The roll should be about 12 inches long. Cut slices half inch and place in generously greased glass baking dish. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (all day or overnight). Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Serve warm for breakfast or anytime! Amy likes to add a drizzle of icing on top and for that you need a 1/2 cup of powdered sugar mixed with 1 tbl spoon of milk and 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract.
With the other half of dough you can form into a loaf for sour dough bread or make a second batch of cinnamon rolls.
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