Bipolar Disorder, and Gluten Free/Vegan Cinnamon Rolls (how DREAMY)
This recipe is LONG but it is well worth it. (you’ve been warned…)
GF/Vegan Cinnamon Roll (makes 18 rolls, 3 pie pans worth)
Ingredients:
Dough
4 ¼ c GF Bread Flour (Steve’s or Bob’s – not KA)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 ½ teaspoons yeast
360 grams warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4c earth balance butter (melted)
4 tablespoons neutral oil
4 tablespoons flaxseed meal
10 tablespoons water
Filling
2 sticks earth balance butter, room temp (softened; can also use a can of coconut cream, but will need to supplement with an additional 3 tbsp of tapioca starch to help bind it)
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
5 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cardamom
Freshly grated nutmeg (just a little, or substitute with 1 teaspoon pre-ground)
¼ teaspoon cloves
· 3 tablespoons tapioca starch (corn starch also works)
For the Dough
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the GF bread flour, sugar and salt.
In a separate bowl, add the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Whisk to combine and allow the yeast to bloom and bubble. This will show that it’s alive. Let it sit for ten minutes. If there is no activity, then you need to start over with new yeast as the yeast used first wasn’t active.
In a separate bowl, make your flax eggs by combining the water and flax meal and allow that to sit as well.
Combine the melted butter and neutral oil in a separate container.
If using a mixer, turn to speed one and slowly add in the butter and oil mixture until combined. Continue on speed one and stream in the flax egg mixture until just coming together. Then add in the yeast and water mixture. If mixing by hand, add each in the order aforementioned, and combine really slowly with your hands or a wooden spoon (or Danish loop whisk!)
Lightly oil a bowl and put your dough inside. Cover with a towel and set in a warm place to rise for an hour and a half (in the oven, turned off, and with the light on is a great place – the heat from the light is just enough to keep the air warm and ensure it doesn’t get too cold)
For the Filling
Combine all the ingredients and whip to combine. If using a stand mixer, whip until lighter and fluffy in color on speed six (about 10 minutes.) If combining by hand, you can use a spatula at first then use a whisk to try and whip it to a lighter consistency.
a. You can also make a savory filling too – using cheddar cheese, ham, tofu, anything really. This is also a good pizza dough recipe. Instead of rolling it into a log and letting it rise a second time later on, roll it onto a greased half-baking sheet until the sheet is covered, and then top with sauce and toppings. You’ll need to bake it at a higher temperature as well (450f/240c)
Forming and Rolling the Dough
Dust GF flour over a sheet of parchment paper on top of a work surface and turn your dough out onto it. Dust the top of it and roll your dough out until it’s in a rectangle (roughly 16 x 22 inches) and is 1 ½ inch thick. GF dough cannot be rolled back-and-forth in the traditional way. You have to roll it out in one direction at a time, pause, and come up off the dough with your rolling pin before changing directions. (The parchment paper is essential – it helps to roll the dough and ensure that it all comes together cleanly)
Take your filling and spread it evenly over the top from edge to edge.
Grab one of the long sides of the parchment paper and begin to roll the dough onto itself until it’s rolled into a log. Then cut into thirds (3 pieces) and cut the thirds into half (6 pieces) and cut those again into thirds (18 pieces). Each piece should be 1 ½ inches thick, so if they start looking too small, it’s okay to not have 18 pieces in favor of a bulkier cinnamon rolls (who is going to complain about an over-sized cinnamon roll?)
Divide into pans. I use glass pie pans and can fit six per pan. I’ll cover two pans with plastic and foil and freeze them for later, but you can freeze them all or bake however many you want. They’ll keep frozen for up to 6 months. If baking right away, cover loosely with a towel and allow to rise for another 30 mins on the countertop.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 165 Celsius.
Once it’s done rising for the second time, pop it into the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the top has browned a little. Serve right away. You can drizzle it with honey, or a cream cheese icing, or agave or even maple syrup. They reheat in the microwave and oven very well (30-60 seconds in the microwave, 10-15 min at 325f/150c in the oven)
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Resource websites for Bipolar Disorder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcCBacPWLrc&ab_channel=VICE
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/bipolar-disorders/what-are-bipolar-disorders
Danish Dough Whisk:
Here's the links to support the movements going on and to educate yourself on topics at hand:
Bail Funds in every city:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X4-YS3vFn5CLL9QtJSU0xqmTh_h8XilXgOqGAjZISBI/mobilebasic
https://naacpfwtc.org/#joinourcommunity
Anti-Racism Resources :
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BRlF2_zhNe86SGgHa6-VlBO-QgirITwCTugSfKie5Fs/mobilebasic
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xa9Av-NfuFsWBHlsMvPiqJHdNedZgnCRW56qAS-7PGQ/mobilebasic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TexV9aTF-Ho
News Outlets (to diversify your mind):
https://www.indiewire.com/2020/05/how-to-help-protesters-where-to-donate-1202234568/
http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/
Baking-ish is a podcast produced and edited by Fahrenheit Co., a U.S. based entity run and organized by Ren Newman.
**I am not a mental health professional. Please talk to a healthcare professional before doing or changing anything within your daily life. These experiences and opinions reflect only my personal experiences.
