Grandma's Breakfast Ring

 

        Everyone has one - a recipe with grandma's name on it....something she made that reminds you of her and of childhood.  Well, in my case grandma was Janette and I have no memory of this breakfast ring but I was assured she always made it for Christmas breakfast, so whether I remembered it or not I felt duty bound to make it.  And it quickly became one of our traditions.  So, for as long as I can remember, in my own family, this has been the "piece de resistance" for our Christmas breakfast which also includes breakfast sausages, cheesy eggs and fried potatoes.  While in the Middle East the beverage was always fresh orange juice which my husband squeezed from the beautifully sweet oranges purchased at the fruit stands there. But unless you purchase Cara Cara oranges no other orange in the U.S. comes close in flavor to those and so we just started buying Tropicana orange juice when moving back to the states.

        I think there are very few of us who don't like cinnamon rolls and that is what this is, but in ring form, studded with pecans and robed with butter and cinnamon syrup - a perfect centerpiece for a Christmas breakfast table!  But there are more than a few who are intimidated by making rolls and one of my greatest accomplishments is to have successfully lead several timid bakers through the gauntlet of homemade bread making, who have emerged safely and confident on the other side.  (If you are in fear of making bread there are a few helpful notes below and then watch a video or two and bravely venture forth!  It is worth it.)

     The particular potato roll dough I use is a great one as it keeps well for a few days, so if you only use part of it, you can make another roll item a few days later from the same batch.

     I do remember my sweet and gentle grandmother's hard sauce for the plum pudding she made with her sister every Christmas.  We didn't care for the plum pudding but there was something about that hard sauce that we found irresistible!

Grandma's Breakfast Ring

1 recipe potato roll dough (below)

1 cup melted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar-cinnamon mixture

1/4 cup white Karo syrup

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Marachino or glaceed cherries for garnish

       -Generously butter a 10 inch tube pan.  Sprinkle 3 tablespoon cinnamon mixture and 1/4 cup pecans on bottom of pan  Roll dough into 1 inch balls.  Dip rolls first in melted butter, then in sugar-cinnamon mixture, to coat.  Place loosely in a single layer on the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle layer of rolls with sugar-cinnamon mixture and 1/4 cup pecans.  Repeat creating another layer of rolls.  Again sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture and pecans.

       -Allow to rise until double, covered in warm place, about 45 minutes.  Drizzle remaining butter and Karo syrup over rolls.

       -Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 40 minutes, until rolls turn golden on top.  Let cool in pan, upright for 5 minutes.  Invert onto platter and allow to cool about 10 minutes before removing tube pan.  Remove pan carefully and garnish with cherries.  To reheat, wrap in foil and place in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.  Serves 8 - 10

Potato Refrigerator Rolls

1 package active dry yeast (1 tablespoon)

1 3/4 cups warm water

2/3 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2/3 cups shortening, or soft butter

2 eggs

1 cup lukewarm mashed potatoes

7 - 7 1/2 cups all purpose flour.

       -Sprinkle yeast over 1/2 cup water.  Allow to sit 5 minutes until frothy.  Pour into large heavy-duty mixer with dough hook and add sugar, salt, shortening, eggs, cooled potatoes, the rest of the water and 4 cups of the flour.  Beat with whip until smooth.  Change to dough hook and mix in enough remaining flour to make dough pull away from the sides of the bowl and dough wraps around dough hook.  Let mixer run with dough hook on low about 10 minutes, to knead.

       -(If kneading by hand, blend in as much flour as possible with a mixer or by hand with a large wooden spoon.  Turn dough onto lightly floured surface.  Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-7 minutes.  Surface should be smooth and no longer sticky (add extra flour a bit at a time if dough becomes sticky as you knead.)  

       -For both methods, place dough in greased bowl, then turn greased side up.  Cover bowl tightly.  Refrigerate at least 8 hours or until ready to use.  (Dough can be kept up to 5 days in the refrigerator.  Keep covered.) If using immediately, cover bowl and let dough rise in warm area for 1 1/2 hours.

       -Punch down dough.  Shape as desired.  Let rise 30 - 45 minutes before baking.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake rolls 15 - to 25 minutes, to desired doneness.

  

                             

After dough has risen, shape into balls

about the size of a golf ball.

Dip each ball in melted butter,

 then roll in cinnamon-mixture.

Layer balls in tube pan, sprinkle with syrup, nuts,

butter and cinnamon mixture and allow to rise

45 minutes.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Turn out of pan and garnish with cherries.

PERSNICKETY  NOTES:

**Prove your yeast first in small amount of water, 5 - 10 minutes.  Add a bit of sugar (2 tablespoons) from your recipe amount to give the yeast something to feed off of to start doing its thing! Make sure the water is not hot or you will kill the yeast before it's started to bloom.  The water should be just lukewarm or even cool.

**Don't skimp on the kneading.  If you are doing it by hand, it can be tiring but take a short rest and get back to it for a full 5 - 7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and can make a smooth ball.  Some people use the windowpane technique to see if the gluten has been developed enough.  Take a small piece of dough and pull it apart until it is very thin without breaking and you can see light through it.  There is no special way to knead.  I like to use the heels of my hands and push into the dough then fold it over itself until I am into a smooth rocking motion.  But people do it differently - as long as there is some stretching or pulling and folding going on you should be fine.

**If dough is sticky, work more flour into the dough as you knead.  Only add as much flour as needed to create a dough that is just barely not sticking to your hands.  Too much flour will make your dough heavy.

**Once you shape your dough into rolls, let the rolls rise for 30 - 40 minutes until they are double in size and light. (This will ensure that your final product is light and that the bread isn't dense and heavy.)

If you have a bread proving function on your oven that helps speed up the process a bit.  Cover the rolls and set in the oven or you can also turn your oven on to 200 degrees for 10 minutes then turn off and place your shaped rolls in, covered.  (You can also use this technique to help your dough rise the first time, if you are not letting it rise in the fridge, but wanting to use it sooner.)

**Bake your rolls until just golden - check one to make sure they are cooked through.