I love to mess around with classics.... blasphemous, I know -- but the kitchen is my laboratory and the dishes are more or less my experiments. So when I wonder what would happen if a classic cinnamon roll was transformed into a savory phenomenon rather than the classic dessert, it means I really reeeeeally need to give it a try. And when I substituted the usual butter-cinnamon-brown sugar-nutmeg mix you'd usually use to fill up a cinnamon roll with -- *drum-roll* -- butter and garlic powder and thyme and rosemary and salt and pepper and flaked onions.... well, the result was somewhere between aromatic garlic bread and yeasty, semi-spiced herbed bread rolls. I also happened to drizzle honey on the top about 10 mintues before I took the tray out of the overn (because I'm a sucker for that sweet-salty taste), andI can happily say this non-cinnamon--garlicky-thyme roll is now up there on the pedestal of my favorites.
My advice? Just make it. And dunk it into French onion dip or yogurt dip for an extra 'oumph'.
See how squidgy this is?
Ingredients:
For the dough
1 cup water, warmed
2 tbsp yeast
60 g butter (just over half a stick), melted
1/2 kilo all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3 tbs sugar
1 egg
For the filling
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp onion powder (or flaked onions)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary (chopped)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp white granulated sugar
Method
Add the water, yeast and sugar to a large bowl and mix. Leave to foam for about 10 minutes.
Pour in butter, eggs, and salt, and beat with a spoon or fork until combined.
Gradually add the flour, and mix well after each addition. Your dough should be slightly sticky, and not too tough. Knead in raisins at this point.
Roll it out onto a floured surface. Knead gently for a few minutes. If its super-sticky, drizzle with a bit more flour (just note that the dough needs to be soft, and as you knead it, the dough it will become less sticky — so be careful and don’t overcompensate with more flour or your scrolls will be too dry).
Douse your hands with some oil and knead a few more times, then transfer to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place to proof for about a hour.
Create your filling my mixing all the ingredients into a paste.
Once the dough has proven, roll it out onto a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle. Spill the filling out onto the rectangle and with a spatula, spread across the dough.
Start rolling from the edge until you have one large log.
Cut the dough in the centre of the log, then again in each centre, then again from each side until you have about 12-16 small to medium sized scrolls.
Place them into a prepared baking tray, cover, and leave in a warm place to double in size. Pre-heat your oven in the meantime, at 180.C.
Once the rolls have doubled, bake until they turn a deep golden brown. This takes anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes.
About 5 minutes before you take them out, drizzle and brush with some honey. Pop them back into the oven for the final bake, and pull them out.
When the scrolls are done, remove them, leave to cool slightly, and serve warm.
