St. Ambrose Cinnamon Rolls

Makes one batch in a 9x13 pan.

Dough
- 5 c. bread flour
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. dry yeast
- 1 c. raisins
- 1/2 c. oil
- 2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. hot tap water
- non-stick spray

Filling
- 1 c. brown sugar
- 1-1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon


Frosting
- 3 c. powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- milk

In a 4 qt. bowl, mix flour, salt, and yeast with a spoon. Stir in raisins.
Form a hole in the dry ingredients and pour the oil in the hole.
Add water and stir until the ingredients are mixed until there is no dry flour left.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours.

Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling.
Preheat the oven to 400.

Once the dough has risen, lightly flour the top of the dough in the bowl and push down the dough around the sides to dust the edges with flour. Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface without kneading it. Just spread the dough out by hand in a rectangle about 12x18. Cover the dough with the filling mix.

Roll up the dough along the 18" side, stretching the dough a bit (20-30%) as you go to get more coils. You are making what will look like a log of dough. The ends will look like the coiled tops of the cinnamon rolls.

Cut the coiled dough log in half, into quarters, and then into thirds to get 12 rolls. Spray the 9x13 pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray and place the cinnamon rolls in the pan with the coils showing. Let the rolls rise until they fill the pan 1/2 inch over the edge of the pan.

Bake the rolls at 400 for 25 mins. Test with a fork in the center to see if they're done. In the dough sticks to the fork, bake for 5-10 more mins. When done, the center temp would read 190 on a meat thermometer. Cool the pan for a least one hour before covering the pan and freezing overnight.

In the morning, re-heat the rolls at 350 for 20 minutes.

For the frosting, melt or soften the butter and add vanilla. Mix in the first cup of powdered sugar and begin adding milk, starting with about 4 Tbsps. Alternate adding milk and powdered sugar until the frosting has a dough-like or fudge-like consistency.

Frost the rolls right out of the oven so that the heat of the rolls softens the frosting for spreading it evenly with a knife. Rolls will remain warm for 30-45 mins after the second baking.