Apple pie, ready to bake
Super fluffy (and accidentally gigantic) cinnamon rolls, ready to bake
Vanilla bean, to add to the orange juice
Cinnamon rolls, complete with LOTS of frosting
Homemade bread
Brunch with Micha's fam
Do you bake with yeast? I usually try to avoid it, cuz it kind of scares me, but this weekend, after Micha suggested inviting his mom + bf and brother over for Sunday brunch, I did that thing where I go super nuts planning an all-too-elaborate menu for Germans who really just want brötchen plus a selection of yummy meats and cheeses. I decided I absolutely had to make cinnamon rolls from scratch. And not the non-rising kind. And then, since I was at it, why not make some bread too? And oh! Kai had wanted an apple pie for Thanksgiving, which I never made him, so why don't I make that too?!
I do not exactly recommend this kind of baking insanity, but it was fun pretty freaking fun. And took up my entire Saturday (but it was rainy and gross out anyways, so what the heck?).
(Oh! Quick tangent: We did leave the house on Saturday night to go see Ziemlich Beste Freunde at my all-time favorite old-school movie theatre, Kino International, with Kerstin & Hendryk (or Kendryk, as I prefer to call them). It's a french movie and so sweet and lovely and touching and I could go on and on but seriously, just go see it! It's called "Intouchable" in French. I promise you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll love it.)
But back to the baking. I used this really intimidating-looking cinnamon roll recipe from Not So Humble Pie (love that blog name!) and will never use another one again. If you enjoy taking all of your anger out on a slab of sticky dough by beating the bejeezus out of it, then this is the recipe for you! I throughly enjoyed pounding the dough onto the counter for an entire episode of Up All Night, and seeing it rise afterwards was one of the most rewarding sights I can imagine. Plus, they were dangerously delicious and the frosting was to die for. I could have eaten it by the spoonful (and may have at one point...).
In addition to those, I also made this Simply Recipes apple pie (but with a pre-made crust because crust is totally not my thing), and then Vitalbrot, which also rose fantastically and ended up all fluffy and airy and deelish. The vanilla bean was used for roasted vanilla orange juice, which tastes like a creamsicle in a glass and made up for the lack of mimosas since it's still alcohol-free January in our household. (It ends on Friday, woohoo!)
As usual, the sweets overwhelmed the Germans, but I'd call our brunch a success anyways. We basically recovered from it on the couch for all of Sunday, skipping the hockey game (the third of the week, which really is overkill), and watching entirely too much Friends and cruise ship documentaries instead (note to self: NEVER go on a cruise. Seriously.).
Important p.s. For the cinnamon rolls, she recommends searching YouTube for a video demonstrating the french folding method so pretty-please-with-a-cherry-on-top use this one. His french accent + enthusiasm + the plethora of flying dough will win your heart over in minutes.
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