Cinnamon rolls- step by step

Cinnamon rolls. Unfortunately, we can't just pop open a can of refrigerated biscuit or croissant rolls, spread some sugar on it, and call it a day.
Some days cinnamon rolls are worth the extra effort, some days they're not. Today, they are.

I've made cinnamon rolls many times, and have eventually streamlined the process.

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:

2/3 c. milk
1 t. sugar
1 pkg fast-rising yeast

1 egg
1/4 c. oil (I use light olive oil. Vegetable or canola oil should be fine)
1 t. vanilla

1 3/4 c. gluten free flour**
1/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. xanthan gum
1/2 t. salt

Filling:
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 T. cinnamon

Mix the sugar into the milk. Warm it to 100-110 degrees. I use a thermometer because I have not yet mastered the art of being able to tell otherwise. You can get candy thermometers for a couple of bucks.
Mix in the yeast and set it in a warm place to proof. Meanwhile, grab two bowls: 1 small, 1 big.

Large bowl: Beat the egg. Add the oil and vanilla and mix well.

Small bowl: Mix the flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt.

Prepare your counter space by taping a piece of waxed paper to the counter at each corner. Sprinkle 1/2 c. gf flour onto the surface. You want it covered pretty well.

After about 10 minutes, check the yeast. It should have bubbled up and will smell yeasty. It will look like this:

You can see the original level of milk, and the bubbling from the yeast. If it hasn't bubbled, try it again.

Pour the yeasty mixture into the large bowl with the egg, oil, and vanilla. Mix well to get any lumps from the yeast out. A couple small ones are ok. Add in the flour mixture from the small bowl and combine well to form the dough. The dough will be very soft. It's okay. Don't panic.

Dump the dough onto the floured surface. Spread the dough into a rectangular shape using the back of a wet spoon. Warm water works best. Work slowly. If it sticks, dip the spoon back into the water and keep going.

Take your cinnamon/ brown sugar filling and spread it over the rectangle. Don't worry too much if your sugar has gotten lumpy in the bag; you will get little pockets of melted brown sugar goodness in the cinnamon rolls and, really, that's not a bad thing.

To roll the dough, remove the tape from the corners of the waxed paper. Start lifting one end of the paper, coaxing the dough into a tight roll as you go. I prefer to use this, but a large knife would work too.

If you've floured liberally, the dough should not stick to the paper, and gravity does most of the work.You will end up with a nicely rolled piece of dough.

Slice the dough: start in the middle and cut it in half, then cut each half in half again, etc. This will ensure even-sized rolls.

Place each sliced roll into a greased pan, placing the ends cut-side-down. This is an 8x8 pan, I think. A round pan works well, too.

Cover the pan loosely with a towel and place it in a warm place for 30 minutes to rise. I stick it on top of the preheating oven.

After 30 minutes, remove the towel. They will have risen and gotten fatter and higher.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the tops start to get golden brown.

For a simple glaze, mix:
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. cinnamon
2 T. milk
1/8 t. salt

(It makes these rolls very sweet)

Makes 8 cinnamon rolls.

**If you don't already have a flour mix on hand, mix 3/4 c. each brown rice flour, sorghum flour and potato starch. Use 1 3/4 c. in the dough, and use the remainder to flour your surface.