October 14, 2012 - 5:22am
Mini Cinnamon Buns and Refridgeration
Hi folks. I'm new to this forum so this is my very first post. I've started a small cinnamon buns business and things are moving along very well. The orders have satrted to come in fast and furious. My mini cinnamon buns are more popular than the standard size and I have to deliver 18 dozen by 7AM tomorrow. I've been practising with refridgerating the cut, uncooked buns but they just are not rising up as well as the fresh-made when I bake them. I'm desperate not to have to wake up at 1AM to start from scratch - that's beginning to take a toll as I have a two-year old. Any advice? I would be eternally grateful!
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I don't think the bread will rise fully well going immediately into the fridge. I watched joyofbaking.com's cinnamon roll recipe. She lets the bread rise first, then only retards it in the fridge. From what I've read in the Bread Bible, you should give it at least an hour at room temperature first. The fridge will seriously slow down yeast activity, and, I believe, bring it to a full stop eventually.
Thanks so much, Beka, for your advice! I'll try the next batch as you recommeded and let you know how it turns out. But a quick question...Would I run the risk of over proofing if I let it proof for an hour then pop it in the fridge for another 12 or so hours? I've had buns over-proof in the fridge and collapse on me so what I had was a dense bun rather than the pillowy, moist result that I get with the fresh-made/baked ones.
Thanks again
Nicky
Nicky,
The only way you will know how long to keep your dough out before putting it in the refrigerator is to experiment. I would try several different times and see how it works out. Also, you can vary the temperture of the water you use and flour for that matter. If you start with cold water and flour it will effect your timing as well and once you find your happy medium you will be set.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out for you.
Thanks isand66.
I've decided not to refridgerate the cut buns tomorrow as I need to run more tests, as you suggested. I think kneading today and allowing it to have the first rise in the fridge overnight will save me a couple hours sleep tonight and I'll be a bit more comfortable for tomorrow's order. So my new question is, should I roll and cut the dough straight out of the fridge or give it some time on the counter? Which will make the rolling out more efficient? I've already factored in one to two hours for final proofing.
If you want to speed things up you can warm your dough briefly in the microwave. I do it in increments, with folds in between to even out the dough temperature. Only do small amounts of time in the microwave at a time, until the dough feels like all the chill is gone.
The Bread Bible recipes indicate that you ought to let the dough sit one hour to come to room temperature.
Thanks for all your help folks!
So here's how this morning's adventure went. I let the dough have its first proof overnight in the fridge with a ten minute wait between kneading and actually putting it in. That worked out beautifully. Then I got it out of the fridge an hour in advance of rolling and cutting the buns this morning. That went great! Loved working with the chilled dough rather than dough at room temp. Problem came with final proof. I learned that my usual one hour isn't enough time to allow the buns to come to room temp and rise as they should. So, on my next adventure, I'll either give them a full two hours for final proof or I'll give them a quick heat up in a warm oven followed by the usual one hour's proof. Am I on the right track here?
Sounds like you are on your way to success. I wouldn't heat them up before proofing though, but you could turn the oven on for a minute and get the temperature up to about 75 to 80 F. and then shut it off and let them proof in the oven. I don't think you want them to proof any hotter.
Good luck.
Horrible news! It seems that the buns have shrunk significantly after cooling completely. We've had one client return them and cancel orders for the rest of the week. This is the first time ever this has happened. I am devastated!