Unplugged. No-Knead Cinnamon Raisin Rolls

Before Hawaii: a story and recipe from The Baking Wizard!

While shopping at a farmer’s market in the San Diego area recently, I met a seller who offered samples of the plumpest darkest raisins I’d ever seen. The raisins were huge, the size of dried cherries, and they tasted of the sun. They were by far the best-tasting raisins I’d ever eaten. I bought a bag and began gobbling them down, but all of a sudden I stopped. I pictured myself munching on a cinnamon roll loaded with these amazing raisins. So I closed the bag and made plans to bake as soon as I got home. I decided on a no-knead dough that I mixed up in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. After the dough rose, I chilled it briefly to make it easier to handle. Then I shaped the dough into a square on a lightly floured smooth surface, spread it with a raisin-cinnamon filling, rolled it up into a log, and sliced the log into rolls.

After arranging the rolls in a buttered baking pan and letting them rise a second time, into the oven they went, and in less than 30 minutes I had my cinnamon rolls.

I couldn’t wait to tear into one. The raisins and cinnamon and soft dough were perfect together. Just what I wanted. When I eat a cinnamon roll I like to unravel it and tear off bite-size pieces that each contain a raisin or two. This may sound weird, but it insures I get a bit of everything with each bite.

The raisins I bought come from Gama Farms in Arvin, California. Call 657.217.9741 to order.