Holiday Cinnamon Rolls

These take time. Makes about 12.

2 cups buttermilk
1 Tbl. yeast
¼ raw honey
½ cup sunflower oil (or any light flavored oil, butter is great too but for economical reasons I use oil.)
5 cups unbleached white flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

1 cup white sugar mixed with 1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar or raw sugar
1 Tbl. vanilla

Heat 1-1/2 cups buttermilk in a glass dish in the microwave for 2 minutes. It will curdle and separate. Remove and add 1/2 cup cold buttermilk.

Place yeast and honey into a large bowl. Pour a little buttermilk over the mixture and stir. Stir in all the buttermilk, 2 cups of white flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk mixture until smooth. (Don't use an electric beater.)

Let mixture sit 30 minutes. (I have left it longer.) It should rise up the side of the bowl.
Add the oil and 3 remaining cups of flour. Knead until smooth. The dough should be sticky, add a little flour if necessary to make the dough smooth.

Let rise 1-1/2 to 2 hours in a greased bowl.

Punch dough down and roll it out into a rectangle about ¼ inch thick. I think about 24 x 12 inches. Spread cinnamon and sugar over the top and roll up. Cut ends off.

Cut into 12 slices and place in a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch casserole dish. Melt butter and brown sugar in the microwave till melted and a little bubbly. Add the vanilla and pour over the rolls evenly.

Rise overnight in the fridge or about 1-1/2 hours. Bake 375-degree oven 30-40 minutes. Don't let them get too brown. Invert on a platter and let sit 10 minutes before serving.

These are nice because they rise overnight and all of the work is done the next morning when you pop them in the oven.

I have adapted this recipe from several others, taking what I liked best. They aren't too sweet, as some cinnamon rolls can be. They have a light caramel glaze on top after you invert them and the dough is soft and tasty.