Date filled cinnamon rolls

A friend sent me Bon Appetit's recipe for Cinnamon Date Sticky Buns, and since we love dates, cinnamon, and home baking, I couldn't wait to try them, with some modifications--looking at the recipe, they seemed way too sweet for our taste, we prefer whole grains, unrefined nut oils, and there were a lot of steps to the recipe that I weren't sure would produce enough results for us that it was worth the effort.  The ingredients for the dough are non-negotiable, they say?  Not for me.  Our version of the recipe produces a incredibly fluffy roll where the dough has a lot of flavor from our freshly ground whole wheat flour and unfiltered, unrefined nut oils.

Dough ingredients:

1/2 oz. (14 g) fresh yeast or 1/4 oz. (7 g) dry yeast (or sourdough starter)
3/4 c. (180 ml) buttermilk (or milk)
6 tbsp. (106 ml) unrefined peanut oil, or nut oil of your choice
1 egg

1/4 c. (60 ml) honey, agave syrup, or sweetener of your choice
3/4 tsp. (4 g) salt
13 oz. (375 g) whole wheat flour
butter to grease pan

Filling ingredients (makes approximately 1/2 c. puree):

approximately 6.5 oz (180 g) whole medjool (or similar) dates
1-1/2 c. (360 ml) boiled water
2 tbsp. (30 ml) unrefined peanut oil, or nut oil of your choice
2 tsp. (5 g) ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. (1.5 g) salt
1 tbsp. (15 ml) vanilla extract

Place yeast in bowl, add buttermilk, and let sit about 10-15 minutes so yeast dissolves.  Add rest of wet ingredients and salt, and mix thoroughly.  (I do all this in a KitchenAid mixer.)  Add flour, and mix until you have a sticky dough.  Cover bowl (I put a plate on top of the bowl) and refrigerate for 8 hours or more (overnight is fine) for a long, slow rise--it won't rise very much.

You can also make the filling the night before and refrigerate it also.  To make the filling, slice the dates in half and remove & discard the pits, and place them in a heat-proof bowl.  Pour the boiling water over them and let them soak for 10 minutes.  Drain the dates and put them into a food processor with the rest of the filling ingredients; process for 4 minutes, to produce a very smooth puree.

To fill and shape:  Butter about a 10 inch (about 25 cm) round cake pan or skillet.  Take the dough (and filling, if made ahead of time) out of the fridge--you can proceed immediately if you like, or let the dough warm up for up to an hour or so.  If the dough has risen, punch down and knead a bit, then roll out to about a 12 inch (30 cm) square; if it's difficult to roll, let it sit for 10-20 minutes under a cotton towel to relax, then try rolling again.  You will probably need to flour the counter a bit, as it can be a sticky dough.  Spread the filling over the whole square, leaving about 1/2 inch (about 1 cm) border around the edges, and then roll it into a log--feel free to dampen the long edge with a little water if it would help it seal.  If you want the rolls really pretty, feel free to trim the unfilled edges at the ends (I just smoosh them up a little bit).  Cut into 9 rolls, place them in the pan (or skillet) and cover (use the lid of a skillet or a cotton towel) to let rise for 60-90 minutes; at the end of the rising time, they may not entirely fill the pan and that's OK, because they will loft and fill out a bit in the oven.

To bake:  Preheat oven to 350F (180 C).  Cover with a skillet lid or parchment and aluminum foil, and bake covered for 20 minutes, then uncover them and bake for an addition 20-25 minutes, or until just golden brown.  Remove from pan and cool enough to enjoy!

If you like them frosted or glazed, follow the link to the Bon Appetit recipe for the glaze they use--we prefer them unglazed.