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Chef Gina Makes A Two-for-One Dough Recipe

There is nothing I love more than efficiency. Chalk it up to my years in kitchens and operations but doing less work for greater outcomes truly makes my heart happy. I find that most of the time when people tell me they hate cooking, it’s not that they don’t enjoy it, it’s that it takes them too long or they feel intimated. My main goal when giving cooking lessons is to share tips and tricks to reduce prep time, helping my students feel more in control. 

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This recipe came out of that same mindset – what can people make that produces a great meal – or two – and also makes you feel like you know some cool secret that professional chefs use. With that, I call this double-dip dough because you get two recipes for the price of one. Make the dough base then decide to take it in either a savory direction and make pizza, or a sweet direction and for cinnamon rolls. I often make a double batch of dough and make one of each. Dinner and breakfast are covered the next day, and those enjoying it have no idea it’s coming from the same recipe. Once you have the dough made, you can make calzones, dinner rolls, almost anything you can think of. Enjoy!

Double-Dip Dough

Total Time Dough: 75 min

Pizza + 20 Min

Cinnamon rolls + 20 min

Serves: 8-12 pieces

Ingredients

DOUGH BASE

  • 1 1/3 CUPS WARM WATER (BETWEEN 105 – 110 DEGREES)
  • 1 TBS SUGAR
  • 2 1/4 TSP INSTANT YEAST (THIS IS USUALLY THE AMOUNT IN INDIVIDUALLY SIZED PACKETS) 
  • 3 1/2 CUPS ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR (PLUS MORE FOR HANDS AND SURFACE) 
  • 1 TSP SALT

CINNAMON ROLL, FILLING

  • ½ CUP SALTED BUTTER, SOFTENED
  • 1 CUP BROWN SUGAR
  • 2 TBS GROUND CINNAMON
  • ½ CUP HEAVY CREAM, ROOM TEMPERATURE (OPTIONAL, FOR POURING OVER RISEN ROLLS)

CINNAMON ROLL, FROSTING

  • 8 OZ CREAM CHEESE, SOFTENED
  • 1/3 CUP SALTED BUTTER, SOFTENED
  • 2 CUPS POWDERED SUGAR
  • ½ TBS VANILLA EXTRACT

PIZZA

  • SAUCE, CHEESE, AND TOPPINGS AS DESIRED

Directions – dough:

  1. Whisk the warm water, sugar, and yeast together in the bottom of the bowl for your stand mixer. Let sit for 5 minutes until the mixture is bubbling.
  2. Add the flour and salt and mix at low speed until ingredients are well mixed together for about 3 minutes. Switch the mixer attachment to the dough hook and continue to mix until the dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl, about 4-5 minutes. The dough should be soft and “bounce back” when you make an indentation with your finger.
  3. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray, place the smoothed dough ball in the bowl and flip around a few times so it is lightly coated with the spray. Place a damp kitchen towel over the bowl and set it aside in a warm area of the kitchen for approx. 40-60 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

If making Cinnamon Rolls:

  1. While the dough is rising, make the filling. Combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, mix well.
  2. Sprinkle work area and rolling pin both generously with flour. Roll into a large rectangle – exact size doesn’t matter, mine is usually somewhere around 12 inches x 8 inches
  3. Use a spatula to spread the cinnamon mixture over the entire rectangle of dough.
  4. Roll dough tightly, along the long edge of the rectangle, forming a long log. Cut into even pieces (I usually get about 10 out of it, I like them thick – you could probably get even get 12). Place into greased pan.
  5. Preheat oven to 375, while heating, cover cut rolls in the pan and allow to rise again 20-30 minutes, until double in size.
  6. Once risen, if using, pour the heavy cream over the top, allowing it to soak into the rolls

If making Pizza:

  1. Preheat oven to 475. If using a pizza stone, place the stone in the oven while pre-heating.
  2. Generously sprinkle the work area and hands with flour.
  3. Shape dough into a circle or rectangle, to a thickness of your liking.
  4. Top with sauce, cheese, and the toppings of choice, leaving the edge for the crust
  5. Transfer pizza either directly onto the pizza stone in the oven or to a cookie sheet. Bake for approx. 8 minutes, checking in 1-2 minute intervals after the initial 8 mins, as different toppings and the thickness of your crust will ultimately determine total cooking time.
  6. Let cool slightly before cutting and serving.

Pro Tips

  • Water warmer than 110 degrees may “burn” and “kill” the yeast. If the water is to cool, it will not activate it.
  • If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a wooden spoon and your hands, it just takes more kneading time (and a bit more flour on your hands and surface).
  • I place my dough bowl to rest in the microwave. I don’t turn it on, I just use it almost as a bread box since I know it’s safe and warm in there 
  • There are several options for the pan you use for the cinnamon rolls. It can be glass or metal, rectangle or circle, the key is just to have them slightly touching – leaving enough room for them to slightly rise “into each other” so when they are baked and topped with frosting, they are all touching and getting every last drop of flavor, not to be wasted by dripping into the pan. If using a glass pan, it may take a few extra minutes to bake.  
  • The heavy cream for the cinnamon rolls, simply makes the “gooey-er”, it’s not absolutely vital but I find this method makes them most “restaurant-worthy.”
  • If making pizza, it is ideal to have both a pizza stone and a pizza peel but its fine if you don’t have either – just might be a little trickier to transfer dough from the work area to the cooking surface and back off once cooked, use extra flour and a bit of cornmeal if you can to help keep the dough from sticking.

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