Coffee Cake Ring/Not a King Cake, Day 1

Ok, it looks an awful lot like a King Cake. It should taste an awful lot like King Cake. It will be glazed an awful lot like a King Cake. But it's a not a King Cake. It's after Fat Tuesday and serving this cake after Mardi Gras is apparently tantamount to sacrelidge. I don't want Emeril Lagasse to come after me with a crawfish or something. But it's tasty nonetheless.

I'm using two of Alton Brown's recipes from the House of the Rising Bun Recipe: his overnight cinnamon rolls for flavor, and his overnight Citrus-Ginger Ring for the shape (because it's a ring, not a King Cake.)

The Bread:
4 large egg yolks, room temp (save your whites for later!)
1 whole egg, room temp
2 oz sugar
3 oz unsalted butter, melted
6 oz buttermilk, room temperature (I didn't have any so I substituted 6 ounces half and half with about 3/4 T of vinegar)
20 ounces All Purpose Flour
1 package instant dry yeast
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
A few sprays cooking spray

Whisk yolks, eggs, sugar, butter, and buttermilk together. Sift together Flour, salt and yeast.

Wet and Dry ingredients...

Add approximately half of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Add all but about 3/4 cup of the flour mix.

Now, if you're not a lowly graduate student like myself, you may have your own handy stand mixer. Unfortunately, I do not have such luck and have to hand knead everything. So knead for either 5 minutes by stand mixer or about 10 by hand.

Kneading action shot.

If you have a stand mixer, check your dough after 5 minutes. It should be moist and soft to the touch but not sticky. If it is sticky, add the remaining flour and continue to knead for an additional 5 minutes by stand mixer or 10 by hand.

My wrists are so shapely.

After you're finished kneading (I kneaded for the majority of a Jon and Kate Plus Eight episode), form your dough into a ball. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and drop your dough in. Spray the top of your dough and allow to sit for 2 to 2 1/2 hours in a nice warm spot to proof. I took this opportunity to cook and eat my dinner, which conveniently kept my dough warm.

Once you're finished with dinner but ideally before your dough has proofed, mix together your filling:

The Filling:

8 oz brown sugar
Pinch salt
1 T cinnamon

Mix together and set aside.

Once your dough has doubled, drop onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out to a 12 by 18 inch rectangle. Melt 3/4 oz butter in the microwave and spread over your dough rectangle.

Once your butter is spread over your dough, spread the filling over your dough and press in lightly.

I neglected to take pictures of the next portion of the process. I would like to say it was because it was so complicated that I couldn't possibly pick up a camera, but I simply forgot. Beginning at the bottom edge, begin to roll the dough up toward the unbuttered part of the dough. Roll it into a tight cylinder, making sure the seam is on the bottom. Gently squeeze to even out any uneven parts in the dough to make an even cylinder. Pull ends together to form a ring and dab a little bit of beaten egg on the ends to help seal everything together.

And now the hard part. Put in the refrigerator to sit overnight or up to 16 hours. Waiting is always the hardest part.