SCHNECKEN SWEET ROLLS

©David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D.,
Professor of Biology and Chemistry
University of Cincinnati Clermont College,
Batavia OH 45103
Roll "decorated" dough
into a log which you will cut
This page has been accessed Counter times since 27 August 2003. 

First on the web on 27 August 2003
Finished schnecken
When you make bread, make a little more dough (a pound or so) than you need for your loaves and turn it into an astonishingly delicious cinnamon-nut sweet roll the Germans call schnecken (snails) because of the spiral shape they have.
The amount of the ingredients given in the recipe is approximate because making schnecken is typically done by eye: a coating of butter, a layer of brown sugar, a dusting of cinnamon, a good sprinkling of chopped nuts...
 
Here are three stages: 1. Prepare the pan with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped nuts.
2. "Dress" the rolled out dough, roll into a log and cut into slices.
3. Let rise and bake.

Materials and equipment:
Approximate ingredients: Equipment:
1 1/4th pound of whole wheat bread dough 
1/4 cup melted butter or 1:1 melted butter: canola oil blend 
2/3rds-3/4ths cup brown sugar 
cinnamon 
1 cup of chopped pecans (should taste fresh with no trace of rancidity)		 7 inch round pan 
rolling pin 
knife 
oven preheated to 360 F 

I.  Prepare the pan with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped nuts.

Click on an image to enlarge it:
 1 Ingredients for schnecken:
pan 
melted butter 
rolled out dough 
brown sugar 
chopped nuts 
cinnamon 		  4 shake cinnamon on top of brown sugar layer to desired intensity.
2 Generously coat the inside of the baking pan with melted butter (if you are trying to redue cholesterol, you can use 1:1 butter canola oil blend). 5 Sprinkle on chopped nuts
3 cover the bottom of the buttered pan with a layer of brown sugar 6 pan ready to receive the schnecken.

II.  "Dress" the rolled out dough, roll into a log and cut into slices.
 

9 Similar to the treatment of the pan:

Butter the surface of the rolled out dough

 13 Roll up the dough tightly by pulling on the roll as you roll it over.
10 Coat buttered dough with brown sugar 14 Pinch the end of the dough to the log to seal.
11 Dust well with cinnamon 15 Cut log into 3/4th inch pieces.  Seven pieces fit perfectly into a round pan.
12 Distribute chopped nuts over brown sugar layer. 16 Place cut pieces of the log into the prepared pan.  Snug together if necessary

III.  Let rise and bake
 

17 Pieces loaded, ready to rise. 21 After 30 minutes, the top is firm and shows signs of toasting.  It sounds hollow when you tap the bread surface.
18 Cover with a damp towel, place in a warm spot to rise, about an hour at 70 F (21 C).  Bread is rising as well (outside on our cistern wall, in this case.) 22 While still very hot, invert on a plate and tap to release the schnecken. 
19 The bread and schnecken are ready to bake.  Transport VERY gently to the preheated oven 23 The bread and the schnecken are cooling on a rack to allow the steamy moisture to dissapate.
20 Distribute evenly in a 360 F oven.  Bake about 25-30 minutes for schnecken, 30-35 for the bread. 24 And it tastes even better than it looks...

Additional pictures of the process

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