Sweet Rolls

I love to bake. I am by no means an expert, but I give ti my best. And on the rare occasion I flub something up, my bread is still salvageable. Lots of things to do with bad bread. But today I made cinnamon/sweet rolls. Ooo la la. However, this recipe is not vegan, but I am working on it. I start out with which ever recipe I am following then we either keep it, tweak it or ditch it. This was is a tweaker, only due to us wanting to veganize it. For those vegans out there, you most more than likely know what to do already, but I shall endeavour to add the substitutes whenever I can. And for the record...half of them are gone already. I got my recipe from Sue Gregg. She is the Queen of bread making.

**Dissolve yeast with sweetener in water in a glass bowl or container; let stand for 5-10 minutes until bubbles up**
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/2 t honey (or other sweetener)
1 T active dry yeast at room temperature

Blend in a mixing bowl:
1&1/4 cups hot water (125-130 degrees)
1/4 cup honey (or other sweetener)
2T olive oil or melted unsalted butter (we used canola oil)
1 egg ( no clue what to use as a substitute, but will research)
1&1/4 t salt
2 cups whole wheat flour (we used soft white)

Add yeast (proofed) and remaining flour as needed to handle dough without sticking. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, and resistant.
3&3/4 -4 cups of flour

Place in greased bowl, oil top of dough, cover with towel and let rise in warm place until double in size. (About 1- 1&1/2 hours) Gently punch down and knead lightly. Shape, let rise and bake as desired into sweet rolls or rings (We did not do a second rise, but feel free to give it a whirl)

Shaping of Dough:
Roll out dough with rolling pin into a 9 x 15 rectangle about 1/2 inch thick *This was the most difficult thing in the entire process)

Evenly spread over surface of dough, not quite to the edges:
1/3 cup of sweetener (I would bump it up a wee bit)
Cinnamon, generously--about 1 t
1/2 cup raisins, soaked and drained (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 apple, grated, peeled, or unpeeled (optional)
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Roll up dough firmly from the long side , sealing the edge by lifting it up and over the top of the roll, pinching the edge to the roll. Turn the seam downward.

Even up roll with hands. Cut 1" thick rolls by sliding a piece of thread or dental floss under the roll, crossing it over the top and slicing through the dough (we used thread on this one. We took some thread and pulled it away form the spool as long as our arms could go, as if you were showing someone how much you loved them. And then we doubled up the string until it was about 18 inches long. It worked perfectly)

Place rolls, cut side down in greased pan (we used coconut oil). Allow room between them for rising. Let rise until double (we did not do this but will next time)

Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes. (ours needed 30 minutes and they were perfection)

Icing:
1/4-1/3 cup of powdered sugar (I know I know, but this is sweet rolls. Let this be your indulgence for the week)
1 t of milk of choice (we used almond) you may need to add more. Play it by ear. You may also need to add more sugar. Again, play it by ear. You will find the consistency that works for you. Then drizzle on the hot rolls.

Ooo La La