Spiced Anise Breakfast Rolls

And because I never make anything the same way twice when Riley requested "the same rolls you made for breakfast yesterday", this was my version today.... I loved the addition of the anise seeds.

1 cup warm milk
5 t active dry yeast
6 1/2 T butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 t ground ginger

1/2 t ground nutmeg
1 T anise seeds

 1 t ground cinnamon
2 T organic granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour - yes, I refrained from using whole wheat flour, just for today!
1/2 C butter, softened
1/2 C organic granulated sugar
2 T ground cinnamon

Pour the warm milk into a mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let bloom for about 3 minutes. Mix in 6 1/2 T of soft butter, eggs, spices, 2 T sugar, salt, and 3 1/2 C of the flour. Use a wooden spoon to mix the dough. If it's very sticky, mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.

Cream together the remaining butter and sugar. Stir in the cinnamon.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it until it's firm, about 3 minutes. Divide the dough in half; roll each half into a rectangle no more than 1/2 inch thick. Spread each rectangle with half the filling.

Stack one layer of dough and filling on top of the other rectangle of dough, filling-side up. Roll the dough up, starting with the edge closest to you, to form a long log. Cut the log into 1 inch-thick slices.
Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F. Line two baking pans with parchment paper.

Place the rolls on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2" inches apart. Let the rolls rest 20 minutes before baking.

Bake the rolls in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake the rolls until the sides are fully set, about 10 minutes longer. Cover the baking dish with foil if the rolls begin to get too brown.

I'm link this recipe up to Wit, Wok, & Wisdom's Let's Break Bread Together! linky party. 7/22/11