Little Brown Koko's Lightbread

This recipe card really piqued my curiosity; its title had two mysteries. What is "lightbread" and who is Little Brown Koko?

Luckily we have the world wide web to provide instant answers! Little Brown Koko is a character from a 1940s series of children's books that are now considered racist, much like the Little Black Sambo books that preceded these. And according to one site, there were also gay subtexts in the books. I nor anyone I queried had ever heard of Little Brown Koko, but apparently he was a child that just messed up every task he was given by his grandmother.

"Lightbread" is not at all exotic, but simply a slightly richer-than-normal white yeast bread. I doubt this recipe actually appeared in the the books, but is probably a home cook's adaption of one that was referenced. (There's a chocolate cake on the interweb that's an adaption of one too, created by a housewife at the behest of her child.)

The bread is pretty good and, like most yeast recipes, is pretty versatile. The instructions are not the clearest.

A page from one of the books.

Begin by soaking the yeast in a bowl (or if a teacup, as specified in the recipe.)

Add in the flour.

Don't use all the flour specified -- it's way too much!

Knead the dough and let rise.

When it's had it's rise, divide in half. Make one into a regular loaf of bread and the other roll out and fill with butter, cinnamon and sugar. Roll and cut into pieces.

Place in a greased cake pan.

When it's had its second raise, bake.

Remove from pan and make a frosting of confectioner's sugar and milk.

Don't try this version -- just make a regular loaf of bread.

Have Fun -- Make Rolls

A while back, I made Twenty Second Cinnamon Rolls, but when I found a 1953 pamphlet from the educational service at J. Walter Thompson Company, entitled Have Fun -- Make Rolls, I just had to try the four-hour version.  The difference?  The 20-second rolls are an afternoon quickie -- fast and sweet.  These rolls are a romantic love affair -- sensuous and sophisticated.  I would venture to say that these are the real deal, the cinnamon rolls of your dreams.

This charming 16-page brochure for children (really, only girls, for this is the 1950s) goes into great detail, complete with photographs and illustrations, walking one through the process of making clover leaf rolls, butterhorns, sailor's knots and cinnamon rolls.  Of course, I picked the rolls with the extra sugar and butter.

These were much better than the 20-second version and worth every minute.  The yeast dough is light and complex in taste (not to mention preparation).  Recipe below, followed by almost step-by-step photographs.

Cinnamon Rolls
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 package active dry east
1 egg
2 1/2  cups all purpose flour

Heat milk gently in saucepan; scald but don't let it boil.  Measure sugar, salt and butter into large bowl.  Pour hot milk into bowl. Stir to melt mixture.
While the above mixture cools, pour yeast into the water.
When the milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add one cup flour.  Stir until batter is smooth.
Pour the yeast mixture into the batter and stir well.  Add egg and mix until all combined.
Add remaining flour and stir well.
Turn mixture out on a clean counter and knead for about five to 10 minutes, until elastic.
Return to the bowl (which you've washed and and greased).  Coat the dough with the oil, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1.5 hours.   When it has risen, punch the dough.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Turn dough out on your board or counter, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Mix 1/2 cup of white or brown sugar with 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon. (Take out two tablespoons of this mixture and reserve.)  Melt two tablespoons of butter.

Uncover dough and flatten.  Using a rolling pin, roll it into a long, narrow strip about seven or eight inches wide so it resembles a long, narrow scarf.    Brush melted butter on the dough and sprinkle the sugar-cinnamon mixture on top.
Roll up, lengthwise.  Press the seam by pinching it.
Cut into one-inch slices and place in either a muffin tin, or two eight or nine-inch round or square pans.  Leave space between each roll, as they will expand.  Sprinkle the reserved sugar-cinnamon mixture on top.  Cover with a towel and let rise for one hour, until doubled in bulk.  Bake about 25 minutes.

When cool, you can frost with confectioner's sugar mixed with a bit of water or milk.  Enjoy!

Scald the milk, then pour over the butter and sugar.

Mix the yeast with warm water.

The dough resting.

Roll it out until it resembles a long, narrow scarf.  Pull at the sides to make "corners."

Melted butter and sugar-cinnamon at the ready.

This is how it rolls.

Leave plenty of space between the rolls; you can see below how the dough expands.

If you use muffin tins, you'll get round rolls, instead of these post-modern looking beauties, below.

Girls from the brochure with their rolls.  And Barbie-doll sized waists.

Twenty Second Cinnamon Rolls. Really?

Gimmicks are nothing new.  Just look at the title of this recipe, written sometime in the 1940s.

While some steps (like kneading the dough) may take 20 seconds, truth-in-pastry would reveal that this recipe actually takes 20 minutes.  Still, its intriguing claim prompted me to select it from among the dozens of cinnamon roll recipes in my collection.

These are very good cinnamon rolls, indeed, though they should not be confused with the traditional buns made from a yeast dough.  Those take hours to make, as one needs to let the dough rise at least once (and usually twice).  These 20-second rolls can be on the table in 20 minutes.

Although the recipe didn't call for it, I made a glaze to add a touch of glamour and sweetness.  I suggest you do this too.  Just put some confectioner's sugar (about one cup) in a bowl and add milk or water.  Stir until it reaches the right consistency and all the lumps have disappeared.

This is a very easy recipe and the dough is a dream to handle. I'll walk you through the whole process below.

You can cut the butter into the flour by hand (use your fingertips), with a pastry blender or two knives.  Or use the food processor (above).

The dough is very dry at first; don't be tempted to add more milk, as it will smooth out during the kneading.

Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape.  I trimmed the edges of mine after this photo was taken.

Brush on some melted butter -- I used about three tablespoons. I also want to recommend using silicone pastry brushes.  They work wonderfully and while I normally prefer natural to plastic, I've never had to pick natural boar bristles out of pastry while using this new-fangled kitchen tool.

Be generous with the butter, and also the cinnamon and especially the brown sugar, as the dough itself contains no sweeteners.

Roll it up, long-ways.  You can use a bit of melted butter to seal the seam.

Slice and place into a baking pan that you've sprayed with Pam or greased, unless you want to spend the last of the long vacation weekend scrubbing the pan.  Be sure to leave plenty of space between them, as they expand quite a bit during baking.  I used an 8-inch square pan.