Cook’s Notebook: Reader looking for not-so-sweet orange roll

It’s a good thing the Spokane Club doesn’t share the recipe for its orange roll. Turns out that it’s not the recipe Nancy Sackmann of Ritzville, Wash., wants. She has been on the lookout for an orange roll recipe like the Spokane Club used to make.

She wants an orange roll that’s less sweet, more of a dinner roll rather than a dessert roll.

“I like the other rolls from way back when,” she said. The recipe she remembers – and thinks was at one point published in The Spokesman-Review – was a soft dinner roll that had a prominent orange flavor. Orange zest had a prominent role, and there was a subtle sugary sweetness in the middle.

The bad news for Sackmann is that in my weeks of research, I’ve yet to find a roll to match that criteria. Google the phrase “Spokane Club Orange Roll” and you get two hits featuring a suggested alternative that is delicious … but pretty sweet. It’s more like an orange flavored cinnamon roll.

So I’m hopeful someone out there can help us. A search of the paper’s electronic archive didn’t yield the old Spokane Club recipe. Maybe it’s in there somewhere, collecting dust on microfilm. Hopefully, however, it’s tucked inside someone’s recipe box, waiting to see the light of day. If you have it, feel free to send it along to the e-mail address printed below.

In the meantime, here’s the recipe for that sweet orange roll, which I found at recipezaar.com. It really is quite good. This soft yeast dough is light and delicious. I sent a tray in to the newsroom, and it was picked clean in no time.

If Sackmann and others would like to make this recipe less sweet, I would increase the amount of zest and cut the amount of sugar to 3/4 cup or less in the filling. I also would forgo the sticky glaze. If you must.

Outstanding Orange Rolls

From recipezaar.com

For the dough:

1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (112 degrees)

1 cup warm milk (112 degrees)

1/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups flour

For the filling:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 tablespoons grated orange rind

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

4 teaspoons butter, softened

4 to 5 teaspoons milk

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water.

In a large bowl, mix milk, shortening, sugar, salt, and egg. Add yeast mixture and blend well. (Note: Using a spatula, mash as much of the shortening into the mixture as you can. The rest will work itself out in the kneading process.)

Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead on floured board for about 7 minutes.

Place dough in a greased bowl, turn to grease the top. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down and divide in half. Roll each half into a 15-by-10-inch rectangle.

Mix filling ingredients until smooth and spread half on each rectangle. Roll up the dough, starting with the long end, like a jelly roll.

Cut each roll into 15 pieces. Place in two greased 11-by-7-inch baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned. Combine glaze ingredients and spread over warm rolls.

Note: When making the glaze, I found it best to give the mixture a blast in the microwave for 20 seconds or so to help fully incorporate the butter.

Yield: 30 rolls

Approximate nutrition per serving: 152 calories, 6 grams fat (2.8 grams saturated, 33 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 23 grams carbohydrate, 17 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 85 milligrams sodium.