by Diane Sagers

GUEST COLUMNIST

I think it is hilarious that you are featuring me in this article. Anyone can cook!" laughed Carissa Heaps, when I called her this week for an interview. I assured her not everyone can cook well and many who can don't know it yet.

I was introduced to Heaps' mouthwatering cinnamon rolls at a party. They are big, soft, sweet and delicious. They have made her something of a local celebrity in the area of Erda where she lives.

She explains her techniques are no secret and that it is all about the bread dough. She learned to make bread when she was young and developed the skills to make the cinnamon rolls as a teenager in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

"There was this place in town, Mrs. Powell's Cinnamon Rolls, that made these wonderful cinnamon rolls. They were huge and they were about $3 a piece and I couldn't afford that. But people were always running into the store to buy a cinnamon roll. So I decided to figure out how to do it myself. I started trying different things and just figured them out," she said.

She already had developed some expertise in cooking before she started her quest.

"I am the oldest of a very large family [five boys and five girls]. I have been cooking since I was very little. My mom cooked from scratch. You do that to save money with a big family. As the oldest in the family you become your mom's right arm, so I learned to cook."

She was canning tomatoes, peaches and jam by herself when she was 10.

She completed her bachelor's degree in elementary education and loved it, but cooking -- especially baking -- has also remained a lifelong love.

She and her husband, Randy, are the parents of eight children, and her cinnamon roll-making expertise she developed in high school is still a hit.

"I'm as regular as you can be -- nothing out of the ordinary. But I do love to bake. I love to bake more than cook," she said.

"It's a great thing to bake on a snowy, cold day. I put on a tea kettle to moisten the air, preheat the oven so it warms the kitchen and start the baking," she said.

Heaps said those who don't know how to make bread get discouraged too easily. Often she will hear people say they tried it once and it didn't turn out as it was supposed to so they never tried it again.

"They just need to keep trying," is her advice. "My theory in learning how to make bread is to practice -- and bread is cheap to practice on."

She said she believes it takes 10 times of trying before the final product is something you can eat.

"Just keep practicing and when you are ready, just bake it and surprise everyone," she said.

The ingredients in plain bread dough are very basic -- oil, flour, yeast, water. None are really expensive.

One important part of making good dough is kneading it thoroughly -- a step many beginners don't do enough. Recipes tell you to knead for 10 minutes, but how long it takes depends on how effectively you can knead by hand. In the beginning, you probably should knead it longer. Knead, knead and knead and when you are sure it is right, knead a little more. Using a sturdy mixer or bread machine makes it easier to achieve the right texture.

"I tell people to always start with liquids and add flour and mix and knead it until it is right. People say 'What is the right point?' and I tell them 'That is what you find out through practice,'" Heaps said.

She recommends that for the recipe in this article, if kneading by hand, only make a third of the recipe to avoid discouragement. That would make a loaf of bread or a dozen sweet rolls.

Heaps uses a mixer, but still does it by hand occasionally.

She said most people think the sweet center of the cinnamon rolls is what they like, but it isn't -- it's the bread.

"They try to make rolls by rolling the dough out very thin and then dumping on a lot of butter and sugar and raisins," she said. "It is too heavy and the bread doesn't raise as much. They are hard and gooey."

For the amount of bread in the ones she makes, there is really very little filling.

Heaps rolls her sweet dough into a square about 1 inch thick, then spreads melted butter over it and lightly sprinkles on sugar and cinnamon. She drops the nuts and raisins up the middle then rolls it up.

"I cut the rolls huge -- 3 or 4 inches thick. After I set them on the pan, I go back and smash them flat and even. Sometimes I use a plate to make sure it is even. Then they raise up evenly and very wide. If you don't smash them, they come up like a skyscraper.

"Anybody can do this. The trick is learning how to make good bread dough. Work with the dough," Heaps says. "Once you have figured it out, you can do amazing things with it. You can make anything."

If you have questions about making rolls or bread dough you may contact Carissa Heaps by e-mail at Crh03@explor.com.