There must be a hundred different cinnamon roll recipes, from the French pain aux raisin to the British Chelsea buns to Philadelphia style sticky buns to the Midwest American truck stop cinnamon rolls that are as big as your head.
Here is the recipe I grew up with and still bake most often.
Make the dough by combining all of the ingredients and kneading until smooth, 5 to 10 minutes. The dough should be tacky but not sticky. If it is too moist add a handful of extra flour. Place the dough in a bowl, cover the bowl, and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size (roughly an hour).
While I'm waiting for the dough to rise, I like to plump the raisins by pouring very hot water on them and letting them sit in the water for 15 minutes before draining them. This keeps them moister when you bake them, but this step isn't necessary if you are short on time.
Sometimes I prepare my filling as you'll see below: by combining the softened butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a bowl so they can be spread together. Again, this isn't necessary: you can simply spread the butter and sprinkle the sugar and spices as best as you can by hand. It is up to you.
When the dough is risen, roll it out on a floured surface.
Spread the filling on the risen dough.
Also sprinkle the raisins on top.
Roll the dough up, trying as best as you can to prevent the filling form spilling out. Slice the roll into 12 even pieces.
A tip from the Department of Slow Learners: I have no idea why it took me 25 years to figure out this trick, but it did. In the past, when I needed to slice something like this into 12 even pieces, I would eyeball it and then start carving one slice at a time off the end. Inevitably as I reached the final couple of slices I'd have either too much or too little left, so the final couple rolls are never the same size as the rest.
The trick I learned is to first slice the roll into two even pieces. Then slice slice each of these pieces into two even pieces, so you have four pieces total. Each of those pieces only needs to be cut twice more for you to have twelve pieces. Eyeballing how to cut a small piece of dough into three even pieces is much easier than eyeballing a twelfth of a large piece of dough.
Moving on....
Now that your roll is cut into twelve even pieces, place those pieces in a baking pan.
Cover the pan and let the buns rise for another 45 minutes to an hour until they've roughly doubled in size.
Bake them at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes. Be careful about oven positioning and overbaking: because there is quite a bit of sugar in the filling it is quite easy to burn the bottom of the rolls. I find that the second rack from the top works best in my oven, and I try to pull them out as soon as they look baked.
Let the rolls cool for 20 minutes or so before glazing them. The glaze will thicken as it cools, but if it is extremely runny feel free to add some additional powdered sugar to thicken it up.
There is it.
I'd be interested in hearing about other people's favorite Cinnamon Roll recipes/techniques. Please share your recipes, ideas, and photos.
Here is the recipe I grew up with and still bake most often.
Cinnamon Rolls
Makes 12 rolls
Dough:
16 oz all-purpose flour
10 oz warm milk
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Filling:
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup choppped walnuts or pecans
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Make the dough by combining all of the ingredients and kneading until smooth, 5 to 10 minutes. The dough should be tacky but not sticky. If it is too moist add a handful of extra flour. Place the dough in a bowl, cover the bowl, and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size (roughly an hour).
While I'm waiting for the dough to rise, I like to plump the raisins by pouring very hot water on them and letting them sit in the water for 15 minutes before draining them. This keeps them moister when you bake them, but this step isn't necessary if you are short on time.
Sometimes I prepare my filling as you'll see below: by combining the softened butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a bowl so they can be spread together. Again, this isn't necessary: you can simply spread the butter and sprinkle the sugar and spices as best as you can by hand. It is up to you.
When the dough is risen, roll it out on a floured surface.
Spread the filling on the risen dough.
Also sprinkle the raisins on top.
Roll the dough up, trying as best as you can to prevent the filling form spilling out. Slice the roll into 12 even pieces.
A tip from the Department of Slow Learners: I have no idea why it took me 25 years to figure out this trick, but it did. In the past, when I needed to slice something like this into 12 even pieces, I would eyeball it and then start carving one slice at a time off the end. Inevitably as I reached the final couple of slices I'd have either too much or too little left, so the final couple rolls are never the same size as the rest.
The trick I learned is to first slice the roll into two even pieces. Then slice slice each of these pieces into two even pieces, so you have four pieces total. Each of those pieces only needs to be cut twice more for you to have twelve pieces. Eyeballing how to cut a small piece of dough into three even pieces is much easier than eyeballing a twelfth of a large piece of dough.
Moving on....
Now that your roll is cut into twelve even pieces, place those pieces in a baking pan.
Cover the pan and let the buns rise for another 45 minutes to an hour until they've roughly doubled in size.
Bake them at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes. Be careful about oven positioning and overbaking: because there is quite a bit of sugar in the filling it is quite easy to burn the bottom of the rolls. I find that the second rack from the top works best in my oven, and I try to pull them out as soon as they look baked.
Let the rolls cool for 20 minutes or so before glazing them. The glaze will thicken as it cools, but if it is extremely runny feel free to add some additional powdered sugar to thicken it up.
There is it.
I'd be interested in hearing about other people's favorite Cinnamon Roll recipes/techniques. Please share your recipes, ideas, and photos.
Comments
This is my aunt’s recipe which my mother always swore was “the” best sweet bread dough recipe. She used potato and its water which makes such a tender dough, as you know. I have made her recipe and added my own twist using chocolate cream cheese icing and cinnamon chips both inside and sprinkled over the top.
I also made some with vanilla cream cheese icing.
Other photos can be seen here: http://zolablue.smugmug.com/gallery/2348537#122923980Chocolate Cinnamon Chip Rolls
Refrigerator Rolls – Makes 12 large rolls*
1 Package active dry yeast
1/2 Cup lukewarm water (add pinch of sugar) Set aside.
In large bowl:
2/3 Cup shortening
2 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup sugar
2 Eggs
1 Cup mashed potato
1/2 Cup milk (Aunt uses evaporated milk)
1/2 cup water potatoes cooked in
4 to 6 cups all purpose flour (this varies but the less flour the better but must be able to handle the dough)
Mix first three ingredients; shortening, salt & sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat in. Add mashed potatoes, yeast, milk, potato water and mix.
Add flour; three to four cups, mixing well adding enough more flour until dough can be handled and turned onto floured board. Knead well using as little flour as possible. Place in large oiled bowl, cover and let rise double. Knead lightly and cover, place in fridge until ready to use or overnight.
For cinnamon rolls:
If refrigerated, let bowl sit at room temperature for 30 – 40 minutes. Then roll out dough on lightly floured counter to roughly 12 x 18 inches for large sized rolls. If dough has been divided for smaller sized rolls; roll out dough to approximately 1/2 inch thick. Brush on melted butter, then sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon mixture and chopped cinnamon chips. Leave about 1/2" border.
Starting at edge tightly roll up dough. Cut into 1 1/2" pieces and place in buttered baking pan. Let rise until double.
Bake in 375 degree oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
Drizzle with icing and sprinkle chopped cinnamon chips.
Filling:
3/4 Cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 - 1 Cup cinnamon chips (chopped) - more to sprinkle over top
Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
4 Tablespoons butter, softened
8 Ounces cream cheese, softened
3 Ounces** Ghirardelli 62% bittersweet unsweetened chocolate morsels, melted (or chocolate; your choice)
Dash of salt
3 Cups confectioners sugar
1/3 Whole Milk (approx – use enough to get desired consistency)
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add melted chocolate, salt, confectioners sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth and spreadable.
*Or divide dough twice or into thirds for desired size rolls.
**Adjust chocolate amount if you are making part of the icing vanilla only.
I guess I know what my wife is going to have for dessert when she gets back from her DC conference trip on Sunday ....
But the whole cinnamon - chocolate thing ... mmmm ... Mexican chocolate.
Well...thankfully, I don't think Floyd would do whole wheat on me, since he has generally not been a purist with the stuff even when it comes to "whole wheat bread"... and honestly I don't know that I've ever even tried cinnamon chips so I'd be fine with the ground cinnamon. :D
So I guess that means that Floyd is NOT off the hook with me on this one!!
Next weekend, however ....
Zolablue, I tried your recipe twice this weekend - the first time for my family (came over for breakfast), the 2nd time for the inlaws. I received RAVE reviews from many, many people. This dough is sooooo soft - I've never baked a bread with potato in it before, but it seems to make all the difference. I'd be interested to find out what cinnamon chips are - I made mine with the traditional raisins, brown sugar and cinnamon, and made the vanilla cream cheese icing. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Thanks!
The cinnamon chips are Hershey's. You can find them in the grocery with the chocolate chips and other types of chips in the baking section. They are really a nice addition to cinnamon rolls for an intense, creamy cinnamon burst. I'll bet you can find them in your local grocery, if I can, I know you can.
Pseudobaker, I'm so happy you tried the rolls and liked them. I do agree that is the most tender dough and because of the potato. My aunt also has a recipe using this dough for a Swedish Tea Ring and another aunt uses this same dough recipe to make delicious orange rolls. So just make it for anything you would like, even dinner rolls.
I hope you guys find the cinnamon chips to at least try them. Really, though, cinnamon rolls are good with or without them.
Floyd, Zolablue,
I'd have to say both those recipes look really good, but my wife and kids haven't caught me looking at them yet.
Bill
Gary and I are both making Homer Simpson noises, then I showed my sister this page and she must have passed out, because she hasn't answered me. They're both gorgeous! The tomatillo sauce I just made doesn't compare. Grrrrr. Where did you two say you live?
Susan
Those both look like winners and the photography looks professional. Very nice job.
Eric
Mountaindog,
I was just torturing myself by rereading this thread (just ate breakfast and I'm hungry again), and saw your lament about dairy free stuff. I'm in the same boat; if it came from a cow, goat or sheep, I can't have it. Heartbreak for a former cheese fanatic, but I'm learning to cope (sort of).
I've given up completely on cheese replacements; I'd rather do without than eat what's out there. Too much like plastic for my taste.
On the baking front, however, I've almost completely made up for the lack. Soy works for some stuff, but I agree that the taste can interfere. I've found that coconut milk works wonders. If you find you can taste the coconut, you can also mix it 1:1 with soy. The tastes seem to sort of cancel each other out, and the coconut has enough fat to make it act like milk in the bread. For butter replacement I've found that a product called Earth Balance works pretty well, though it's a little bit salty. It's all natural, no hydrogenated nasties etc. The same company makes a shortening that works very well for cakes (I just used it in qahtan's rich stout cake -- yum!)
I usually make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, and they worked fine this way. of course, next year I'm going to have to try Floyd or zolablue's recipe!
You have my sympathy; dairy free is a stinker,
edh
edh - thanks for dairy alternative tips.
I had never thought of using coconut milk, that sounds like it's worth a try, do you use the canned variety sold in supermarkets? I do use Earthbalance products, I like their version sold under the "Organic Smartbalance" label best, and I have had good success using it as a butter replacement in most recipes like sourdough waffles and saffron buns (last item in blog at bottom). You may want to try Floyd's saffron bun recipe here sometime, they were great, I made them for Christmas morning by substituting Earthbalance's "Soy Garden" spread for the butter and Silk soy creamer for the milk. I find the Soy Garden to not be too salty, give it a try if you can find it, usually sold in health food stores (is there still a health food market in Machias?).
The other things I really miss are really good butter croissants and brioche. I used the make very good brioche, I have not in a long time because I know I will want to eat some!
The canned stuff (not the sweetened stuff for pina coladas, though that has it's place, I'm sure!), in the grocery is the one I use. Thai Kitchen and Native are both good brands. Some of the others have thickeners that really don't need to be there. I avoid the light versions, as they're basically watered down regular; I can do that myself for less!
I haven't seen Soy Garden here; I don't get down to Machias very often, the natural food store in Calais is closer. I'll have to ask her if she can get that one in. I think the one I've been getting from my co-op is the same as the Organic Smartbalance that you mentioned.
I'm with you on the croissant thing; for a while there was a little bakery in Pembroke (they've moved to Grand Manan, though not to run a bakery), that made the best croissants I'd ever tasted. I guess I'm glad they moved before I discovered my allergy... I've been meaning to try making a puff pastry with earthbalance shortening so that I can try qahtan's apple turnovers.
edh
Thanks for the comments on my recipe and I hope if you try it you like it. I wanted to add cinnamon to the icing but thought it might be overkill. Naw, I think it would be good. This dough recipe was also used to make my aunt's famous Swedish tea ring and orange rolls. I haven't made those yet but I plan to. I had a lot of working with the recipe to get it right since this was never a written recipe and my aunt was emailing me to help me get things right.
Floyd, my husband is a total raisin freak. He just loves them and as much as he liked my cinnamon rolls he told me next time he would really love cinnamon rolls with raisins. No, he said, cinnamon rolls HAVE to include raisins!
I actually just got done playing with cinnamon rolls myself. I started with the recipe in the BBA and was disappointed with the results. For a second batch I modified it, changing a few things and incorporating some of Alton Brown's "overnight cinnamon roll" recipe. The end result was, in my mind, superior to either of the contributing recipes. Since it is a mix of AB's work and the dough from the BBA, I guess that makes these ABBA (Alton Brown's/Baking Apprentice) rolls...
Dough: (this is very similar to Reinhart's dough, with the addition of the cinnamon and a move away from using all bread flour)
6 ½ tbsp (3.25 ounces) granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
5 ½ tbsp (2.75 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
1 tsp cinnamon
6 ounces bread flour
10 ounces AP flour
2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/8 C. (9 ounces) buttermilk at room temperature
Filling: (from Alton Brown's recipe)
8 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 cup packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
3/4-ounce unsalted butter, melted, approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons
Icing: (based loosely on AB's recipe, but drastically changed as I prefer a thicker icing that has more cream cheese flavor)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3s cup confectioners sugar
[Similar to the dough-making process from the BBA]
Combine the flour, yeast and 1 tsp. cinnamon and whisk to mix ingredients. Set aside.
Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.
Cream together the sugar, salt and butter on medium-high speed in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
Add the egg and lemon zest and continue mixing until smooth.
Then add the flour mixture and buttermilk. Mix on low speed until the dough forms a rough ball. Switch to the dough hook and increase the speed to medium, mixing for approximately 10 minutes or until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. You may have to add more flour or water to achieve this texture. The dough should pass the windowpane test.
Transfer dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl, mist the top of the dough with spray oil and then cover the dough with plastic wrap.
Ferment at room temperature for 2 hours or until the dough roughly doubles in size.
[Now switch to AB's process with "*"s denoting changes from his recipe]
Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough...[side note: This will seem like too much filling but you can use all of it on that one piece of dough, and the results are worth it.]
Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.
* Remove the rolls from the refrigerator one and a half hours before baking.
* Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
* When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake for 5 minutes. Turn down the oven to 350 and continue baking until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 20-25 minutes.
While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and vanilla and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.
Floyd's recipe in particular resembles a long "loaf" of Cinnamon Rasin bread. Just cut to length to fill your loaf pans and you'd have bread instead. I'd wager it would work pretty well too just be carful not to overproof with all the sugar in the recipie. (filling included)
I JUST baked bread too.....my wife will have kittens if I try this tonight......DARN! Too bad I'm allergic to cats!
granniero This morning my family was treated to a pretty darn good batch of rolls,my first try at this particular recipe. I have been exploring local libraries and seen many good books including most of the main ones discussed here and plan to buy some but enjoy the free previews first. Now to the rolls. I don't have pictures but methods and outcomes I see here are very similar. I used the dental floss for cutting,works great. This is from a book called "The Doughmakers Cookbook",by Bette Laplante and Diane Cuvelier, interesting story and good recipes.
These are called overnight Cinnamon Rolls and makes 32.
Ingred:
one 18oz French Vanilla cake mix;
5 and 1/4c all purp. flour;
2 pkts yeast;
1 t salt;
2 and 1/2c warm water;
Filling:
1/2c sugar;
2t cinnamon;
1/2c melted butter;
1/2c raisins;
3/4c chopped nuts.
Icing:
1c powdered sugar;
3T milk;
1/2t vanilla.
Stir together.
Stir together in lg bowl cake mix,flour,yeast,salt and water.Cover and let rise about 1 hr or till doubled. Combine sugar and cinnamon and set aside. When ready,turn dough out on floured surface,cut in half,roll each piece to about 12x18" rectangle.Spread each piece with half of the butter,cinn. sugar,nuts and raisins. Roll into log,press seam with wet fingers. Cut each log into 16 one inch pieces and place in lightly greased 9"x13" pans.(Makes 2 pans).Cover and place in refrig. overnight. In a.m. take out and let stand about 30 min. Bake in preheated 350 oven for 25 min or until tops golden brown,I went about 30 or 35. Drizzle with icing and can add more chopped nuts if desired.
These directions aren't word for word from the book since I took the liberty of condensing them but if you have any questions let me know. The reason I like these better than any I have done before is that they have a softer texture than the plain dough ones,I guess it is the cake mix. The dough isn't overly sweet. They cooked well all the way through,I have had gummy centers sometimes before.It made enough for 8 people,my kids and grandkids were thrilled,and they weren't too messy to make. I even rolled my dough out on a large floured cookie sheet to get the correct size log and it helped contain the mess and everything was quick including the clean-up. Could not have asked for more. Daughters suggestion was next time make a cream cheese icing and here I see there is one also that has chocolate icing so there we have the best of all worlds!
I hope someone tries these and enjoys them as much as we did,I will definitely be making them again. Rosemary in warm NE Florida
Zola, that is a beautiful cinnamon delicacy there :)
I am at a loss as to what your cinnamon chips are. The only cinnamon chips I know of are cinnamon baked tortilla chip wedges for fruit salsa.
Hot drinking chocolate would go well with your rolls.
It's cinnamon roll mania! Here's a batch from a slightly adapted version of Alton Brown's recipe (I don't have the patience to wait for an overnight rise).
The only problem I'm having is that the bottoms still get too burned from the excess sugar, even with a glass baking dish. They were located in the top half of the oven but I don't know what else to do to avoid this, it seems like the bottoms burn before the tops are fully browned. This was at 375, I could go down to 350 but don't know if that will create other problems...any thoughts?
I want to make your cinnamon buns, but I'd like to know what the dough should look like in the mixer bowl. Should it mix into a ball or should it be sticky on the bottom of the bowl, but clear the sides?
Funny enough, my first bread baking endevours have been artisan breads so I'm used to high hydration doughs.
I'm so sorry I don't remember what this was like in the bowl. I was trying so hard to pay attention to my aunt's details on her notes and this was before I actually wrote her recipe up so it could be followed easily by others. I have only made this one time, if you can believe it, and I put my own twist on it with the cinnamon chips and the icings I used. Since my husband has just requested these again I will be making them again soon so I'll try and pay attention but, of course, that won't help you now.
I can tell you that I believe I ended up using all 6 cups of flour and the dough was still very soft. It is supposed to be soft and, of course, the potato adds to that. I know I did end up kneading in the last cup or so of flour with the dough on the counter trying to copy how my aunt has done this for so many years.
I feel I've probably not helped you much. Please do let me know how yours turn out. They are so delicious, really this dough is wonderful. And, as I may have mentioned above, I have a recipe for making this dough into my aunt's famous Swedish tea ring and her sister, my other aunt, famously made this into delicious orange rolls. It works so well for so many things because it is such a tasty sweet bread dough. Good luck!
I'm not sure when exactly I'll be making these. I just received my cinnamon chips from the US so I at least have the ingredients now.
If you make your buns before I do, I'd appreciate knowing. Thanks for the offer. Otherwise, I'll try to go by your suggestions.
Hi Maggie664:
You can find cinnamon chips at King Arthur Flour's website - search for item # 1604. They're just like chocolate chips, but cinnamon flavored.
I believe Hershey's also makes them.
The cinnamon chips are made by Hershey's. They are placed with the chocolate chips and other types of chips in the baking section. I never noticed them before until I found a wonderful little holiday cookie I wanted to make that used them. That's where I got the idea to use them in my cinnamon rolls.
To take up this new one. Bridgestone, one question as I drool over the pictures, the egg wash ...one egg & one teaspoon salt plus 2 Tbs water? Isn't that a lot of salt? Is it correct? Just want to be sure...
Mini O
I have been craving cinnamon rolls for months - why I'm not making them again, I don't know. Just too many things on the list to try. You have done an excellent job of showing us your process. Your dough recipe sounds so good and I am also in the camp of loving cardamom. Thanks!
Audra - You have humbled me with my own recipe! Wow! Those are absolutely beautiful rolls and just look at that beautifully flaky dough! They look simply delectable, I'm not kidding you.
You know how special the recipe is to me for the sweet dough, being my dear aunt's, so it is always so nice to hear when others appreciate its wonderful flavor. So far it is my favorite sweet dough and I do think the potato makes it special.
I don't think you need the cinnamon chips at all - they're just for an added extra touch but not necessary. Listen, I just ate some incredible French toast made with sourdough challah so I am definately not hungry but you are making me drool with these photos. Thank you so much for trying the recipe.
(The dough makes a fabulous Swedish tea ring and also orange rolls that my other aunt makes but as you know the possibilities are endless.)
Has anyone tried these using soy or rice milk? I have company coming in a week, and really don't want to make them and not be able to have a taste. I can make them with water, as mentioned above, but the milk does add a richness.
Zolablue and Audra, thank you, thank you. My mom was the best bread maker but this recipe is astounding! It tastes like your pictures look.
I will confess that I added raisins to the dough itself while it was rising. More of a raisin bread, I guess. I'm gonna try a few drops of cinnamon bark oil in some of my frosting. I've frozen most of the rolls so the two of us can have fresh when we're in the mood. As good as these are, I'm afraid we'll be in the mood A LOT!