Cinnamon Rolls

Top view of a tray of cinnamon buns. Some are topped with cream cheese icing.

Cinnamon rolls - beloved breakfast spirals made with fluffy yeast-leavened dough. Classic cinnamon-sugar swirl & cream cheese icing 🤤

Before You Start

There's no need to bring your eggs and buttermilk to room temperature before starting. They help to cool the mix down for the dough.

Start at least 6 hours ahead if serving that day. Or allow around 3.5 hour total time to prep (mostly hands-off) the evening before. This means you can enjoy freshly-baked cinnamon rolls for breakfast or brunch. Without getting up at ridiculous o’clock to do so. If making ahead, all you’ll need to do is get the formed rolls out of the fridge 2.5 hours before planning on serving. Leave them to get puffy at room temperature while the oven preheats.

They need a short bake time and short cooling time before enjoying.

Servings: 12 rolls

Author: Hangry Miss

Equipment

32x23cm baking pan (metal preferred over glass/ceramic)
Stand-mixer (note)

Ingredients

Tangzhong

12 g plain/all-purpose flour
60 ml milk

Dough

85 g unsalted butter
460 g plain/all-purpose flour
7 g instant dried yeast
¾ teaspoon salt
115 ml buttermilk
5 large eggs (1 whole egg and 4 yolks)
25 g granulated sugar
extra butter for greasing

Filling

60 g unsalted butter
150 g soft dark brown sugar
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon salt

Glaze

125 g icing sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla paste/extract
110 g cream cheese

Instructions

Make Tangzhong - in a small saucepan/frying pan, whisk together 12g flour and 60ml milk until smooth. Place over medium heat. Stir continuously, until the mixture thickens into a thick paste. A silicone spatula is handy for this. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
12 g plain/all-purpose flour
60 ml milk
Melt Butter - in a small bowl and allow to cool slightly. Set aside.
85 g unsalted butter
Flour, Yeast & Salt -in a large bowl, combine the flour with the yeast using a hand whisk. Add the salt and whisk through.
460 g plain/all-purpose flour
7 g instant dried yeast
¾ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients & Sugar – add the melted butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the tangzhong and buttermilk and whisk together by hand. Add all the egg and granulated sugar and combine.
115 ml buttermilk
5 large eggs
25 g granulated sugar
Combine Dry & Wet – add half the flour mix to the wet ingredients and combine using a flexible spatula. Add the rest of the flour and use the spatula to bring the mix together to form a craggy dough.
Knead - attach the dough hook to the stand-mixer. At medium speed, knead the mixture for 10 minutes - until the dough is soft and moist, but not overly sticky. If it works its way up the sides and looks like it’s trying to climb out, stop the mixer and push it down again. You’ll know you’ve kneaded enough when the dough passes the ‘window pane’ test – rip off a small piece of dough. Flatten it out and hold it up by the edges between your hands. Try to stretch it out gently, pulling your hands in opposite directions. If it stretches out thinly without tearing, it’s ready. If it tears, knead for a couple more minutes and retest.
Dough Ball – pull the dough off the dough hook and gather up in your hands. Tuck the edges underneath and pinch any seams together to form a smooth ball.
First Proof - rub a little butter around the inside of a large bowl and place the dough ball inside. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap or a clean shower cap. Let the dough rise at room temperature until roughly increased in volume by half, about 1 to 2 hours. When you gently prod the dough, it should bounce back slightly.
extra butter
Chill Dough – put the dough in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour before rolling and shaping. It will make it easier to work with. Meanwhile, make sure the butter for the filling is out of the fridge to soften and make the filling.
60 g unsalted butter
Make the Filling – sieve the soft brown sugar and cinnamon into a bowl. You’ll need to use the back of a spoon to push it through and scrape the underneath of the sieve to get it all. Stir through the salt. Set aside.
150 g soft dark brown sugar
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon salt
Prepare Dish - generously butter the baking dish and line the base and up the two longer sides with baking paper.
extra butter
Roll out Dough – gently tip out the chilled dough onto a floured work surface. Roll out into a rectangle that is no less than 26cm (but no more than 30cm) at the shorter end and about ½ cm thick. It will end up being about 30-35cm long. Try and get the corners as sharp as square as possible. You can use your hands to help shape and press out the dough. Check every so often during rolling that the dough is not sticking to the work bench. Throw under a touch more flour if needed.
Apply Filling - spread the very softened butter all over the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the butter as evenly as you can. Leave a narrow strip bare (about 1cm) at the long edge furthest away from you.
Roll & Cut Rolls - starting from the long side opposite the bare strip, roll the dough into a tight log. Start by pulling the dough towards you gently first. End with the seam underneath. Use unflavoured dental floss or fishing line to remove any uneven ends. Discard these or bake separately. Mark even lines along the log shape to divide into 12 even portions. They will be about 3cm each. Use the floss or fishing line to ‘cut’ these.
Arrange in Dish – place the rolls in the pan with their ‘tails’ positioned so that they can’t unravel. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to a day. They will puff and swell up a bit. Some brown syrup from the sugary butter filling will puddle underneath them.
Second Prove – take the rolls out of the fridge about 2.5 hours before you plan to serve them. Keep them covered with plastic wrap. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Bake -uncover the rolls and put in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, turning the pan halfway through. The tops should be only slightly coloured. When you tap on one of the edges of a bun it should sound hollow.
Make Glaze - make sure the cream cheese is very soft; you can nuke for a few seconds if need be. Sift the icing sugar (skip this step if you're using icing sugar mixture). Tip the icing sugar into a shallow bowl. Make a small well in the centre with the back of a spoon. Pour in the milk and whisking in with a fork or a small hand whisk. Work from the inside out, gradually incorporating the sugar until it is all combined. Add the vanilla, then stir through the soft cream cheese.
125 g icing sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla paste/extract
110 g cream cheese
Ice the Rolls – apply the glaze to the rolls as you serve them, about 2 teaspoons per bun, plus extra for dipping.

Notes

I haven’t tried kneading this dough by hand. Of course, it’s possible. You will need to allow more time and be prepared for a bit of a workout. Knead the dough until you achieve a smooth, slightly sticky dough.

Keep the glaze unrefrigerated but closely covered with plastic wrap. It will keep for up to a week no problems. It will be far easier to apply to the rolls and nicer to eat.

Make Ahead

The uncooked rolls can spend overnight in the fridge, or up to 24 hours. Want to make further in advance? After the second rise in the fridge, cover well (still in the dish) with baking paper and then foil and freeze. You can do this up to three months in advance. Defrost overnight in the fridge and proceed with baking as normal.

Leftovers

The rolls are undoubtedly at their best on the day of baking. Store in a small airtight container or closely covered at room temperature. They will keep for up to another 3 days. Revive stale rolls in the microwave, icing after warming.

If you know you’re not going to eat them over the next day or so, freeze individual rolls. Do this as soon as possible after cooling. Once frozen, you can store them closely in an air-tight container or ziplock bag. Whenever you want one you can just pop in the microwave to defrost, then warm (make sure you reserve the icing though!).