Cinnamon Rolls

1 minute read

Updated:

I’ve been practicing with yeasted doughs and cinnamon rolls have been my most consistent bake. I use the recipe and technique from King Arthur’s. But I picked up a handy trick from SeriousEats: instead of spreading melted butter and sprinkling on cinnamon sugar, make a buttercream frosting instead. It’s easily spreadable (it’s frosting after all) and allows for smooth, even coverage across the entire surface.

The two techniques have led to pretty consistent, delicious results.

Cinnamon Rolls:

Recipe

I use the dough from King Arthur Flour. It uses the tangzhong method, which is a roux that’s made with 10% of the flour. This helps to keep the final bake moist, by increasing the flour’s ability to hold on to moisture.

Tangzhong

  • 70 g water
  • 70 g milk
  • 28 g flour

Technique

The tangzhong is a simple roux. Whisk flour and liquids until well-mixed. Gently heat up while whisking. Tangzhong is done when the roux “leaves lines” after spatula or whisk if pulled through. This is ~60-65 C.

Dough

  • tangzhong
  • 500 g flour
  • 20 g milk powder
  • 8 g salt
  • 7 g yeast (whole packet)
  • 170 g milk, lukewarm
  • 2 large eggs
  • 85 g butter (3/4 of stick)

Filling

The frosting filling comes from SeriousEats.

  • 113 g butter (whole stick)
  • 170 g brown sugar
  • 15 g cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 g salt

Putting it Together

The technique is pretty straightforward:

  1. Mix ingredients together.
  2. Leave to autolyse for 20 minutes.
  3. Knead well. This will take a longer time than expected because the tangzhong removes gluten from play.
  4. Shape into a ball, let rest for 60 to 90 minutes. Timing will depend on how warm the initial dough is, how warm the kitchen is, how much yeast was used, etc.
  5. Split dough into two and roll out into a 18”x8” rectangle. Be sure to dust liberally with flour so it doesn’t stick when rolling.
  6. Spread filling evenly.
  7. Roll up along the long edge.
  8. Square off the ends and cut into 12 equal pieces.
  9. Freeze or continue to baking.

Baking

  1. Set rolls close to each other, allowing room to expand.
  2. Proof for additional 45 minutes. The rolls should touch each other lightly.
  3. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes. Target internal temperature of 188 F.