In hopes of mastering cinnamon rolls, I set out to remake cinnamon rolls until I perfected the technique. Read on to hear my tips and find my no-fail cinnamon rolls recipe.
Yeast breads have never been my strong suit. I really only ever use yeast when making cinnamon rolls which is often why I choose to make no-rise cinnamon rolls — simply to avoid the fuss of yeast.
Baking shouldn’t be stressful.
When I do make yeast cinnamon rolls, I find the first 20 minutes of the endeavor to be beyond stressful. I ponder whether or not my yeast is still active, or if I killed it with too hot of milk, or worry that I didn’t add enough sugar to help it activate. It’s all like a crazy scient experiment — just to make cinnamon rolls!
The stress continues as I work the ingredients into a dough and pray that the dough rises. And when I do have success with yeast when making my cinnamon rolls, I always find the rolls themselves after baking never turn out quite right.
Sometimes, when I pull the final product out of the oven, the result is a dense cinnamon roll. Or, other times, the texture is visibly rough after baking. Other attempts leave me with cinnamon roll swirls that look more like a whirling tornado than a beautiful, pristine pinwheel.
So, in an attempt to perfect my cinnamon roll making, I decided to make cinnamon rolls for a few weeks in a row until I perfected the process. After a few attempts, I landed on a recipe and mastered the technique that results in cinnamon roll perfection. My preferred dough is made in a stand mixer and it rolls out beautifully. It’s not sticky whatsoever, and when you press your fingers into it, it springs back into place.
I also learned to seal my cinnamon rolls before slicing with a bit of egg wash which helps the rolls hold their shape and ensures the pretty swirly pinwheels stay in place. Lastly, using the string slicing method, something I’ve always done and my Mom taught me as a child, helps preserve the swirls before placing the rolls into the pan.
After my cinnamon rolls experiment, here’s what I learned and how I perfected my technique:
- When proofing the yeast, ensure the milk temperature is between 105°F and 110°F
- To help the yeast proof, sprinkle a teaspoon or two of granulated sugar into the milk
- Don’t be afraid to knead the dough! Once proofed, the yeast is relatively stable and can withstand 2-3 minutes of kneading in a stand mixer. And this, the kneading part, is key to smooth, supple, beautiful cinnamon roll dough
- Before rolling the dough into a long log, dab one long side of the dough with a whisked egg yolk to help seal everything together
- Trim the ends from the log so you start with a clean, beautiful swirl. Do this using a thin sewing string, crossing the two ends to cleanly cut the cinnamon rolls
- Always, always, always, slather cream cheese frosting on warm cinnamon rolls so it seeps into the crevices
Use the tips above and my recipe below for no-fail, cinnamon roll perfection.
- Dough:
- ¾ cup warm milk (2% or whole milk, 105°F to 110°F)
- .25 ounce dry active yeast (1 pack)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup yogurt (Greek, 2% or whole milk)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ¼ cup milk (2% or whole milk)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
Filling:- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
Frosting:- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1½ tablespoons softened unsalted butter
- 1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1-2 tablespoon whole milk
- In a medium bowl, combine ¾ cup warm milk, 2 teaspoons sugar and yeast, stirring gently. Let stand until mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together butter, sugar, yogurt, beaten egg, and ¼ cup milk.
- In a large bowl, sift 3½ cups flour and salt. Stir half of the flour mixture into butter mixture. With the mixer on low, add the yeast mixture until just until combined. Mix in the remaining flour mixture.
- Remove the paddle attachment and replace with the dough hook. Add remaining ½ cup flour. Knead with the dough hook at medium speed until smooth and elastic, about 2 minutes.
- Spray a large bowl with non-stick baking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning to grease top. Loosely cover and let rise in a warm (or in your oven using the proof setting) until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Grease two 10-inch round cake pans with butter and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Lightly punch down dough then turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and roll into an 18x12 inch rectangle.
- Spread 4 tablespoons of butter onto the rolled dough, and sprinkle with sugar mixture, leaving a ½-inch border on one long side. Brush egg over the dough border without filling (to help seal the dough).
- Starting with the long side without the egg, tightly roll dough into a log, pinching the seam to seal (the egg helps the seal). Using a piece of thread, trim the ends of the log to create an even spiraled, starting point. Mark the log into 1-inch sections then, using the thread, slice the roll into 1-inch rolls. Place the rolls in the prepared pans. Let rise in a warm place (or the oven on the proof setting) until puffed and rolls are touching, about 30-45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls until a baking pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan.
- For the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter at medium speed until creamy, 1-2 minutes. With the stand mixer at low speed, gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until fluffy. Stir in milk until combined. Spread onto warm rolls.
