I love the scent of these cinnamon rolls when they’re in the oven. They are full of cinnamon filling and soft. It’s never easy for me to wait until they cool down to eat one… or two. I often end up having one when they’re still warm, but shhh… don’t tell anyone. 😉 If you’re looking for something to bake this Autumn or Winter make sure to consider this cinnamon rolls recipe!
Ingredients:
Dough:
- 490g plain flour + 20g
- 190g whole milk
- 1 egg + 2 egg yolks
- 25g fresh yeast
- 120g granulated sugar + 20g
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Beans from half of a vanilla pod
- Pinch of salt
- 60g butter – softened
Cinnamon Filling:
- 110g butter – softened
- 105g light brown sugar
- 10g cinnamon
Optional:
- 50g double cream
Icing:
- 80g icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons of hot water
- Orange zest (optional)
Instructions:
Preparing the yeast
- Place the fresh yeast and 20g of sugar in a medium measuring jug. Stir these using a spoon until a smooth paste is formed, leave aside for now. Place the milk in a saucepan over a low heat until it reaches 38-39C. If you use milk that’s too hot/cold, the yeast will not activate. Take off the heat and pour about 70g of it into the yeast mixture, stir a few times to help combine. Add 20g of flour and stir again. The rest of the milk will be added to the dough ingredients in the next step. Cover the measuring jug with some cling film and leave to let the yeast activate/rise in a warm place for about 20mins – it should double in size. If the kitchen/room isn’t too warm, I tend to switch on the lightbulb (no temp, just the light) in my oven at the start of this step and then place the jug inside when the mixture is prepared, close the oven door and let it rise there.
- In the meantime place the rest of the ingredients (including the rest of the milk, but excluding the butter) in the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Once the yeast mixture has doubled in size, add it to the mixing bowl and start mixing using the dough hook for a few minutes until all the ingredients come together.
- Move your dough onto a slightly floured surface and knead it by hand for about 5minutes. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour, but try not to add too much.
- Add the softened butter and keep kneading the dough for a few more minutes. You want the dough to turn into a smooth and elastic ball. When you poke the dough and it springs back, you can stop kneading, otherwise carry on for a few more minutes.
- Move your dough to a big bowl that is lightly greased with a little bit of oil. Cover the bowl with cling film and let it sit in a warm place for about 1.5-2hrs. If I am not baking anything else, I just let it rise in the oven with the lightbulb on. The dough should double in size.
- While you’re waiting, combine the softened butter for filling with cinnamon powder and light brown sugar and set aside for now.
- After your dough is ready, remove the cling film and ‘knock’ the dough down with your hand to let out the air. Move the dough onto a lightly floured surface and using a slightly floured rolling pin, roll it out into a rectangle around 45cm x 30cm. Try to make sure you roll it out as evenly as possible. Spread the cinnamon filling over the dough as evenly as possible using an off-set spatula, making sure you get it up to the edges. You might need to trim the edges on the short ends.
There are two ways in which you can cut the rolls out:
- Roll it tightly into a big log (start rolling from one of the the long ends) and using a thread/floss or a sharp knife, slice into 12 pieces (around 2.5-3cm each).
- Leave as it is and use a pizza slicer/knife to cut the dough into 12 strips (cutting parallel to the short side of the dough) and then roll each strip into a bun – THIS IS MY PREFERRED METHOD LATELY.
- Move each rolled bun onto a slightly greased (with butter) baking pan – the one I usually use is 35cm x 24cm, leaving a little space between them. Cover with cling film and let them rise for about 35-40mins in a warm space. Half way through, preheat your oven to 180C – no fan.
- Before you place the rolls in the oven, heat up 50g of double cream in a small saucepan until it just starts to simmer and pour it over the cinnamon rolls. Bake for about 23-25mins, you want the top to turn light golden brown.
- Take them out of the oven and let them cool for about 10-15mins. In the meantime, prepare the glaze. In a cup, stir together icing sugar and hot water. If the glaze is too thin, you can add some more icing sugar, if it’s too thick, add just a tiny bit more water. If using, add some orange zest to add more flavour. Pour the prepared icing glaze over the cinnamon rolls.Â
I probably don’t have to tell you that they’re the best when fresh, but if you store them in an airtight container, you can still enjoy them the next day or even the day after – if they’ll last until then. 😉 BUT… you may want to pop them into the microwave for about 15-20 seconds before eating at that point.
Enjoy! 🙂 If you do make them, please tag me on Instagram to show me your creations! I would love to see them! 😀
