While I love making bread at home, I also love all kinds of sweet rolls. Brioche is one of my favorite bread for dinner, and cinnamon buns are my favorite sweet bread for any time treat. Cream cheese, of course, is classic, but condensed milk, sugar, honey, maple, orange, or chocolate glaze instead.
Step-by-step: How to make cinnamon rolls
Dough
Yeast mixture – In the large bowl of a stand mixer with the hook attachment, combine warm milk (110 F), yeast, honey/sugar, butter, and eggs. Dry ingredients – Measure the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the yeast mixture and stir to combine well. Knead – once all the flour is well incorporated knead on medium for 8 to 10 minutes or 10 to 12 minutes by hand.
Bowl – When the dough is soft, shiny, but still slightly sticky shape into a ball. Place the dough in an oiled bowl seam side down. Coat the surface with oil to prevent drying. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Rise – Leave in a warm place. Let the dough rise for 30 to 45 minutes until doubles in volume.
Assemble
Cinnamon sugar – In a small bowl, combine both sugars, unsalted butter, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Set aside. Roll – Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 10 x 20-inch rectangle. (12 inches long and 10 inches wide) Filling – Drop spoonfuls of the cinnamon mixture then use an offset spatula to spread evenly making sure to get to all the edges too. Fold – Working from the long side, roll the dough from one side to the other (similar to a Swiss roll). Pinch the seams together. Cut – Then, cut into 16 equal pieces. First, cut in half then half again until you have 16 buns.
Proof and Bake
Proof – Lightly spray a 13 x 9 baking dish or a sheet pan. Place the cinnamon rolls equally spaced in the pan leaving enough space for them to rise. Cover and leave to rise until almost double in volume for about 30 to 45 minutes. Oven – About 20 minutes before baking preheat the oven at 375°F /190°C / Gas Mark 5 Bake – Once the rolls are doubled in volume, bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until the tops are lightly golden brown. If necessary, tent the top with foil to prevent browning too much. Cool – When done, remove from the oven and cool until just warm.
Glaze
Cream cheese frosting – Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth. Then, slather generously over the barely warm cinnamon rolls.
Frequently asked questions
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Cream cheese cinnamon rolls – make the traditional cinnamon dough and then top it with cream cheese frosting Chocolate cinnamon rolls – add cocoa powder to the Sugar glaze – combine 2 cups of powdered sugar with just enough (4 tbsp) milk to make a thick pouring glaze. Then spread it over the cooled cinnamon rolls Maple glaze – combine 2 cups of powdered sugar with just enough (4 tbsp) maple syrup to make a thick maple glaze. Chocolate glaze – make a ganache with 8 oz dark chocolate and 4 oz heavy cream until smooth. You can also use white chocolate to make a white chocolate glaze. Giant cinnamon roll – You can make one large cinnamon roll and bake it in a 9-inch baking pan. Top with your favorite cinnamon topping. Orange glaze– is 2 cups of powdered sugar with 4 tablespoons of orange juice and 1 teaspoon of orange zest.
