The Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

The Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls Recipe – An amazing recipe for squishy soft cinnamon rolls with a super fluffy and tender texture and a gooey filling that caramelizes in the bottom. A halo of perfectly sweet cream cheese frosting ties everything together. A brilliant Asian technique called Tangzhong, ensures moist, airy rolls that stay soft for days.

Servings: 12

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE TANGZHONG (FLOUR PASTE):

FOR THE DOUGH:

FOR THE FILLING:

FOR THE FROSTING:

INSTRUCTIONS

TO MAKE THE TANGZHONG (FLOUR PASTE):

Combine the tangzhong ingredients; the water, milk and flour in a medium saucepan, and whisk together until no lumps remain.

Place the saucepan over medium heat, and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to a smooth, pudding-like consistency; 2 to 3 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat.

TO MAKE THE DOUGH:

To the saucepan with the tangzhong (flour paste), whisk in the melted butter and milk until very smooth. Add in the eggs and whisk until fully incorporated. The liquid ingredients will cool off the hot tangzhong and the mixture should now feel lukewarm.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if kneading by hand) whisk together the flour, powdered milk, and yeast to combine. Pour in the flour paste/milk mixture.

Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook and mix on low speed until all the flour is moistened and a shaggy dough comes together; 1 to 2 minutes. Let the dough rest, covered, for 20 minutes; this will give the flour a chance to absorb the liquid, making it easier to knead.

After the 20 minutes, add the sugar and salt and mix on medium-low speed until a smooth, elastic and slightly sticky dough forms; about 10 minutes. The dough will be very sticky when mixing begins, but resist the urge to add more flour; the dough will absorb the excess moisture and come together nicely as the mixing progresses. After the 10 minutes of kneading, the dough should feel slightly sticky but not messy and should easily come together in a taut ball when handled with lightly oiled hands. 

Using lightly oiled hands, shape the dough into a ball, and transfer to a lightly greased large bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place, until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Alternatively, you can let it rise slowly in the fridge overnight; my personal favorite method, as a cold dough is so much easier to work with. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt until well combined, Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until ready to use.

TO MAKE THE ROLLS:

Gently deflate the risen dough, then turn out onto a pastry mat or very lightly floured counter. Pat, stretch and roll out the dough to form 16X18-inch rectangle with long edge nearest you.

Evenly spread the partially melted butter all over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar filling over the butter, leaving 1-inch border along top edge; smooth the filling into an even layer with your hand, then gently press mixture into dough to adhere.

Starting with long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder. Pinch the seam to seal the dough shut and roll cylinder seam side down. Mark gently with a knife to create 12 equal portions. For the cleanest cut, slice by holding a strand of dental floss underneath the cylinder, and cross ends of the floss over each other and pull. Slice cylinder into 12 portions (about 2 inches each) and transfer to a 15X13-inch rimmed baking sheet or 13X9-inch baking pan, that’s been greased with cooking spray.

Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and allow the rolls to rise until puffy and the rolls are touching one another; 40 to 50 minutes . In the last 15 minutes of rising, adjust oven rack to medium position and preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting.

TO MAKE THE FROSTING:

In a medium bowl (or food processor), using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and cream cheese until very smooth and creamy; about 2 minutes.

With the mixer running, gradually add in the powdered sugar. Continue beating, until the sugar is fully incorporated and the mixture is light and fluffy; about 2 more minutes.

Add in the milk, lemon juice, vanilla and salt, and beat until well combined. Cover until needed.

TO BAKE THE ROLLS:

Remove the plastic wrap from over the risen rolls and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, tenting with aluminum foil halfway through baking to avoid over browning. The rolls are done when the center of the dough registers around 190F on an instant read thermometer, or when a toothpick inserted in the center of the roll, should go in and out smoothly, meet no resistance and come out clean..

Remove the rolls from the oven, and immediately spread the tops with the frosting; it’ll partially melt into the rolls. Serve warm. Store completely cooled rolls in an airtight container for a couple of days at room temperature.

RECIPE NOTES

For a dough that produces soft, light and fluffy rolls, it is strongly recommended that you measure ingredients, especially the flour, by weight using a kitchen scale, rather than measuring cups. If you don’t have a kitchen scale to weigh the flour, use the Spoon & Sweep method: Use a spoon to lightly fill measuring cup with flour until required amount is obtained, then sweep access with the back of a knife. You might need to adjust the amount of flour after the 10 minutes of kneading.

King Arthur Flour, the source of the dough’s recipe, calls for bread flour here. Bread flour is not available where I live, so I use all-purpose flour instead with great results. However, please note that the all-purpose flour in my country is high in protein, which makes it similar to bread flour. Using low-protein all-purpose flour will not guarantee perfect results, so stick to bread flour if it’s available to you.

To create a warm environment for the dough to rise, adjust oven rack to middle position and place a loaf or cake pan in the bottom of the oven. Place the bowl of dough on the middle rack and pour boiling water into the pan. Close the oven door and allow the dough to rise as instructed. Alternatively, a warm, turned off oven may be used instead, just be sure that it’s not hot, as that could kill the yeast. It should feel like a warm summer day.

Make ahead tip! To make the rolls in advance you can either 1) Prepare the dough up until step 5, but don’t let it rise. Cover and place in the fridge to rise overnight (slow cold rise). On the next day, roll out, fill, shape, rise and bake the rolls. 2) Bake the rolls the night before, but do not frost them. Allow them to cool and then cover tightly with plastic wrap. On the next morning, remove the plastic wrap, tent the pan with foil, then reheat them in a 350F/180C for about 5 minutes until very warm. Spread with the frosting. Alternatively, warm individual servings in the microwave; tastes as good fresh. Letting the filled rolls rest in the fridge overnight is NOT recommended as the cinnamon filling tends to liquify and leak out of the buns yielding soggy rolls.

Source: cleobuttera.com