Cinnamon Rolls and Buns

King Arthur Flour "Perfectly Pillowy" Cinnamon Rolls

Diane saw this recipe for the King Arthur Flour 2021 Recipe of the Year.

These rolls use the Tangzhong baking method in which some of the recipe's flour is cooked in liquid to 149 degrees F. or 65 degrees C. before it's added to the remaining ingredient so that the starches are more able to retain liquid, resulting in a soft dough and longer shelf life. The original recipe with photos is on the King Arthur Flour recipe site.

Make-Ahead Instructions:

Rolls stay soft at least 3 days.

Rolls can be baked the day before serving if stored tightly sealed and un-iced at room temperature overnight. To serve in the morning, lightly cover with foil and warm in a 300-300 degree F oven for 5-10 minutes. Spread with icing and enjoy. 

Ingredients:

 

Tangzhong:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 Tbsp unbleached bread flour

Dough:

• 2/3 cup (151g) whole milk, cold
• 2-1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
• 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
• 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
• 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, softened

Filling:

• 1 tablespoon (14g) butter, melted
• 1/2 cup (107g) light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons (15g) flour 
• 3 to 4 teaspoons (8g to 10g) cinnamon
• 1/16 teaspoon (pinch) salt

Icing:

• 3 tablespoons (42g) butter, melted, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/16 teaspoon (pinch) salt
• 1 1/2 cups (170g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (14g to 28g) milk, cream, or buttermilk; enough to thin to desired consistency
• optional: 4-6 Tbsp cream cheese

Tangzhong:

1. In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup milk and 3 Tbsp flour. Whisk till smooth.
2. Place saucepan over medium heat.
3. Cook, stirring, 1-3 minutes, until thickened, past-like, and spoon or spatula leaves lines on the bottom of the pan.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Transfer mixture to a large stand mixer bowl.

Dough/First Rise:

1. Weigh the flour or measure 2-1/2 cups by gently spooning it into a dry measuring cup, then leveling off excess with a straight edge.
2. Add 2/3 cup cold milk to the mixture in the stand mixer bowl.
3. Add the 2-1/2 cups flour to the mixture in the stand mixer bowl.
4. Add 1 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, 2 tsp instant dry yeast, 4 Tbsp softened unsalted butter.
5. Mix using dough hook attachment on low speed to bring the dough together.
6. Set speed to medium-low and continue to knead dough 10-12 minutes until smooth, elastic and tacky .
7. (If stirring by hand and kneading by hand, knead about 15 minutes.)
8. Shape dough into a ball.
9. Place dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a reusable cover.
10. Let dough rise until puffy but not necessariy doubled in bulk, 60-90 minutes.

Filling:

1. While dough is rising, put 1 Tbsp melted butter into a medium bowl.
2. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp flour, 4 tsp cinnamon, pinch of salt.
3. Stir until the mixture is the texture of damp sand. Set aside.

Assembly:

1. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.
2. Transfer risen dough to a lightly greased work surface.
3. Press dough into a 10 x 12" rectangle with corners (not an oval).
4. Dough should be about 1/2 inch thick.
5. Sprinkle filling over the dough, covering all but a 1/2 inch strip along one long side.
6. Starting with the filling-coated long side, roll up the dough into a log. 
7. Score the dough lightly into 8 equal 1-1/2 inch to 2 inch pieces.
8. This will make large, saucer-sized cinnamon rolls.
9. Cut the dough at the score marks using dental floss (or a bench knife or very sharp knife.)
10. Pull off a long piece of floss, loop it underneath the log at the score mark, and pull the ends in opposite directions to cut the dough.
11. Repeat until you have cut all the rolls.

Second Rise:

1. Place the 8 rolls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing so they are 2 inches away from the edges of the pan and there is 2" of space between each roll. A 3-2-3 arrangement works well.
2. To prevent rolls from unraveling while they rise and bake, tuck the ends of the spirals underneath the rolls so that they are held in place.
3. Cover rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap or a reusable cover.
4. Let rise 30-60 minutes, until rolls are puffy and the dough doesn't bounce back immediately when gently pressed.

4. Baking:

1. About 20 minutes before baking, position a rack in the top third of the oven.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Bake risen rolls 14-18 minutes, until light golden brown and a digital thermometer inserted into the center of a roll reads 190 degrees F.
4. Bake for the lesser amount of time for extra-soft rolls, a longer amount of time for rolls with a bit more colour and slightly firmer texture.
5. Remove baked rolls from the oven and place pan on a rack.
6. Brush the hot rolls with 1-1/2 Tbsp melted butter.
7. Let rolls cool 10-15 minutes before icing.

5. Icing:

Combine in a medium bowl: 

• 1-1/2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 cups icing sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp milk or cream (richer) or buttermilk (tangy)
• Add cream cheese if using.

1. Mix with a spatula until smooth.
2. If using cream cheese and icing is too thick, add additional milk 1 teaspoon at a time.
3. Ice the rolls and serve immediately.
4. If planning to serve later, wait to ice them until just before serving.

Store:

1. Store icing at room temperature, tightly covered, until used.
2. Keep completely cooled, un-iced and well-wrapped rolls for a couple of days at room temperature. Or freeze up to 1 month.

Marilyn's Hand-Kneaded Cinnamon Buns #1

My mom likes this hand-kneaded sweet yeast dough recipe, copied  from a Fleishmann's quick-rise yeast pamphlet, because it's not too sweet. She likes them plain, without the glaze but I think they are best with some icing. 

• 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp quick-rising yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 egg

1. In a large bowl, mix 2-1/4 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
2. Heat milk, water and butter till hot to touch (125-130 degrees F.)
3. Stir the warm liquid ingredients into the flour mixture in the bowl.
4. Beat the egg and mix in.
5. Mix in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough that doesn't stick to the bowl.
6. Knead 5 minutes.
7. Cover the dough and allow to rest 10 minutes.
8. In a small bowl, mix:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter

       9. Roll the dough out to form a 9 x 12" rectangle. Spread with the brown sugar mixture. Sprinkle with

• 1/2 cup raisins

       10. Roll up from the long side and cut in 12 slices.
       11. Grease a muffin pan and place each round in one of the muffin cups. Cover and let rise 20 minutes.

        12. Bake in preheated 375 degree F oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from muffin cups to cool--serve warm.

Optional Glaze:  Combine icing sugar and a bit of milk till smooth, then drizzle over buns.

Marilyn's Cold-Rise Sweet Dough #2 for Cinnamon Buns

Mom uses her bread machine to make this dough, which can also be made in a mixer with a dough hook. The buns rise best if  you mix the dough the day before and let it cold-rise in the fridge.

Take the dough out of the fridge and let it reach room temperature on the counter before shaping and letting it rise again. Ingredients are included for a  larges batch and a small batch, but since the dough can be frozen, make the large batch and freeze half.

Ingredients should be at room temperature before mixing.

Put all ingredients in bread machine or use the method in Cinnamon Buns #1  to mix the dough.

Cover the dough loosely when rising.

Large Batch

• 1 cup water
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 cups all-purpose or bread machine flour
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 3 Tbsp skim milk powder
• 2 tsp quick-rise yeast

Small Batch

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups all-purpose or bread machine flour
• 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 Tbsp skim milk powder
• 1 tsp quick-rise yeast

Glaze:

• 1 cup sifted icing sugar
• 1-2 tbsp milk

Filling and Raisins:

Use the ingredients in Cinnamon Buns #1 for filling and raisins. And the same method for forming the buns.

Bake these buns at 350 degrees F. on parchment paper on a bakng sheet or in a pan, about 14 minutes.