Food & shopping
Soft cinnamon rolls
Make 8 large cinnamon rolls with a tangzhong dough, cinnamon filling and vanilla icing. Keep every ingredient amount beside its cooking step.
The checklist
- Bread flour · 338 g
- Whole milk · 278–292 g
- Table salt · 6 g + 1/8 US tsp
+ 25 more explained items
Time, servings and nutrition
BreakfastAmerican-style
Servings: 8 · 1 whole roll from a batch of 8
- Preparation
- Cooking
- Extra waiting
- 2 hr 45 min
- Planned total
Waiting includes up to 90 and 60 minutes for rising, plus 15 minutes cooling. The planned total uses these upper limits.
Approximate nutrition per serving
Includes the icing and all 113 g butter, with milk at the midpoint of its stated range. Extra pan grease is excluded.
- Energy
- ≈ 425 kcal
- Protein
- 6.7 g
- Fat
- 13.4 g
- Carbohydrate
- 71 g
Calculation details
Planning times use the upper end of stated ranges. Cooling and extra oven loads may take longer.
Calculated from ingredient amounts using USDA reference foods. Brands and portion sizes change the result.
Recipe notes: tangzhong, cinnamon filling, vanilla icing
A small cooked flour-and-milk paste goes into this dough before kneading. This tangzhong is the extra stage that distinguishes these rolls from a quick, single-rise recipe. You can knead by hand; a stand mixer is helpful rather than essential. Prepare a clear work surface and a large baking sheet before beginning.
There are separate amounts of flour, milk, butter and salt for the paste, dough, filling and finish. The shopping list combines each ingredient; the cooking steps show the amount needed at that moment. Keep those portions separate on the counter. In particular, the final 42 g of melted butter is divided into 21 g for brushing the hot rolls and 21 g for making the icing.
The rolls bake spaced apart, which gives them room to expand without needing a deep cake tin. Watch the dough during both rises: a cool room can take longer than the estimate. For breakfast the next day, bake ahead and keep the cooled rolls un-iced, then add the icing before serving. Do not replace the dough with a bread-machine-only method or add eggs that are not in this recipe.
Who this list is for
For home bakers with bread flour, instant yeast and a scale. The batch makes 8 large rolls; allow around 2 hours 50 minutes, with rising times depending on kitchen warmth. Contains wheat and milk.
Tips
Weigh the flour portions
Set aside 24 g, 300 g and 14 g before mixing. They go into three different stages and should not all be added to the dough.
Read the yeast label
This method uses instant yeast. Avoid improvising an activation stage with different yeast and an unmeasured amount of liquid.
Judge the dough
The rise estimates depend on the room. Look for puffy dough, then rolls that do not spring straight back after a gentle press.
Keep the rolls apart
The 5 cm gaps are intentional. Choose a tray large enough for eight rolls rather than crowding them into a small casserole dish.
Reserve the finishing butter
The 42 g finishing butter is split into two equal 21 g portions. Brushing and icing are separate steps, so keep the second portion back.
The checklist
10 ingredients · 12 steps
Print this page to tick items off on paper: the printout keeps only the checklist, with a box before every item.
Buy
Ingredients
- Bread flour · 338 g
- Whole milk · 278–292 g
- Table salt · 6 g + 1/8 US tsp
- Granulated sugar · 25 g
- Instant yeast · 2 US tsp
- Unsalted butter · 113 g + extra for greasing
- Light brown sugar · 107 g
- Ground cinnamon · 8 g
- Vanilla extract · 1/2 US tsp
- Icing sugar · 170 g
Take along
Kitchen equipment
- Kitchen scale and US measuring spoons
- Small saucepan, whisk and spatula
- Large mixing bowl and cover
- Large baking sheet and baking parchment
- Ruler and sharp knife or unflavoured dental floss
- Food thermometer, pastry brush and cooling rack
To do
Cook and serve
- Cook the tangzhong — Whisk 113 g milk with 24 g bread flour in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat for 1–3 minutes until a thick paste forms.
- Combine the dough — Transfer the paste to a large bowl. Add 151 g cold milk, 300 g flour, 6 g salt, 25 g sugar, 2 US tsp yeast and 57 g softened butter.
- Knead until elastic — Knead up to 15 minutes by hand, or 10–12 minutes in a mixer on medium-low, until smooth and tacky.
- Let the dough rise — Cover the bowl. Leave 60–90 minutes until puffy; it need not double.
- Mix the cinnamon filling — Mix 14 g melted butter, 107 g brown sugar, 14 g flour, 8 g cinnamon and 1/16 US tsp salt into damp crumbs.
- Shape a rectangle — Line the tray. Lightly grease the work surface with a little extra butter. Press the dough into a 25 × 30 cm rectangle, about 1.3 cm thick.
- Fill, roll and cut — Spread filling, leaving a 1.3 cm strip bare along one long edge. Roll from the opposite long edge and cut into 8 equal rolls.
- Proof on the tray — Space rolls at least 5 cm apart and from the tray edges. Tuck ends underneath. Cover and rise 30–60 minutes until puffy.
- Heat the oven and bake — About 20 minutes before baking, heat conventional oven to 190°C (375°F), rack in upper third. Bake 14–18 minutes until lightly golden and the centre reaches 88°C (190°F).
- Brush with butter and cool — Brush hot rolls with 21 g melted butter. Rest on the tray on a rack for 10–15 minutes.
- Mix the vanilla icing — Combine 21 g melted butter, 1/2 US tsp vanilla, 1/16 US tsp salt, 170 g sifted icing sugar and 14–28 g milk. Add milk gradually.
- Finish before serving — Ice the rolls when ready to serve. Store completely cooled, un-iced rolls well wrapped for a couple of days at room temperature, or freeze up to 1 month.
Questions and answers
Do I need a bread machine?
No. Knead by hand for up to 15 minutes or use a stand mixer for 10–12 minutes. The texture, rather than a fixed timer alone, tells you when to stop.
Can I make them the day before?
Bake, cool completely and store the un-iced rolls tightly wrapped. Add the icing near serving time. Avoid leaving dairy icing on a warm counter for a long brunch.
Is there an egg in the dough?
No egg is included in this version. It still contains wheat and milk; check the flour, butter and other packaging for additional allergen information.
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