Cinnamon Rolls

Richman’s bakery, located on Bathurst Street in Toronto, was an iconic Jewish bakery known for their delicious cheese buns, rugelach and Boston cream pie. However, it was their incomparable cinnamon buns that drew my car into their parking lot, as if pulled by a giant magnet, whenever I drove past the store. Pillowy soft sweet yeast dough layered with a generous amount of sugar and cinnamon and topped with a crunchy crystal sugar topping, called out my name. Clutching my prize in a brown paper sack, I will admit that there were days that I barely made it to the car before ripping off a chunk of the fresh, warmly-spiced pastry and popping it into my mouth. Recreating this delicious treat at home challenged me for many years.

Cinnamon Rolls

When I saw that the bakers at King Arthur Flour awarded the 2021 recipe of the year award to these cinnamon rolls, I sat up and took notice. These buns are softer than soft due to the inclusion of a special Japanese bread technique known as tangzhong (also known as yukone). This old, but revitalized method involves cooking a mixture of flour and water to create a slurry that is added to a yeast dough. The addition of a tangzhong slurry increases the amount of water the dough is able to absorb.

Using this innovative technique, I found the cinnamon roll dough to be soft and silky. The pastries were fluffy and moist, and tasted freshly baked even after spending three days on the counter in an airtight container. I baked these rolls twice, using the bread machine for one batch and mixing up the second batch using my KitchenAid® stand mixer. I also used non-dairy ingredients for one recipe and made the second recipe with butter and milk. Surprisingly, there really was no appreciable difference between the finished buns except for a mild buttery flavor in the icing made with dairy products. Using the tangzhong method produces cinnamon buns that are well worth the minimal extra effort.

Assemble your ingredients. 

To make the tangzhong: Combine the flour and milk (dairy or non-dairy) in a saucepan. Whisk until no lumps remain. Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook the mixture until thickened and paste-like. A spoon or spatula should leave lines on the bottom of the pan. This will take one to three minutes. Remove this paste-like mixture and add it to the bowl of an electric mixer, mixing bowl or the bucket of a bread machine.

To make the dough: Add the ingredients to your mixing bowl in the order listed. Mix by hand, or on low speed of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, or in a bread machine set to the dough cycle to bring the dough together. This will take 15 minutes by hand, about 10 minutes on medium-low speed in a mixer, or the length of the dough cycle in your bread machine. Shape the dough into a ball, place it into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. (If using a bread machine, the dough will rise in the bread machine as part of the cycle.) Let the dough rise until puffy, about 60-90 minutes.

To make the filling: While the dough is rising, combine the softened butter with the other filling ingredients. The filling should have the texture of damp sand. Set aside.

To assemble the buns: Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Roll out the dough on a pastry board dusted with flour  and press or roll the dough into a rectangle measuring about 10X12 inches. Sprinkle the filling over the dough covering the entire surface except for 1/2 inch along one long side. Starting with the filling-covered long side, roll the dough tightly into a log. Using a sharp knife score the dough into eight 1 1/2-2 inch pieces. This will make saucer sized buns. Using a 12-15 inch piece of unflavored dental floss (yup, I really did this), slide the piece of dental floss under the log and bring the two ends of the dental floss up and around the roll at the indentation mark. Pull tightly in opposite directions to pull the floss through the roll. Repeat, slicing at the score marks. Dental floss makes the cleanest cut through the dough but you can also use a sharp knife.

Place the rolls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. To prevent them from unraveling when they bake, tuck the end of the spiral underneath the rolls. Cover the rolls with a piece of plastic wrap sprayed with baking spray and let them rise for 60 minutes.

About 20 minutes before you’re ready to bake the rolls, preheat the oven to 375 F. Remove the plastic wrap and bake the rolls for 18 minutes. Remove the rolls from the oven, place on a cooling rack and brush with  1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine. Allow the rolls to cool before icing.

To make the icing: Combine the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter with the icing  sugar, vanilla, a pinch of salt and 1-2 tablespoons of milk or cream (dairy or non-dairy). Mix until smooth and using a spatula, ice the rolls. Don’t be tempted to skip the icing. It really gives a beautiful finishing touch to these pastries.

Print Recipe

Cinnamon Rolls

Cookies, Cakes, Pies and Desserts

By King Arthur's Flour – Serves: 8

Prep Time: 40 minutes + rising time – Cooking Time: 18 minutes – Total Time: 60 minutes + rising time

Pillowy soft cinnamon rolls, rolled up with a generous filling of brown sugar, cinnamon and butter and kissed with a glossy vanilla icing

Ingredients

• Tangzhong
• 1/2 cup (113g) milk or non-dairy milk, such as almond milk
• 3 tablespoons (23g) bread flour
• Dough
• 2/3 cup (151g) milk, cold or non-dairy milk, such as almond milk
• 2 1/2 cups (300g) bread flour
• 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
• 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
• Filling
• 1 tablespoon (14g) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup (107g) light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons (15g) bread flour
• 3 teaspoons (8g to 10g) cinnamon
• 1/16 teaspoon (pinch) salt
• Icing
• 3 tablespoons (42g) butter or margarine, melted, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/16 teaspoon (pinch) salt
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (14g to 28g) milk, cream or non-dairy milk or cream ; enough to thin to desired consistency

Instructions

To make the tangzhong:

1

Combine the flour and milk (dairy or non-dairy) in a saucepan. Whisk until no lumps remain. Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook the mixture until thickened and paste-like. A spoon or spatula should leave lines on the bottom of the pan. This will take one to three minutes. Remove this paste-like mixture and add it to the bowl of an electric mixer, mixing bowl or the bucket of a bread machine.

To make the dough:

2

Add the ingredients to your mixing bowl in the order listed. Mix by hand, or, on low speed of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, or in a bread machine set to the dough cycle to bring the dough together. This will take 15 minutes by hand, about 10 minutes on medium-low speed in a mixer, or, the length of the dough cycle in your bread machine.

3

Shape the dough into a ball, place it into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. (If using a bread machine, the dough will rise in the bread machine as part of the cycle.) Let the dough rise until puffy, about 60-90 minutes.

To make the filling:

4

While the dough is rising, combine 1 tablespoon softened butter with the other filling ingredients. The filling should have the texture of damp sand. Set aside.

To assemble the buns:

5

Line a baking pan with parchment paper.

6

Roll out the dough on a pastry board dusted with flour and press or roll the dough into a rectangle measuring about 10X12 inches.

7

Sprinkle the filling over the dough covering the entire surface except for 1/2 inch along one long side. Starting with the filling-covered long side, roll the dough tightly into a log. Using a sharp knife score the dough into eight 1 1/2-2 inch pieces. This will make saucer-sized buns.

8

Using a 12-15 inch piece of unflavored dental floss, slide the piece of dental floss under the log and bring the two ends of the dental floss up and around the roll at the indentation mark. Pull tightly in opposite directions to pull the floss through the roll. Repeat, slicing at the score marks. Dental floss makes the cleanest cut through the dough but you can also use a sharp knife.

9

Place the rolls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. To prevent them from unraveling when they bake, tuck the end of the spiral underneath the rolls. Cover the rolls with a piece of plastic wrap sprayed with baking spray and let them rise for 60 minutes.

10

Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter or margarine in the microwave. About 20 minutes before you're ready to bake the rolls, preheat the oven to 375 F. Remove the plastic wrap and bake the rolls for 18 minutes. Remove the rolls from the oven, place them on a cooling rack and brush them with 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine. Allow the rolls to cool before icing.

To make the icing:

11

Combine the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter with the icing  sugar, vanilla, a pinch of salt and 1-2 tablespoons of milk or cream (dairy or non-dairy). Mix until smooth and using a spatula, ice the rolls. Don't skip the icing! It really gives the finishing touch to these incredible pastries.

Notes

Wrap the iced buns in clear plastic wrap if not serving immediately and store in a resealable plastic container. The buns stay fresh and fluffy for three days. They can also be frozen very successfully.