The art of baking homemade cinnamon rolls is both an enjoyable experience and a way to create lasting memories with your family. These rolls, characterized by their soft, fluffy texture and rich, sweet filling, are more than just a treat; they’re a celebration of home baking at its finest. The aroma of cinnamon and sugar filling your home is a delightful precursor to the joy these rolls bring. This guide is here to help you navigate through the process, offering valuable insights and expert tips to ensure success, whether you’re a first-time baker or a seasoned pro. From ingredient selection to serving suggestions, we cover it all, ensuring your cinnamon rolls are delicious every single time.
Ingredient Breakdown & Substitutions
Warm Milk: Milk adds richness and flavor to the dough. It also activates the yeast. For a dairy-free alternative, a plant-based milk substitute can be used. These substitutes still provide the necessary liquid and richness but without the dairy content.
Instant Dry Yeast: Yeast is the leavening agent that helps the dough rise, creating a light, fluffy texture. Active dry yeast can be used as a substitute; just ensure it’s dissolved in warm milk before adding to the other ingredients.
White Granulated Sugar: Sugar feeds the yeast, aiding in fermentation and rise. It also adds sweetness to the dough. For a less sweet dough, you can reduce the sugar by a few tablespoons. Honey or maple syrup can be alternatives, but they might slightly alter the flavor profile.
Salt: Salt enhances flavor and controls yeast fermentation, ensuring the dough doesn’t rise too quickly. If using unsalted butter, increase the salt by a pinch to maintain the flavor balance.
Salted Butter: Butter adds richness, moisture, and flavor to the dough and filling. Unsalted butter can be used in its place; just add an extra pinch of salt to the recipe. For a dairy-free version, use a plant-based butter substitute.
Eggs: Eggs enrich the dough, adding flavor, color, and structure. They also contribute to the dough’s rise and texture. If you need an egg-free version, consider using a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water).
All-Purpose Flour: Flour provides structure to the cinnamon rolls. It forms the backbone of the dough. Bread flour or a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flour can be used, though this may slightly change the texture.
Brown Sugar (Filling): Brown sugar adds sweetness and moisture to the filling, giving it a rich, caramel-like flavor. You can adjust the amount based on your preference for sweetness.
Ground Cinnamon (Filling): Cinnamon is key for the signature flavor of the rolls. It pairs beautifully with brown sugar to create a warm, spiced filling.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can knead it by hand! Start out by stirring with a spoon until you can’t do it anymore, and then knead it by hand. Just keep on kneading until all the flour is incorporated and/or the dough is soft to the touch and only slightly sticky. It’s a bit of a workout, but it’s worth it!
The flour you buy at the store these days is generally pre-sifted. There is no need to sift your flour. We prefer the scoop and sweep method as it is ultra-convenient. Simply use your measuring cup to scoop out the flour and level off the top. Weighing your flour using a kitchen scale is the only way to ensure complete accuracy. Even then, bread making is both fickle and forgiving, and the actual amount of flour you add can change just due to the humidity in the air. When making this roll recipe, it is best to go by the touch and feel of the dough. 1 cup of flour is approximately 125 grams.
The butter should be at room temperature and smoosh easily to the touch. If you soften the butter in a microwave, be sure to work in small time increments so you don’t get any melted pools of butter.
This recipe has been tested with both salted and unsalted butter without a huge or notable difference. Either will work.
The dough should be slightly sticky, but still very soft and pliable. It should just barely not be sticking to the bowl. If you add too much flour and the dough stiffens, your rolls will also get a little stiff. You can definitely feel a soft roll just by touching the dough.
We have used both all-purpose flour and bread flour without a huge or notable difference. We do not have a preference, so just use whichever is convenient.
We have not personally tested any variations of gluten free flours. It has been reported in comments that the gluten-free flour mix, Cup for Cup, works in this recipe; we cannot personally vouch for it.
If you need to reduce sodium for dietary reasons, don’t fret. Reducing salt will not affect the rising. The only thing it will impact is flavor.
The milk should be warm to the touch, between 100 and 110 degrees. You can use 1% up to whole milk. We never recommend using skim milk for anything.
These cinnamon rolls can easily be made ahead. For best results, choose one of the following two methods:
Overnight Make-Ahead Instructions:
After you’ve rolled and cut your cinnamon rolls and placed them into your lightly greased baking pan, cover with plastic wrap and place in your refrigerator. The next day, remove them from the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature (about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the temperature of your house) before baking.
Freezer Make-Ahead Instructions:
Roll and cut your cinnamon rolls and place several inches apart on a baking sheet to freeze rolls individually. Once frozen, transfer to a resealable plastic freezer bag. When ready to bake, place in a lightly greased baking dish and allow to come to room temperature before baking.
Step-By-Step Visual Guide to Cinnamon Rolls
Troubleshooting
- Dough Not Rising: Ensure your milk is warm but not hot; extreme temperatures can kill the yeast.
- Tough Rolls: Avoid over-kneading the dough, and make sure it’s not too dry.
- Undercooked Rolls: Remember, cooking time depends on roll size. Ensure a light brown color on top for doneness.
Tips From the Chef
- For consistent baking, roll the dough to an even thickness.
- Don’t overfill, too much filling can cause the rolls to unravel or become soggy.
- Give the dough ample time to rise to ensure the fluffiest rolls.
Storage Instructions
- Room Temperature Storage: Keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Refrigeration: Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Wrap individual rolls in plastic wrap and freeze. Thaw and reheat in the oven or microwave.
More Sweet Roll Recipes
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
1 hr 18 mins
Best Homemade Orange Rolls
2 hrs 20 mins
Coconut Rolls
2 hrs 55 mins
Baklava Cinnamon Rolls
2 hrs 5 mins
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
Have you ever added pumpkin to this recipe? I would love to try pumpkin cinnamon rolls but unsure of how to alter this recipe (this is my favorite recipe to make!). Thanks!
I haven’t put I do have a pumpkin bread that you could use for the dough in this recipe and it would work out quite well. https://thestayathomechef.com/braided-pumpkin-bread/
I bake metric, so thanks for including those measurements. A quick note though – there is an extra 7.5 g melted butter in the dough portion of the recipe that is not in the imperial version.
These are the best cinnamon rolls EVER!!! Thank you so much for posting your recipe…My kids and husband are always craving for more.
I’m sure the recipe was good, but I don’t recommend putting these in the fridge to make the next morning…. that didn’t work for me and I was pretty disappointed since I made them for a bake sale. When I got them out of the fridge, I left them out on the counter to get to room temp again, but I couldn’t figure out the right bake time… they took much longer then it said and didn’t get golden at all, and then I ended up over baking a lot of them since I wasn’t sure. If I try again, I will just bake them right away.
I made these before and loved them!!
Question if I freeze them. Can I move them to the refrigerator the night before I want to bake them do they can defrost?
People have reported good results doing exactly that.
I have tried many recipes but never happy with the result. This one was a keeper! I loved the tips on the dough and what it looked like. I had to add a bit more warmed milk. Loved the suggestion of rolling out in jelly roll pan. Really helped to contain mess since I do not have a lot of counter space. Icing was plentiful and a crowd pleaser. Making less may be a shortage for 12 even though I did have extra. Guess I will make have an afternoon snack of icing with mini chocolate chipsor strawberries and graham crackers. 🙂 happy kiddos!
Just thought you might like to know that 1/4 cup of butter is 57 grams and not 113 as in your metric conversion and 1 cup confectioners sugar is 125 grams and 1 1/2 cups is 187.5 grams. I like to use the http://www.traditionaloven.com/tutorials/conversion.html for all my conversions.
Love your recipes! From New Zealand
I actually just weighed all of my ingredients individually so I’d go by my actual measurements rather than a conversion chart which can vary quite a bit.
I have never in my life had a cinnamon roll this delicious and perfect! Thank you for this amazing recipe!! Bakery cinnamon rolls around where I live can’t even compare.
Oh it was amazing! Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe! Everything is perfect!
If i freeze them ahead of time, do they still rise a second time during the 45 minutes at room temperature while thawing?
By the time they thaw completely they will have risen a bit, but how much will depend on how warm your house is. They will probably take longer to thaw than 45 minutes.