There are very few baked treats that are as tempting as cinnamon rolls… but you really
have to know what you're doing to make them the right way.
"There's nothing like waking up to my fresh cinnamon rolls."
Have your cinnamon rolls been leaving everyone cold? Well, you might be doing something wrong.
Here's how to make truly superior cinnamon rolls.
When making cinnamon rolls, most people tend to unduly obsess about the dough: Will it
rise in the oven? Could it possibly be too dense? What if it's not quite as flaky as
it looks?
"I'm baking up some cinnamon / Knowing you'll be right back in / It's not just a sweet confection."
Truth be told, people often overlook the quality of the cinnamon they're using. According to
food blogger Emily Ackerman, that's a big mistake! As she told Mashed:
"Much of the cinnamon that is sold in chain grocery stores [...] is not considered high
quality. Ceylon cinnamon is [...] perfect for desserts, and in this case, [it's perfect]
for the best tasting cinnamon rolls."
Trust us on this one: You have good reason to take this advice to heart.
"This reason is covered in cream cheese icing."
When it comes to cooking cinnamon rolls, yeast might seem inconsequential. After all, most
recipes call for a rather small amount of the stuff, right?
Well, as it turns out, yeast plays a pretty essential role in the process… especially
if you want your cinnamon rolls to achieve that deliciously light and fluffy texture.
Yeast also helps your rolls achieve that perfect puffiness and dome-like shape. As Cinnabon
corporate chef Jennifer Holwill told Mashed:
"Be sure to keep water or milk temperature below 140 Fahrenheit or, if you're without
a thermometer, be able to comfortably stick your finger in the liquid if you are baking
at home."
This will help ensure that you don't kill the yeast... which itself ensures that you'll
have an absolutely delicious cinnamon roll when all is said and done. Hey, why not treat
yourself to some of this homemade goodness right now? You deserve it!
"What better way to unwind than by enjoying a hot fresh grand cinnamon roll?"
When you're making homemade cinnamon rolls, you should definitely take the ambient air
humidity and temperature into account! After all, baking loaves of bread with yeast is
as much a science as it is an art… and the same goes for cinnamon rolls! Mashed talked
to Jessica Randhawa, the head chef behind food website The Forked Spoon. She offered
us this pearl of culinary wisdom:
"When proofing the dough, if the room is too hot or humid, the dough could rise at an accelerated
pace causing the rolls to dip."
According to Randhawa, cinnamon rolls can take longer to ferment if the room is cold
and dry. In turn, this will result in denser rolls that just don't rise to their desired
potential. To make things even more complicated, humidity factors usually aren't touched upon
in cinnamon roll recipes. As Randhawa explains,
"This is why having a thermometer and humidity sensor near the dough when proofing will help
bring scientific facts back into the dough-making process for a better homemade cinnamon roll
outcome."
So now you know!
"Watch 'em rise, then what a surprise."
"Dad?!"
"Cinnamon rolls!!"
"See 'em disappear…"
CInnamon rolls call for rich ingredients like butter and eggs, so make sure you don't cut
any corners when choosing your ingredients. At the end of the day, quality is absolutely
key here! We talked to Jocelyn Drexinger who happens to be the owner of New Hampshire bakery
Mint and Mallow. She told Mashed:
"I always recommend using products from free-range, humanely raised animals that live on small
family farms. [...] Using farm-fresh, free-range eggs [...] will translate to a more flavorful,
deeply colored yolk and therefore a tastier cinnamon roll. On top of that, slow-churned
butter produced from grass-fed cows will also add a more complex and robust flavor to your
rolls. If you can find an 84 percent butterfat option [...] even better!"
We simply can't wait to put these helpful pointers to the test. We bet it's going to
make our cinnamon buns really hit the spot!
"They can smell the cinnamon / They're on their way / We love grand cinnamon rolls."
Here's a potential problem: Are your cinnamon rolls too doughy? According to Jenni Field
of Pastry Chef Online, that might be because you packed them in the pan too tightly. As
she explains to Mashed,
"This results in them getting super crowded as they rise and sometimes pushing up like
volcanoes while they bake, making them doughy and dense in the centers."
Fortunately, this problem can be easily remedied the next time you decide to make yourself
some cinnamon rolls. As Field explains,
"Avoid this by giving pull-apart cinnamon rolls a good 1" of space all around, and more
if you like 'stand-alone' cinnamon rolls. Bake 'stand-alones' on a sheet tray with 2"-2
1/2" between the rolls. Bake pull-aparts in a standard 9"x 13" pan with 1/2-1" of space
between each roll."
Just follow these simple directives and make cinnamon rolls that are simply sensational.
"CInnamon rolls! Get 'em while they're hot hot hot. Get your cinnamon rolls! Yes, go
go go go!"
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