Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are a very special treat for breakfast or dessert that everyone will love. Dripping with a luscious, buttery, sweet cinnamon glaze and made with a wonderful yeast bread that elevates the flavor and texture; this recipe does take some time to prepare but its very worth it.

We are walking you through the process and sharing our tips and tricks for getting the fluffiest, softest cinnamon rolls you could ask for. These skills and techniques are important to follow because with all baking, the success is in the details.

Making a yeast bread dough from scratch may seem intimidating but we promise its actually a simple process that requires patience and planning more than anything else. But before we get into the heart of the recipe lets visit some common questions and troubleshoot areas of concern.

What is the best flour to use for cinnamon rolls?

The choice of flour for cinnamon rolls is largely preference, but there will be differences in texture and structure depending on your selection.

Bread flour is overall the best to use, this is due to the higher protein content, between 12-13% and the stronger structure that will be created from it. Because cinnamon rolls have a denser more bread like structure, bread flour will be the best option.

All purpose flour is the next best option and a good one for beginners. The protein content is slightly lower, between 9-12% so the structure of the dough will be softer and still have a strong exterior.

Other baking flour like cake flours would not be a good option to use. They undergo an additional bleaching process that allows it to retain water and sugar. The texture will be light and soft making it possibly too delicate to work for a cinnamon roll, and the dough will be much too sweet.

Do I need to let cinnamon rolls rise before baking?

We get it, rise times are challenging to respect when you’re busy and trying to fit life around what you’re baking, but they are very important. Allowing the dough to rise at different times in the process of making your cinnamon rolls will give them ability to obtain the right texture.

Follow the times as directed by the recipe to avoid over proofing or under proofing. Over proofing your rolls will create a tight texture and under proofed rolls will bake hard and chewy. You want your rolls to be soft, pillowy and have a slight wiggle when done proofing.

Why are my homemade cinnamon rolls hard?

Balance is key in baking and this is important to remember in bread recipes. It can be tempting to add more flour when working the dough if it’s presenting sticky and wet. While it’s fine to add additional flour be careful to do so in small increments, working the dough in between each addition. Too much flour will create a hard dough.

The balance of other ingredients such as sugar is important too, too much sugar will create a firmer, heavier dough. Baking time is another important detail to respect. Over baking will caramelize the cinnamon sugar mixture which will harden, as well as drying out the bread dough. Cinnamon rolls are done when they are golden brown on the top and have an internal temperature of 190-200 degrees F.

How long should you knead cinnamon roll dough?

Another important technique to be respectful of is taking care not to over knead your cinnamon roll dough. Over kneading the dough will create more gluten and tension in your dough, which can lead to tough, chewy cinnamon rolls.

Cinnamon rolls require a moderately soft dough which will be slightly sticky. Kneading your dough should take 3-5 minutes. Fold the dough over itself and push down with the heel of your hand, turn the dough, fold it over itself again and repeat the process.

90 minute Recipe Version:

You can make cinnamon rolls much more quickly if you don’t mind giving up some of the lighter quality and (In my opinion) flavor for the rolls.  My 90 minute white bread recipe will cut your time WAY down. 

To get the number of rolls for a large crowd double the white bread recipe. Now continue with the instructions for the shaping, filling and baking for the longer version cinnamon rolls recipe.

Then use this cinnamon roll icing recipe after cooling and enjoy. They will be very tasty.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Recipe-LONG version:

This homemade cinnamon rolls recipe with yeast starter is not difficult to make, but it does require planning and time to get the starter going. I consider these a labor of love that everyone will be blessed by.

THE STARTER:

Let’s discuss this a minute. Starter recipes can be complex and long, my wild sourdough starter takes over a week to get going, or they can be done in five minutes.

Homemade yeast rolls benefit from a sponge or starter because the starter lightens the dough and gives it really good flavor. I think it’s worth the time. 

I made this yeast bread recipe with an 8 hour sponge because I wanted to make a really tender yet fibrous dough. This is a good recipe and it gives the best cinnamon roll recipe results.

It’s a light, beautiful dough that is just a perfect companion to the filling and icing. You can use a shorter starter recipe as I did in my homemade dinner rolls, but the cinnamon rolls may be a bit more robust.

The starter timing is fairly flexible. You can put it together the night before and let it bubble along for up to 18 hours. If you let it go longer than that you may need to refresh it so it has enough power to get the dough really light.

THE PROCESS:

Making any yeast bread requires quite a bit of time. Just set aside a day to bake these when you have other things to do about the house.

1. Make your starter early in the morning or very late the night before, and let it sit for at least eight hours at room temperature.
2. After the starter is ready; Make your dough and set it aside to rise in a warm area of your kitchen.
3. Shape your cinnamon rolls: Roll the dough into a rectangle, make sure you get the edges as straight as possible to make thru rolls the best shape.
4. Make the delicious filling, chop your nuts, spread it all on the dough and roll them up.
5. Seal the roll with your fingers. Now slice the long roll into evenly spaced cinnamon rolls.
6. Place the cinnamon rolls into  greased baking dishes and let rise again. Set your timer.
7. Now bake the rolls. Once out of the oven they will cool a bit and be ready for glazing.
8. Your delicious, freshly glazed rolls are ready to enjoy!

Freezing Cinnamon Rolls:

If you want to make this recipe ahead of serving day in either the long or short recipe versions, freeze them. I suggest you bake them in foil disposable baking pans to keep your baking pans free.

This is also a great way to gift them to your friends and family. Be SURE to include the thawing, baking day and icing instructions on the packaging so they will have perfect rolls.

How to freeze your cinnamon rolls:

1. Make the recipe you choose and bake them ONLY HALF OF THE BAKING TIME. The rolls should look puffy, raise and slightly browned. Not gooey just underbaked.
2. Don’t ice them.
3. Cool completely and double wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or double wrap them in foil.
4. Freeze for up to several weeks (no more than 6 weeks).
5. The day before you plan to serve them remove from freezer to fridge and let thaw slowly in the freezer wrapper.

Baking day:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until the cinnamon rolls are completely baked and golden brown.
3. Cool and frost with our cinnamon roll icing recipe or our cream cheese icing.

Serve and enjoy!

This recipe is linked up at the hearth and Soul Blog Hop