The Perfect Cinnamon Rolls Food

THE BEST CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Whisk together the whole milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit 10 minutes to dissolve; you will see a few bubbles, but the mixture won't be foamy. Whisk together the granulated sugar, eggs and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt in a small bowl.
• Add the bread flour, whole-wheat flour, milk powder and beaten eggs to the yeast and mix with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Fit the bowl in place on the stand mixer and fit the mixer with the dough hook. Mix on medium speed until the dough comes together but is still slightly tough, about 3 minutes. Increase the speed to high and add 10 tablespoons of the butter a tablespoon at a time (the dough will look broken after each addition, but it will eventually come together) and beat until the dough is smooth, elastic and very tacky but pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 12 minutes. (This may seem like a long time, but the texture of the bread improves with a long knead time.) Alternatively, knead the dough on a surface lightly dusted with bread flour, adding 1 tablespoon of butter at a time, until smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free area until it has a buttery, yeasty smell and has doubled in volume, 30 to 45 minutes. (If your kitchen is warm, check it at 35 minutes. It should smell buttery and yeasty, and if it's doubled, it's done. If not, check again in 10 minutes.)
• Meanwhile, whisk together the dark brown sugar, cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl until no lumps of sugar remain. Smash in the remaining 12 tablespoons butter with a rubber spatula and stir until completely combined.
• Place a large sheet of parchment paper on a clean work surface and heavily dust with bread flour. Gently deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall back into the bowl, turning the bowl and repeating if needed. Place the dough on the paper. Roll the dough into a 12-by-15-inch rectangle, pushing the edges towards the center to make straight sides. Spread the brown sugar mixture over the dough in an even layer, leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edges. Starting from a long end and using the parchment to help you, tightly roll the dough into a log, pressing the sides occasionally to keep them flush. Transfer to a baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes to firm up the dough.
• Butter the bottom and sides of a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Cut the dough crosswise into 12 pieces and arrange them cut-side up in the pan in a uniform 3-by-4 grid. There will be about 1/4 inch between each roll and that's ok, the rolls will fill in the gaps as they proof and bake. Let rise, uncovered, in a warm, draft-free area, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Meanwhile, arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bake the cinnamon rolls until golden brown on top and baked all the way through, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for about 30 minutes before glazing.
• Meanwhile, whisk the confectioners' sugar, cream, vanilla and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl until smooth and creamy, adding more cream if necessary to make a thick glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cinnamon rolls and serve warm.

THE BEST CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Pour milk into a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave until warm but not hot to the touch, 45 to 60 seconds. It should be about 105 degrees F (41 degrees C). Pour into the bowl of a standing mixer.
• Add 1 tablespoon sugar and yeast to the warm milk. Stir and let sit (proof) until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup sugar, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract; stir with a dough hook until combined.
• Add 4 cups flour, sea salt, and cinnamon; stir with the dough hook, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high speed, until a large ball of smooth and slightly tacky dough is formed. Add 1 tablespoon flour at a time if dough seems too sticky, until a smooth ball is formed.
• Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead with your hands until smooth and elastic, 3 to 5 minutes. Form into a ball and place inside a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a warm, damp towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• While the dough is rising, combine brown sugar, softened butter, and cinnamon for the filling in a small bowl until uniform throughout. Set aside.
• Gently press the gas out of the dough and transfer to a large, floured work surface. Roll the dough into a 24x12-inch rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick. Spread the filling over the dough with greased hands or a greased spatula. Roll up the dough and cut into 12 equally sized rolls, about 2-inches long.
• Line a 9x13-inch glass baking dish with lightly greased parchment paper. Place cinnamon rolls in the prepared baking dish in 4 rows of 3, evenly spaced. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake rolls in the preheated oven until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.
• While the rolls are baking, beat together powdered sugar, cream cheese, softened butter, vanilla extract, and salt for frosting. Keep at room temperature while rolls bake.
• Spread frosting on warm rolls. Let cool before serving.

CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Grease a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment. Mix the flour, caster sugar and cinnamon together with a pinch of salt in a bowl. Whisk the butter, egg yolks and milk together and combine with the dry ingredients to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out to a rectangle, about 30 x 25cm.
• Mix the filling ingredients together. Spread evenly over the dough then roll it up lengthways, like a Swiss roll, to form a log. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 even-sized slices and pack into the prepared tin. Brush gently with extra milk and bake for 30-35 mins or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 mins before removing from the tin.
• Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Place the cream cheese and butter in the centre, pour over 2 tbsp boiling water, and stir to mix. Add a little more water until you have a drizzly consistency. Stir in the vanilla essence, then drizzle the icing over the rolls. Serve warm or cold.

THE PERFECT CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• PROOF THE YEAST: Warm the milk and water to 110° to 115°. Mix in the sugar and yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes, it should be frothy after 10 minutes.
• BREAD MAKER: In a bread maker, add the proofed yeast first, then egg, then butter, then salt. Add the flour last. Set the bread maker the dough setting.
• DOUGH BY HAND: In a large bowl mix proofed yeast, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Once the dough is ready (from either bread maker or by hand), punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into an approximated 15 by 9-inch rectangle (1/2 inch in thickness).
• Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough.
• Sprinkle with toasted pecans, if using.
• Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal.
• Cut into 12 to 15 slices using a piece of string or floss and place in greased pan. (See picture posted with recipe) You can also use a really sharp knife, but in my experience the knife squishes the rolls.
• Cover rolls and let rise until nearly doubled, about 1 hour or so.
• Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
• For the icing: mix all the ingredients together and serve over warm rolls.
• REFRIGERATION METHOD: Once the rolls are cut and placed into a greased pan, you can cover and place in refrigerator overnight and just pop them into a pre-heated oven in the morning. ENJOY!

PERFECT CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Heat milk to 105-110°F Place 1/4 cup of warm milk, 1 tsp of the sugar, and yeast into a small bowl. Stir well to combine. Set in a warm place for 5min. (If yeast doesn't proof, start this step over. Yeast should rise to roughly 3 times its previous depth. I like to use an instant-read thermometer for this step to make sure the milk isn't too hot or too cold.).
• Sift four cups of the flour into a large bowl. Mix in the salt. In a separate bowl, mix the yeast, remaining milk, eggs, vanilla, and slowly pour in the melted margarine. Combine wet ingredients into the flour. Let rest 5min. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough 8-10min, adding more flour as needed. As this is a brioche dough, the dough should still be slightly sticky but shouldn't stick to your hands or work surface. (Flour is very sensitive to humidity: if it's a humid day, you'll need 5 or even 5 1/2 cups flour; on a dry day, you might get away with as little as 4.).
• Place dough into a clean, greased bowl, rolling around so that surface is slightly greased (I use extra virgin olive oil baking spray; you can also use melted butter or margarine, or any baking spray). Cover top of bowl with a clean cloth and set in a warm (65-75 F), draft-free place for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, assemble the filling. Combine all ingredients and mix well.
• Assemble the frosting. Again, combine all ingredients and mix well. (You can choose to use a mixer for this step.).
• When dough has risen for 1 hour and doubled in size, punch down and knead gently. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle roughly 1/2" thick, 18" x 9". Spread FILLING over the dough, leaving a bare 1" strip at the top. Roll dough up into a log, being sure to tighten it well as you go along. End with the bare strip facing down. Let sit 2min.
• Grease two baking dishes (I use 9"x9" square pyrex or 9" pyrex pie dishes).
• Cut rolls to 1/2" rounds. Arrange in baking dishes. Cover surfaces with clean dish towels, set in warm place to rise 45min.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Bake 15-20min until golden brown all over. Let cool in baking dishes. Frost. Delicious with cold milk or good coffee. :).