Cinnamon Rolls From Scratch

If you love cinnamon rolls, you have to try making cinnamon rolls from scratch! They might seem hard to make, but once you get into it, they are a whole lot more simple than they seem.

Will pillowy soft dough, a whole lot of cinnamon and a sticky glaze, these homemade cinnamon scrolls will leave you wanting more.

How to Make Cinnamon Rolls

There’s three parts to cinnamon rolls: the dough, the filling, and the glaze. Let’s break it down!

In the dough, you have:

• Milk: using full-fat dairy milk is best for a rich dough. It contains sugar that helps feed the yeast! In a pinch, you can also use non-dairy milk or water.
• Heavy cream: also called thickened cream, pouring cream or pure cream. The extra fat in the cream makes the dough very moist. 
• Egg
• Caster sugar / superfine sugar: I like using this extra fine sugar because it’s easier to dissolve into the dough, but you can substitute with regular white sugar too.
• Plain / all-purpose flour: just plain old flour is fine. No need to use bread flour.
• Corn starch / cornflour: helps soften the dough so it’s pillowy soft.
• Dried active yeast: usually comes in sachets or a large canister. Make sure it’s in date.
• Salt

How to Make Cinnamon Roll Dough

Cinnamon roll dough is simple to make once you've mastered the steps.

1. Combine all of the dough ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Stir together with a spoon or spatula. It will be very shaggy!
3 & 4. You can see the texture of the dough before and after kneading.

Kneading the Dough

You have two options for kneading the dough:

Kneading by hand: you'll need patience and strong arms! To knead the dough by hand, turn it out onto a lightly floured bench top. Sprinkle flour on top of the dough ball. Stretch out the dough and fold it on top of itself, then turn it a quarter circle.

If it's too sticky to work with, sprinkle with about a tablespoon more flour and continue to knead. I usually end up adding about ½ cup more flour. Try not to add too much more than this or your dough will be dense and dry. Remember, it will naturally become less sticky as you knead it for longer. Knead for 8-10 minutes total or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Kneading with an electric mixer: combine your ingredients in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Mix on low speed for about 1 minute or until a shaggy dough forms. Resume mixing on low speed, while slowly adding up to ½ cup of extra flour (no more) or until a smooth and elastic dough ball forms. This should take about 4 minutes.

Proofing the Dough

Place your dough ball in a lightly greased large bowl (I wash out the one I used to combine the ingredients). If your dough ball has a seam where you've joined it together, place it seam side down. Grease the top of the dough ball. I find this is easiest to do with a butter or oil spray.

Cover with cling film or a damp tea towel and place in a warm spot for an hour or until doubled in size. I find putting the covered bowl in my oven on the lowest temperature (approx 45°C / 110°F) is best. Note that it can take up to 2 hours for your dough to double in size depending on how warm your environment is and how much flour is in your dough.

Images 5 & 6 show the dough ball before and after proofing.

How to Fill the Cinnamon Rolls

In the cinnamon filling you have:

• Unsalted butter
• Brown sugar: a MUST for that delicious caramel, sweet flavour.
• Ground cinnamon: there’s lots and LOTS of cinnamon in this recipe. It’s a non-negotiable! Trust me when I say it’s worth it.

1. Combine your very soft butter, sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
2. Stir until very well combined. It should make a paste. Microwave in 10 second bursts if too firm to work with.

5. Punch down your dough to remove excess air and roll out into a rectangle approximately 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 inches).
6. Spread over the cinnamon paste evenly, right to the edges. I use the back of a spoon or a spatula.
7. Roll the dough towards you, keeping the cylinder tight as you roll.
8. Place seam side down.

Slicing the Cinnamon Rolls

Here's two different methods I like to use. Either way, it's best to mark out where you are going to cut your rolls with small indents before you start slicing them.

Op 1: Use a SHARP knife. Slice evenly through your cinnamon rolls. A blunt knife will squish your rolls as your trying to cut them.

Op 2: Use unflavoured dental floss. Loop the floss around where you want to cut the roll then cross it over and pull so it slices through the dough.

How to Shape And Proof Cinnamon Rolls

1. Lightly grease a large rectangular casserole dish (approx 24 x 30 cm / 9 x 12 inch) and dust lightly with flour, tapping out the excess.
2. Place your cinnamon rolls snugly 3 x 4 in the dish.
3. Cover with clingfilm or a damp tea towel and place in a warm spot (same as your first proof) until doubled in size.
4. Bake until golden. Note! If your rolls are rising in the oven, remove the clingfilm or tea towel and put them back in the oven, then immediately increase the temperature to 180°C / 355°F.

Can cinnamon rolls rise overnight?

Yes, you can cover your rolls and refrigerate them overnight. They will rise more slowly in the fridge and will be ready to bake after 8–12 hours.

How to Make Cinnamon Roll Glaze

In the glaze you have:

• Icing sugar / powdered sugar: I like a regular glaze (not a cream cheese glaze), so the main ingredient in icing sugar. Australians can also use ‘icing sugar mixture.’
• Milk: or any milk alternative, or water. If you want a bit of tang you can replace milk with lemon juice.
• Vanilla: essence or extract.

1. Sift the sugar into a medium bowl. Add milk and vanilla and whisk together until combined.
2. Add more milk (if too thick) or sugar (if too thin) until desired consistency is reached.
3. Allow to scrolls to cool for 10 minutes in the tray and then spread over glaze.
4. Pull apart and enjoy!

How to Store and Reheat Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

How do I store cinnamon rolls?

Store at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 4 days. They are a bread product, so will start to get dry after a day or two.

How do I reheat cinnamon rolls?

I always recommend reheating rolls from the second day onwards to keep them tasting fresh. Even once glazed, you can:

• Microwave individually for 20 seconds
• Place individually in the airfryer for 4 minutes on 160°C/320°F
• Bake individually in the oven for 5 minutes at 160°C/320°F

To heat up a whole batch, loosely cover the tray with aluminium foil then bake at 160°C/320°F for 15 minutes.

Can I freeze cinnamon rolls?

You can freeze cinnamon rolls before or after baking.

How to freeze cinnamon rolls before baking

Roll and cut your cinnamon scrolls, then place them into your lightly floured baking tray. Instead of letting them rise, wrap tightly with cling film and cover with foil. 

When you’re ready to bake them, allow to defrost overnight in the fridge and then allow to proof in a warm place for 2 hours. Bake as normal!

How to freeze cinnamon rolls after baking

Bake your cinnamon rolls like normal but don’t glaze them. 

• To freeze individually: wrap each scroll tightly in cling film then place in an airtight container. Keep frozen for up to 3 months. 
• To freeze a whole batch: cover the tray with clingfilm then cover with aluminium foil. Keep frozen for up to 3 months.

Defrost for 6 hours or overnight in the fridge then heat up, glaze if desired, and enjoy.

Troubleshooting Your Scrolls!

My dough is too sticky

If your dough is too sticky, you can try a couple of things:

• Allow the dough to sit for 15 minutes: this will help the flour absorb the water and it will be easier to knead. 
• Keep kneading! Lightly flour your hands and the benchtop and keep working through the dough. Even better, use an electric stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
• Add more flour: but not too much. If the dough is unworkable, add 2 tablespoon of flour at a time, kneading well in between. Try not to add much more than half a cup total. Remember, kneading by hand can take up to 10 minutes.

My cinnamon rolls won't rise

Dough can be stubborn and the speed at which it rises depends on a lot of factors like the humidity of your environment, the type of flour used, how much flour you added, and how fresh your yeast is.

• Make sure your dough is in a warm spot. Preferably 40-45°C (105-115°F). Putting your dough in your oven on the lowest setting is a foolproof way to keep it at a consistent temperature.
• Make sure your yeast is in-date. Expired yeast will struggle to rise. 
• Leave it a bit longer! My dough has taken as long as two hours to rise. Be patient and wait until it has fully doubled in size!
• Use less flour rather than more in your dough: if you’ve gone too heavy on the flour, the dough will be denser and rise less. Try not to add more than half a cup of flour extra into your dough while kneading it.

My cinnamon rolls are too doughy

Your rolls will be doughy if they are undercooked. Make sure to bake until evenly golden on top. The rolls in the middle of the pan will take slightly longer than the rolls on the outside.

You should also rotate your pan once while cooking to ensure the scrolls are evenly cooked.

Variations

1. Nutella: Replace the cinnamon filling with Nutella or chocolate spread, and add chopped hazelnuts or other nuts.
2. Apple: Add finely chopped apples and ground cinnamon to the filling, and drizzle with caramel sauce or cream cheese frosting.
3. Spicy: replace the cinnamon in the filling with mixed spice or pumpkin pie spice for a delicious and fragrant twist.

Serving suggestions

Nothing beats these rolls fresh out of the oven. However, they'll still be delicious cold or reheated the next day. You can also serve them with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream for an indulgent dessert.

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