If you're a bread novice, the idea of making them from scratch can seem pretty daunting. If you know how the dough is supposed to look during each stage, making these amazing rolls at home is so much simpler. I suggest making any bread dough with a stand mixer, however, if you really need an workout, they can be made by hand. They are slightly time consuming, as they have to rise twice, but it isn't active time in the kitchen, so you can walk away. We'll start with the basic recipe....
Janeybell's Cinnamon Rolls:
Dough:
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 sticks unsalted butter (room temp)
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
6-7 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
Filling:
1/2 stick of melted butter
1 cup of packed light brown sugar
2-3 tsp ground cinnamon
nuts and raisins as desired
Icing:
1 package of room temperature cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tsp half and half or heavy cream
Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in your measuring cup and stir to combine. Set it aside.
In the bowl of your mixer cream the room temperature butter and the sugar with the paddle attachment. This process takes anywhere from 2-5 minutes depending on the room temperature. You should mix them on medium to a medium high speed until the butter starts to look fluffy.
Now check your yeast mixture. It should have started to slightly bubble on top. If there hasn't been any reaction, your yeast is probably too old and has died. Discard it and try again with new yeast. To simplify why....yeast eat sugars and burp, a lot. The gas that they let out is what makes bread rise and puts all of those delicious little air bubbles in yeast dough.
Next, add the yeast mixture, buttermilk, vanilla, eggs, salt and 5 cups of your flour. Change your mixer attachment to the dough hook. It should look a little something like this...
After you've gotten these ingredients all incorporated (and don't worry, it will be a mess and look slightly soupy). Now you will begin to add flour 1/2 to 1/4 cup at a time until it resembles the dough in the next picture. Start with 1/2 cup of flour and decrease the amount you add as the mix starts to look more and more like dough. It should all lift off the bottom of the bowl as its mixing, but only just. The amount of flour you will need will vary almost every time you make a bread dough. It depends on humidity, temperature and even the thickness of your buttermilk. Don't stress the number of additions you have to make, dough recipes are guidelines, not formulas.
When you feel like you have added enough flour, check it with your finger. The dough should feel soft, but should not stick to your finger with light pressure.
It's time to let the mixer go to work. Knead the dough on medium speed until the texture becomes smooth and it resembles the dough in the next picture. It should take around 8-10 minutes.
When the dough is finished kneading, transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl and flip it over so that the top of the dough also gets a light coat of oil. (I don't recommend using cooking spray because it has so many added chemicals, like silicone). Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and stash it somewhere warm for an hour or two. Rising times depend on room temperature, the weather, humidity and all kinds of crazy stuff.
When the dough has doubled in size, it should look about like this. Time to roll it out. On a clean surface, with no flour, knead the dough a few times to incorporate the oil from the bowl and relax the dough to make it easier to roll.
Roll out the dough into a large rectangle with your rolling pin. Try to make the edges as even as possible. It should about 1/4 inch thick.
Now brush on the melted butter. Make sure it reaches both sides and the bottom, but leave a few inches at the top without butter to pinch together after you roll up the filling to seal it inside.
Sprinkle your brown sugar over the butter making sure to reach the bottom and sides again and leaving the top of the dough clean. Use your impeccably clean hands to spread the brown sugar around evenly.
Time to put the cinnamon in cinnamon rolls. Sprinkle it around just like the brown sugar. This would also be the step where you would add raisins or nuts.
Time to roll up the rolls. Beginning with the bottom edge (that has the filling mixture on it) gently curl the top over and begin to roll it over into a pinwheel shape. Try to roll them as tightly as you without stretching the dough.
When you've rolled up the whole rectangle, use that edge that has no filling on it to pinch the roll shut as shown. Place the roll seam side down and grab a knife to cut the individual rolls. Feel free to push the ends in a bit and try to make the roll a uniform thickness.
To make this recipe into 12 large rolls, you're going to first cut the roll into thirds. Then cut each third in half and cut each half in half again to make four rolls. Press the rolls with your hand to flatten them out a bit.
Place the rolls into a greased pan (I use cooking oil in a spray bottle) and be sure to space them far enough apart to leave room for them to rise. You could also place them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Time to cover them again and set them somewhere warm to rise again. Should take about an hour depending on how warm your kitchen is. This stage is also the point where you can freeze them to be baked later. Just let them defrost on the counter until they've completed their second rise. They can also be placed in the refrigerator over night to rise. In the morning, they'll need about a half an hour to wake up and warm up before they're baked.
After the second rise, the rolls should have doubled in size and its time to preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Do not put these rolls in until the oven is up to temperature (or any other baked goods for that matter).
Bake for approximately 30 minutes. All baking times are approximate because the time will vary 5 or 10 minutes depending on your oven. I rotate mine halfway through the baking to ensure the rolls are baked evenly.
While the rolls are baking, its time to make the frosting. Combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in your mixer and beat until well combined. Add a little bit of half and half or cream until the frosting is your desired consistency. Allow the rolls 10 minutes to cool a little before frosting.
I placed my icing into a zip top bag and cut off a small corner to pipe the icing into pretty lines. You can just spread it over top of the warm rolls, if you like.
And here's the finished product! Family approved and each roll warms up in 15 seconds in the microwave in the morning. Ta-da! Not a pop tart or cold cereal and every single ingredient is recognizable as REAL FOOD!
I hope you guys enjoy these Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls as much as we do. You're welcome to cut them into smaller rolls for easier portion control. I've also used this recipe for "Take and Bake" Cinnamon Rolls. I bought disposable 8x8 aluminum pans with lids and froze the rolls in packs of 4. Made the icing and tied it to the top of the pan with Christmas ribbon along with rising and baking instructions. My sons gave them to their teachers for the holidays to bake on Christmas morning.
I would also like to offer a word of thanks to Laura Neal. She taught me how to make these years ago when I worked in her bakery and this recipe is adapted from hers. Thanks so much for the lifelong love of cooking and baking, Laura!
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