What sets these cinnamon rolls apart is the “tangzhong” mixture that is added in to help produce a soft and moist texture to the bread. These cinnamon rolls stay soft and yummy for days, even though I know they won’t last that long in your house!
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I don’t know about you, but every once in awhile, I get a craving for a really soft and gooey cinnamon roll.
I’ve tried and tested MANY cinnamon roll recipes and often, they come out of the oven nice and soft, and then within minutes, they start to harden. No one wants a crunchy cinnamon roll!
So I researched, and found this time tested way to keep the dough soft. And so for days, you can keep your cinnamon rolls soft with the help of a mixture called a Tangzhong.
What is Tangzhong and why does it keep dough moist?
The concept of making a Tangzhong, or what I call the “wet dough,” became popular from cookbook author Yvonne Chen. The Tangzhong originates from Japan and involves combining and heating flour with liquid prior to adding in other dough ingredients. The warmer temperature helps to gelatinize the flour’s starches, and this helps them to retain liquid, hence making the bread dough more soft. The greatest benefit to using the Tangzhong to make the dough is it keeps the dough soft for days!
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Tips for making perfectly soft cinnamon rolls
- Make the tangzhong first and let it cool a bit.
- When combining the ingredients for the dough, use a wooden spoon to pull the ingredients together, and then feel free to use your hands to bring the dough together into a ball.
- Keep the dough on the sticky side and use flour sparingly to knead.
- Let the dough rest so it has time to absorb liquid.
- Use these handy non-stick baking mats with measuring guide to help roll and measure your dough rectangle. We also love these non-stick rolling pins for rolling our dough and pastry.
- After you’ve rolled up the dough, make little cuts every 1 1/2 inches to measure out the rolls, and then use a knife to cut the rolls.
- Let the rolls rise again to get them extra puffy and soft!
- When baking, don’t OVERBAKE. Take them out of the oven when they have just started to barely brown… the softer the better!!!
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Can you make the cinnamon rolls ahead of time and bake in the morning?
Yes! Simply make the recipe and place the rolls into your baking pan and cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. In the morning, take the rolls out and let them warm to room temperature, about 1 hour before baking. Bake as directed and enjoy!
Here’s the Soft Cinnamon Rolls Recipe!
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 23 minutes |
| Passive Time | 2 hours |
| Servings |
rolls
|
- 5 tbsp Water
- 5 tbsp Milk
- 3 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp All-Purpose Flour
- all Tangzhong from above
- 4 cups All-Purpose Flour for pie crust
- 2 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
- 1 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Instant Yeast
- 3/4 cup Milk Warmed
- 2 Eggs
- 6 tbsp Unsalted Butten Melted
- 3/4 cup Brown Sugar Packed
- 4 tsp Cinnamon
- 2 cups Confectioners' sugar
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Butter Melted
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla
- 2-3 tbsp Milk Enough to thicken
Ingredients
Tangzhong "wet dough"
Dough
Cinnamon Filling
Icing
|
|
- Combine 5 Tbsp Water, 5 Tbsp Milk, and 3 Tbsp + 1 tsp Flour in a sauce pan. Stir for about 1 minute until the mixture thickens. Turn the heat off and set aside.
- In a separate pan, heat 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- In a separate sauce pan, heat 3/4 cup Milk until lukewarm, not boiling.
- In a bowl, combine 4 cups + 2 Tbsp Flour with 1 3/4 tsp Salt, 1 Tbsp Active Yeast, the 3/4 cup warmed milk, 6 Tbsp melted butter and 2 eggs. Add in the Tangzhong and bring all ingredients together into a dough. Let the dough rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, knead the dough to bring it together into a sticky dough. Shape it into a ball and place in a greased bowl for 1-2 hours, until dough has proofed and become puffy.
- Make the filling by combining 3/4 cup brown sugar with 4 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Deflate the dough and divide it in half. Roll each half into a rectangle measuring about 15" x 8"
- Sprinkle half the filling onto each dough rectangle.
- Roll the dough starting with the long edge and then measure and cut into 1 1/2" pieces to make the cinnamon rolls.
- Repeat with the other dough half.
- Use butter to grease a 9" x 13" pan. Place all 24 rolls into the pan. Cover the pan and let the rolls rise for another hour. They should become puffy.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees and place rack on bottom third setting.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, not overbaking. Look for the rolls to feel set, not completely golden. They are better when they are more soft.
- Make the icing. Combine 2 cups confectioners' sugar, 1/8 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp melted butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 2 Tbsp milk. Add a tiny bit more milk only if needed, but this icing should be thick and spreadable like a frosting.
- When rolls are done baking, plate them and add the icing to top. It will melt into the rolls. Serve them warm! You can freeze these and heat up later. We freeze them without the icing, and freeze the icing in a separate Ziplock bag.
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