Sweetie Pie and Cupcakes

Soft Cinnamon Rolls

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!

CourseBreakfast
CuisineAmerican

Servings	Prep Time
24rolls	30minutes

Cook Time	Passive Time
23minutes	2hours

Servings	Prep Time
24rolls	30minutes

Cook Time	Passive Time
23minutes	2hours

Ingredients

Tangzhong “wet dough”

Dough

Cinnamon Filling

3/4cup Brown SugarPacked
4tsp Cinnamon

Icing

2cups Confectioners’ sugar
1/8tsp Salt
2tbsp ButterMelted
1/2tsp Vanilla
2-3tbsp MilkEnough to thicken

Instructions

Tangzhong “Wet Dough”

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.

Dough

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.