Cinnamon Rolls Festive Edition
This is a delicious and really versatile recipe. You can adapt the fillings with your own favourite toppings. I love these with the addition of ground cardamon, orange zest and almonds but my daughter prefers them with the plain cinnamon, butter and sugar combination. If you would like to try them with cardamon just replace some of the cinnamon with cardamon. Either is good as the filling caramelises in the oven and is so so good. You can also add nuts of choice , chopped apple or dried fruit, go mad! We prefer them without cream cheese frosting but again go for it if thats your poison! If you would like to have them fresh on Christmas eve morning prepare them the day before and bake the following day. Also check out our handy bakers schedule guide to cinnamon rolls on inour instagram video.
Equipment
- Rollin pin
- Deep Baking tray/Pyrex dish
- Baking paper
- Electric mixer/hand mix
- Bowl
- Spatula/dough scraper
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
The Dough
- 500 g strong white flour
- 275 g milk
- 7 g instant dried yeast
- 3 g salt
- 25 g salted butter room temp
- 30 g caster sugar
- 50 g egg 1 medium
Cinnamon filling
- 120 g salted butter room temp
- 200 g soft light brown sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 30 g flaked almonds
- 1 zest of orange ( optional)
EGGWASH
- 1 beaten egg
- pinch salt
Glaze
- 2 tbsp warm apricot jam
Instructions
MAKE THE DOUGH
- Place the flour in a bowl and rub in the butter.
- Add the sugar and mix.
- Add the yeast.
- Gradually add the milk and egg until it all comes together in one large ball. You may not need all the milk; it depends on the humidity in the room and what type of flour you are using. Only add enough to gather all the lose bits together but without being too dry.
- Knead for 12 - 15 minutes or until it's smooth and gluten is well developed. It should be springy to touch. You can also mix it in an electric mixture on the dough hook if your prefer to give the arms a break!
- Cover with cling wrap, bag or secure teacloth. You do not want the air to get at it or a skin will form.
BULK FERMENT
- Sometimes know as the first prove, leave it to ferment at room temperature for 1 -2 hours. Again this is not a set time, it depends on your room temperature but it's ready when it doubles in size.
- When it has doubled in size you can either continue to the next stage or leave it covered in the fridge overnight. By leaving it in the fridge it slows down the fermentation process.
MAKE THE FILLING
- In a bowl combine the soft butter with brown sugar, cinnamon and orange zest until its really smooth. Leave aside to sit at room temperature.
PREPARE YOUR BAKING TRAY
- Place a sheet of baking paper in a deep baking tray or Pyrex dish.
ROLL, FILL AND SHAPE THE DOUGH
- Turn your dough onto a well floured countertop.
- Using a rolling pin roll the dough into a rectangle shape until its a 1/4 inch thickness. Keep making sure that the dough isn't sticking to your countertop. If it's difficult to roll and keeps springing back leave it to rest for 5/10 minutes and roll it again.
- Using a dough scraper or spatula spread the filling all over the rectangle but leave an inch around the edge with no filling.
- Start rolling from the long side of the rectangle and roll it into a Swiss roll type shape.
- Dip a sharp knife into flour. Cut the roll into half. Now cut each half into equal pieces about 2 inches wide.
- Place the cinnamon rolls into your prepared tray leaving a small space between each one. This will leave space for the dough to rise.
- Cover the tray with cling wrap. At this stage you can either continue to the next stage of proving and baking or leave them in the fridge overnight to prove and bake the next day.
PROVING TIME
- Leave to prove at room temperature for 45 minutes. You will know that they are proved when they look really puffy. When you press your finger on them it should leave a light indent.
- Preheat your oven to 190 degrees celsius.
- Egg wash - Beat the egg with a whisk or fork. Add a pinch of salt. The salt breaks down the egg and makes it easier to brush.Using a pastry brush you can now brush the egg wash all over the rolls. Sprinkle with flaked almonds.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls for 20 minutes or until golden brown and springy to touch.
- Glaze- while the cinnamon rolls are still warm brush liberally with warm apricot jam.
- These are best eaten the same day.
Prep in advance -Freezing the dough
- When you have shaped the cinnamon rolls, and before they get their final prove, you can freeze them.
- Place them gently in freezer bags and freeze up to one month.
- When you are ready to bake them, remove them from the freezer and let them come to room temperature.
- They will now be ready for their prove and bake. Follow the instructions above.
Notes
Hi I'm Loraine the owner of Devoted To Bakes. I am an Artisan trained baker and I have 10 years experience teaching workshops, camps and events for both adults and kids. I teach home bakers how to produce great results from a home kitchen. Please rate our recipe!
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