Cinnamon Buns
The stickiest, gooiest cinnamon bun recipe
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl or stand mixer
- Baking dish with sides that are a minimum 1 inch high. Ideally, use a 9 x 13 cake pan
- Measuring cups and spoons if you aren't weighing your ingredients (pro tip: weigh your ingredients to save on dishes, win win!)
- Glass measuring cup
- Something to stir with
- Knife or a sharp bench scraper
- Cling wrap or a clean kitchen towel
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
Dough
- ⅔ cup (85g) warm water 100-110°F or the temperature of a hot bath
- ⅓ cup (85g) warm milk 100-110°F or the temperature of a hot bath
- ½ cup (100g) white sugar
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 3 eggs
- ½ tbsp vanilla (real vanilla makes all the difference, but artificial will do if it's all you have on hand)
- 4 ½ cups (600g) all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup (115g) butter, unsalted, softened and cubed (to be honest, I usually use salted and notice no difference but for the sake of perfection, use unsalted if you have it)
Inside the Buns and Coating the Pan
- ½ cup (115g) butter, unsalted (the salt content of your butter is less essential at this stage, salted is fine too)
- 1 cup (packed) (250g) brown sugar
- 2 tbsp cinnamon (or eyeball it, based on how spicy you like your buns to be. There's no wrong amount here)
- 1/2 cup (80g) raisins (optional)
Cream Cheese Icing
- ¼ cup (60g) cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ cup (75g) butter, softened (the salt content of your butter at this stage is a personal preference
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 3 tbsp (40g) milk, room temperature
- 2-2 ½ cups (300g) icing sugar Depending on desired consistency
Instructions
Dough
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl, stir together warm milk, water and sugar until dissolved.
- Sprinkle active dry yeast on top, and cover with a clean towel or cling wrap. Set aside for 10-15 minutes until yeast is bubbly and expanding.
- Add eggs, vanilla, and half the flour to the bowl. Mix vigorously together with a spoon or on medium speed in a stand mixer for 2-3 minutes using the dough hook.
- Stir in salt. Start adding the flour in small amounts until all flour is incorporated in the dough, whether by hand or on low speed in a stand mixer.
- If by hand, turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 8-10 minutes, or continue kneading in a stand mixer on low.
- When it starts to come together into a smooth and supple dough, begin adding in cubes of the softened butter. It is messy to do by hand, but trust the process and continue kneading. It is best to resist the urge to add large amounts of flour at this time. Instead, use a bench scraper to keep your counter clean as you knead the dough together. If using a stand mixer, stop it periodically to scrape down the sides of the bowl and pull the dough off the hook if it's snaking up, trying to entangle itself in the motor.
- Once all the butter is incorporated and the dough is smooth again, place it in the bowl and cover with the clean towel or cling wrap again. Set aside in a warm location (on top of a fridge or in a sunny window works well) until the dough has doubled in size, approximately 1-1.5 hours. Alternatively, you can chill the dough in the fridge until you are ready to roll it out, within 18 hours.
Rolling out the Dough
- Flip your dough onto a lightly floured surface. Punch the dough down once, and then fold it over on itself a few times. The goal is to redistribute some of the gasses that have been produced by the yeast and release some of the bigger pockets. Press dough down flat and cover again for about 10 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.
- Meanwhile, melt the ½ cup (115g) butter for inside the buns in a glass measuring cup, and assemble the brown sugar and cinnamon (and optional raisins) on the counter. Once you start, you're going to want to have everything within arms reach.
- Pour about half the melted butter inside the deep dish pan. Sprinkle half the brown sugar on top, and give it a quick stir to incorporate. This is not an exact science, so don't stress about precise measurements here.
- Taking care to try to keep a rectangular shape, roll out your cinnamon bun dough until it is quite thin, less than 1 cm thick. Try to push the dough out towards the corners from the centre of the dough. Every so often, gently lift your dough and allow it to shrink back, flouring lightly underneath again if needed. Lift your dough one last final time before dressing it up. This allows the gluten to relax and prevents wonky buns. The larger you roll your dough out, the move "revolutions" you will have in your finished buns. This is a key to making amazing cinnamon buns!
- Spread the remaining melted butter on the dough right to the edges (a pastry brush or your fingers works great for this). Sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar and the cinnamon on top, and raisins if desired. Grab the long edge closest to you, and roll the dough tightly into a log. Pinch the join shut and roll the log so the join is underneath.
- Using a sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut the log into 12 equal pieces. I start in half, and then half again (4 pieces), and then thirds for a total of 12 buns.
- Place the buns in your prepared baking dish. If the end are threatening to unravel, place ends up again another bun or the sides of the pan so that as they rise, they stay closed. Cover with cling wrap or a towel.
- At this point, you can also refrigerate your prepared buns overnight (up to 12 hours) if you wanted to bake off fresh cinnamon buns in the morning. Allow double the proofing time to allow for the dough to return to room temperature (45 min-1 hr)
- Proof until doubled in size, approximately 20-30 minutes. If your kitchen is warm and humid, they can be left on the counter. In colder months, you can turn your oven onto the lowest setting (180°F or a "keep warm" setting) with a dish of water on the bottom rack. Turn the oven off before placing the rolls into the oven to proof. When they are doubled, remove from oven and preheat to 350°F.
- Bake cinnamon buns for 20-25 minutes at 350°F. Meanwhile, prepare a place to turn the cinnamons out of their pan onto. I use a clean baking tray lined with parchment. They will be very saucy and sticky.
- The cinnamon rolls will be done when they are uniformly golden brown and the sauce is bubbling up. Press lightly on the center of a bun; if they sink down and stay, they need more time. Once they spring back up to a light touch, they are done. Pay close attention to the middle ones, as these take the longest to bake.
- Remove from oven, and immediately flip pan upside down onto the prepared tray. The bubbling sugar is VERY hot, so do this cautiously. Use a rubber spatula or spoon to scrape any remaining sauce from the pan onto the cinnamon rolls. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before pulling apart. Once they are cool, ice generously with the cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large bowl or in a stand mixer, combine softened cream cheese, butter, vanilla and milk. Add half the powdered sugar, and stir until well combined. Slowly continue to add icing sugar until desired consistency. Store in fridge until ready to use.