Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls

using my milk bread recipe to make cinnamon rolls!!!

Last week, one of my co-workers gave us jars of Mirabelle plum curd, a delightful and addicting little spread that was sitting in my fridge begging to be used. I decided to make some cinnamon rolls so I could fill them with the curd- an idea I thought was especially inspired. More than that, I wondered if the milk bread recipe I used for my dinner rolls at Thanksgiving would work well. Turns out, they did! These were so fluffy and soft- you should definitely try it out.

The recipe is from my bestie, annalpcooks

Ingredients:

Tangzhong

20g flour

27g water

60ml whole milk

Yeast mix

10g instant or active dry yeast

20ml luke-warm water

1 tsp sugar (if using active dry)

Dough

Tangzhong mix

Yeast mix

300g bread (strong) flour

80g all-purpose flour

60g sugar

1 tsp salt

130ml whole milk

1 large egg

1 tbsp softened unsalted butter

filling

115 g softened butter (skip if you are using a filling such as a lemon or plum curd)

110 grams of brown sugar

1 tbsp of cinnamon

pinch of salt

if you’re using a curd- use 115g of it

egg wash

1 egg whisked

Method:

In a pan- combine the 20g of flour, 27ml of water, and 60ml of milk to make the tangzhong. Stir to combine until a thick paste has formed or the temperature of it is above 65c. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, mix the yeast and water together to create a yeast mixture. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add in your flours, salt, and sugar and give it a mix. Then, add in your yeast mixture, tangzhong, milk, whisked egg, and softened butter. You can also do this in a stand mixer with a dough hook. If doing it by machine, let the dough mix for 5-7 minutes until nice, uniform, and soft. The dough should spring back if poked.

If doing it by hand, mix the ingredients together with a spoon, and then when slightly cohesive, start kneading it with your hands. It might feel dry at first but will quickly get softer as the flour gets hydrated.

If it starts sticking too much, coat your hands with a bit of oil and spread some oil on the counter. This will help you knead without using excess flour and drying it out. Knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is uniform and smooth, with it springing back when you poke it.

Put in a clean oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel or saran wrap. Let rise in a warm place for an hour-an hour and a half or till doubled in size.

Once risen, take the bread out of the bowl and punch it down. You want to knock it about so you can evenly disperse the air bubbles.

Roll it out into a large rectangle- you want it to be roughly 12 x 18 inches.

Spread out either your softened butter or curd evenly across the expanse of the dough.

Then, evenly sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture all over the dough.

Roll it up into a tight log from the long side, making sure to make it as tight as possible.

Then, mark slight indents into the roll to make 8 equal pieces. Using unflavored dental floss, slide it under the log, and slice through using the floss.

You can also use a sharp serrated knife to cut through the log- try not to smush the layers.

In a square baking pan, butter it heavily on all sides.

Then, place each individual cinnamon roll into the pan. They can be touching a little.

Cover with some plastic wrap and let rise for another 30-40 minutes or until doubled in size.

During this second rise, preheat the oven to 400 F or 204 C.

Once the rolls are risen and puffy, glaze them with an egg wash (just one egg whisked). Make sure to gently glaze all the sides and top to get it nice and golden brown.

Put in oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. If you’re worried they’re getting too brown, just cover them with a bit of foil. They should be a deep golden brown. Another easy way to tell is if the internal temp is between 82-88C / 180-190 F, the bread is ready.

Let cool for 10 minutes and then enjoy!