The Cinnamon Bun Topic

[sheetz]

if been making cinnamon rolls alot lately and i can say that this one is my favorite. butter vs margerine has a big taste difference. margerine better for the filling and frosting imo. i think the hardest part is flattening out the dough for the roll.

http://www.gordonfamily.com/Recipes/cinnabon.htm

I've used this one also and it definitely is good. In order to roll the dough out as thin as possible it's important to let it rest.

Edited March 28, 2005 by sheetz (log)

[maui420]

it sounds like you know of something better, fill me in please. =)

when you mean rest, the first rising should be > 1 hour?

if been making cinnamon rolls alot lately and i can say that this one is my favorite. butter vs margerine has a big taste difference. margerine better for the filling and frosting imo. i think the hardest part is flattening out the dough for the roll.

http://www.gordonfamily.com/Recipes/cinnabon.htm

I've used this one also and it definitely is good. In order to roll the dough out as thin as possible it's important to let it rest.

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[sheetz]

it sounds like you know of something better, fill me in please. =)

Like I said, that recipe is definitely good, but it's a fairly standard recipe as far as cinnamon rolls go, I think. The main differences between this recipe and others are the margarine for the filling and the huge amount of cinnamon. I do think using butter instead of margarine tastes better, but you don't get that gooeyness of a Cinnabon.

when you mean rest, the first rising should be > 1 hour?

I mean when you roll it out, you should roll it out as much as you can. Then when it won't roll out any more, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a half hour or so to let it relax. After this rest period you should be able to roll it out a lot more. It also helps to have a very soft and moist dough. Last time I made this recipe I used quite a bit more liquid than called for in this recipe.

[melmck]

I was bored with 'classic' cinn rolls, so now I make mine with Danish dough, I spray with water, spread cinn sugar all over. roll it up. in the morning I proof until poofy and light, hit it with cinn sug mist with water again, this caramelizes while baking and makes a nice sugar crust. they are awesome, and a best seller, on weekend I can barely keep up. I can't eat the ooey-gooey kind anymore, they are a stomach bomb and give me heartburn. If you look at how much butter gets slapped all over in under practically injected, it just scares me. sigh for a better metabolism!

[abadoozy]

I had a cinnamon roll at Hell's Kitchen in Minneapolis last weekend. It was a pretty good cinnamon roll, but what made it extraordinary is they served it warm, and dripping in a really wonderful caramel sauce and toasted pecans. Talk about a wake-up - between the sugar and the coffee our hangover from too many martinis the night before was history. I've never seen a roll done like that, with the sauce over it instead of just relying on the inside gooeyness (which it had plenty of as well.) I think I just gained another pound or two just writing about it.

[mira]

Hello, all. I have made the CI recipe discussed above and it is WONDERFUL. I am wondering, however, if I can prepare any part of it in advance. I'm not so familiar with putting a non-yeasted dough in the fridge overnight but it seems to me that it might not be a good idea. Is there any way to prepare them in advance but still bake them the morning of a brunch? Thanks!

[oli]

I made the Cook's Illustrated non-yeasted cinnamon rolls today and I must say that they're the best cinnamon rolls I've ever made.  The absolute best part about them is that they aren't too sweet.  Every other recipe I've tried is just so rich that it's impossible to eat more than a few bites.  The icing was great - cream cheese, buttermilk and powdered sugar! Wow! I made two small changes - I used nutmeg instead of cloves in the filling and I added vanilla to the icing.

Synchronicity, Ladybug -- I also made a batch today! I concur: that recipe beats all others I've ever tried. AND, I also concur that the rolls are neither too rich nor two sweet, the two top cardinal sins existing in most cinnamon buns. I want mine to be intensely cinnamony, nongooey, and barely sweet; they should pay a warm and fragrant tribute to the world's most popular spice by perfuming the air for several feet in every direction.

These CI non-yeasted babies do just that. Thanks, nightscotsman!!

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You mean, you like them better than Nancy Silverman's Pecan sticky buns?

[K8memphis]

Well two things. Umm, be sure to try the Vietnamese or Saigon cinnamon. The stuff I got from King Arthur's totally rocked. The stuff we got from Whole Foods is still better than regular cinnamon but is a distant second to the King Arthur stuff.

And there's a recipe for sticky buns on Martha Stewart's. She is having best non-pro bakers from across the country on her show and this guy did some very very pretty cinnamon rolls/sticky buns yesterday.

[skyflyer3]

I made these back when the article came out and was actually disappointed.

I think I will go back and give it another try they were really easy.

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Yeah, I made these when the recipe just came out and was also not impressed (especially with the cream cheese frosting, although I used reconstituted powdered buttermilk instead of fresh). Torakris, let me know how your re-done ones come out.

[sheetz]

How does the texture of the CI recipe compare to a regular yeasted dough recipe? Is it easy to tell the two apart? Is it more like a biscuit/scone?

Edited November 12, 2005 by sheetz (log)

[mira]

Sheetz, the texture of the dough is quite light and tender, to me it is not so far off from a yeasted dough and is much easier.

That said, I had revived this thread a few days ago with a question that hasn't been answered yet - can I make the CI dough and shape the buns the night before (like I would with a yeasted bun), throw it in the fridge and bake it off in the morning? Or will the dough not hold up overnight?

[sheetz]

Thanks for the resonse, Mira. My guess is that you could shape the buns the night before, especially if you use double-acting baking powder.

[shaloop]

I made cinnamon rolls last night and baked them this morning. I used a soft dough and used soft butter, brown sugar and cinnamon inside as a filling. I sprayed the bottoms of the pans with nonstick spray before placing the cut rolls on them. This morning before final proofing I noticed that there was some runny brown sugar in the bottom of one pan. After baking the pan with fewer rolls (spaced farther apart) I noticed that the bottoms were quite dark and crunchy, caramelized I guess. I want soft bottoms on my rolls. Any thoughts?

[Caroline923]

sprinkle the brown sugar/butter on bottom of pan with a little water before placing rolls on top - I add a dab of butter to the top of each roll as well - and I use a black cast iron skillet - I do not grease pan with anything but butter either - never have any sticking

[shaloop]

sprinkle the brown sugar/butter on bottom of pan with a little water before placing rolls on top - I add a dab of butter to the top of each roll as well - and I use a black cast iron skillet - I do not grease pan with anything but butter either - never have any sticking

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Well, I didn't put brown sugar in the bottom, some must have oozed out overnight. I only sprayed the pans with nonstick spray. I'm trying to make cinnamon rolls, not sticky buns.

[Caroline923]

Sorry - about the sticky bun confusion - though I still say butter and a little sprinkle of water - and the thick dark cast iron always gives me the best result for this type of bun/roll

[jgm]

When I make cinnamon rolls, I don't use any brown sugar at all. When I roll the dough out, I brush on enough melted butter to moisten the dough, and then add cinnamon and white sugar. The proportions are such that there's a coating of sugar all over the dough, but no more than that. Then I roll it up and slice it.

Although I'm certainly no expert, I'd say you may be using too much brown sugar. It's getting moisture from somewhere; either from the dough itself or the butter, and that's why it's running.

The other possibility, of course, is to switch from brown sugar to white sugar, but if you like the flavor from the brown sugar, you may not care to do that.

[CanadianBakin']

It might help just to put your pan on a heavy baking sheet to protect it from the heat a bit more or bake it on a higher rack.

[Darcie B]

I agree with jgm - too much moisture in the cinnamon filling. If you wanted to keep the brown sugar, perhaps you could stir in a bit of flour to keep it from running out. I always use cinnamon and white sugar, moisten the dough lightly with cream, and put on enough to coat but not enough so it falls out when cut. I always bake on parchment too, seems to keep the sugar that does leak from getting quite as hard as directly on the pan.

[shaloop]

I always bake on parchment too, seems to keep the sugar that does leak from getting quite as hard as directly on the pan.

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Do you grease the parchment? For that matter, do the rest of you grease or butter the pan? With what? I thought about using parchment. Glad to hear it works.

[Betts]

I've been having a cinnamon roll problem also but am almost embarrased to ask.

My problem is falling center rolls - try as I might I think I've got the pan done ( thump sounds hollow) and then 5 minutes later the middle 2 sink. I really hate overdone rolls but what is a realistic baking time and temp for cinn rolls and sticky buns?

I've been doing 350 for 20-25 min for a rectangular pan of 12. If I bake longer, aren't the corners too done?

[Darcie B]

I always bake on parchment too, seems to keep the sugar that does leak from getting quite as hard as directly on the pan.

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Do you grease the parchment? For that matter, do the rest of you grease or butter the pan? With what? I thought about using parchment. Glad to hear it works.

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I do not grease the parchment or the pan (I use aluminum half-sheet pans). I've made cinnamon rolls 2-3 times/week for the past six months and have never had a problem with sticking.

I've been having a cinnamon roll problem also but am almost embarrased to ask.

My problem is falling center rolls - try as I might I think I've got the pan done ( thump sounds hollow) and then 5 minutes later the middle 2 sink. I really hate overdone rolls but what is a realistic baking time and temp for cinn rolls and sticky buns?

I've been doing 350 for 20-25 min for a rectangular pan of 12. If I bake longer, aren't the corners too done?

I try to place my rolls far enough apart so that when they are fully risen they just barely touch. This seems to help with the uneven baking, but the outside ones are always done a bit more than the inside ones.

[cognitivefun]

pachment paper seems to (alas in some cases) prevent browning.

[Soupcon]

I have been baking sticky buns (cinnamon rolls) for years and have never had a problem. I sprinkle the bottom of the pan with extra brown sugar and cinnamon. The dough is spread with a layer of butter, a layer of brown sugar, sprinkled with cinnamon and raisons (optional to some but not at my house) and rolled up. The rolls are cut approx 1" thick and placed in the pan(s) with the sides not touching. They rise until almost double in bulk by which time all the sides are touching and the rolls resemble snails crammed together in a pan and the baked in a F 350* oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. The pans sit for approx 10 minutes or less and then are inverted over a sheet pan so the sticky gooey yummy liquid toffey runs down the sides of the block of buns. YUM YUM!!!!

[oli]

Has anybody tried these buns that were featured on an episode of Road Tasted on FoodTv? How about anyone in DC area been to Sticky Fingers Bakery?

They looked so good, no fat and no cholesterol, and I am not a vegan, but I occasionally would like to try something that might be healthy for me and look great.

The other items they have really good aswell.

http://www.stickyfingersbakery.com/sweets.html

Edited October 4, 2006 by oli (log)