How to Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls are utterly out of this world. There’s something about that slightly sweetened enriched bread dough swirled around that sweet buttery cinnamon sugar that cannot be beaten. Cinnamon rolls are a classic staple bake that everyone should make at least once but can I make them without measuring a single ingredient?

There is only one way to eat a cinnamon roll and that is peeling open the cinnamon roll starting from the outside. Inside you are left with that soft chewy bit in the very centre which is the ultimate sign of a good cinnamon roll. Usually cinnamon rolls are soft because they are baked in one tray which you then slice up; this recipe uses a 12 hole muffin tin to bake them individually, reducing the baking time but also allowing each cinnamon roll to have a fantastically sticky crust as the butter and sugar melt and ooze during baking. I finish the cinnamon rolls with a drizzle of icing.

The recipe I have chosen is much faster than your standard cinnamon roll recipe with only 45 minutes proving in total. Despite this, the finished product is soft, light and has a great texture.

I made a video showing the full stages of the recipe; check it out below! Continue reading to see the full recipe and method:

I was also told by my friends not to put raisins in my cinnamon roll and I was taken aback slightly because I had never heard of raisins being in cinnamon rolls… I genuinely didn’t know this was a thing until doing some more research and so many recipes had raisins as an optional extra at the end of the ingredient list; raisins are an unnecessary addition in my view.

400g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

75g granulated sugar

½ tsp salt

1 x 7g sachet of fast action dried yeast

1 egg

55g margarine, melted

About 240ml warm water

100g margarine, plus extra for greasing

200g soft light brown sugar

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

40g icing sugar

2-3 tsp water or milk

Add the flour to a large bowl. Place the sugar and salt on one of the bowl and add the yeast to the other side of the bowl to avoid retarding the yeast and then mix well to combine. Make a well in the centre and add the egg, melted margarine and about three-quarters of the water and use a wooden spoon to beat well until it comes together into a soft, pliable but not sticky dough, adding more liquid if necessary.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes until it is smooth. Place back into the bowl and cover with clingfilm and allow to prove for 15 – 20 minutes.

Meanwhile in a separate bowl, beat together the margarine with the light brown sugar and ground cinnamon until evenly combined and soft enough to spread.

Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin.

Knock back the dough and roll out the dough to a rectangle measuring 30cm by 23cm. Spread the cinnamon sugar margarine mixture over the dough evenly. Tightly roll up the dough starting from the longer side and then pinch together the seam to seal.

Trim the ends and then slice the dough into 12 even pieces. Place one into each hole of the muffin tin, cover with clingfilm and allow to prove for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

Bake the cinnamon rolls for around 15 minutes until they are risen, golden brown and a thermometer registers 92°C when inserted to the thickest part of the roll. Remove from the tin immediately and leave to cool on a cooling rack.

Meanwhile prepare the icing by mixing together the icing sugar with enough water to form a thick but runny icing (watch the video to see the consistency it should have!). Pour into a piping bag and cut off a small hole from the end. Drizzle the icing over the cinnamon rolls and leave the icing to set at room temperature.

Serve the buns warm (reheat in the microwave for 15-20 seconds) with a cup of tea or coffee.

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