I’m not going to lie, as a baking novice I just about had a panic attack when I saw that this week’s GBBO theme was ‘advanced dough’! Once I pulled myself together though, I realised that this was the perfect opportunity to try out something I’ve been meaning to make for far too long. I’m not really sure what constitutes advanced dough for Paul and Mary but this homemade cinnamon roll recipe is certainly advanced enough for me at the moment!
As it turns out, it’s actually pretty easy (hooray!). You do need about 90 minutes proving time (or overnight) but aside from that it’ll only take you about 15 minutes to actually make the rolls. And honestly, I’d highly recommend you do. These have very quickly become my favourite recipe to date, and if you give them a go you’ll soon see why!
Ingredients
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 sachet instant yeast
- 350g plain flour, sifted
- 120ml water
- 60ml milk
- 40g unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 75g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 50g caster sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 100g icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Mix the sugar, salt, yeast and 300g of flour (set aside the other 50g) together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, add the butter, water and milk and microwave until the butter is completely melted. Be careful not to let the mixture heat for too long or start to boil.
- Stir the heated mixture into the dry ingredients. Add the egg and mix. If the mixture is still sticky, add some of the extra 50g of flour a little at a time until you have a soft dough. Don’t be tempted to keep adding lots of flour – the dough will be very soft but if it pulls away from the side of the bowl and can be easily lifted out of the bowl in one piece then it’s fine!
- Lightly flour a surface and knead the dough for 4-5 minutes, until it has an elastic consistency and a small piece can be stretched without tearing. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, roll the dough into a 35x20cm rectangle. Spread the butter over the dough. In a bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle over the butter/dough. Roll the dough up lengthways so you have one long 35cm roll. Divide into 12 rolls and place in a greased 10” round tin.
- Loosely cover with tin foil and leave to rest in a warm place for about 90 minutes or until the rolls have doubled in size.
- Pre-heat the oven to 190°c. Once heated, bake the cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes. Once baked, remove and allow to cool.
- To make the glaze, mix the icing sugar, vanilla extract and 1 tbsp of milk. Add extra milk a little at a time until it’s thin enough to pour. Drizzle over the cooled cinnamon rolls and dig in!
Notes
The dough can be made the night before - prepare up to step 5 and then store in the fridge overnight. In the morning, remove to a warm place to prove for an hour before baking. I wouldn't recommend preparing any further than about 12 hours in advance.
Well done, they turned out lovely. I think I might just give this a go 🙂
Thanks Segi, I’m really impressed by how well they turned out – and I’d highly recommend you do 😉
Ehmehrgahd these look amazing. I adore cinnamon rolls. I’m so tempted to try this recipe but I’m a complete disaster at baking so I don’t imagine it will go well. Also I’ll eat them all myself.
They’re far easier than they look, and they do taste best eaten fresh on the day so eating several is totally justified!
I wasn’t sure what ‘advanced dough’ meant either, I thought all dough was pretty advanced! These look so tasty though, I’m getting hungry just looking.
I seriously can’t stop scrolling through your site! Everything looks so freaking delicious! We have pretty similar tastes, I think I have just discovered my new web addiction haha! Yum yum yum.
I have been looking for a good cinnamon roll recipe for Xmas — these look lovely! Might have to go with some cream cheese icing though…
Thanks Maree – I love them! Ooh yes, cream cheese frosting would be great too 🙂
I’ve been searching for a recipe for cinnamon rolls, I’m yet to find one that is easy to work with, always have to add more & more flour to make the dough workable- had to throw it in the bit!
Sorry to hear that Deb – to be honest I think the dough is always going to be a little tricky to work with as it needs to be quite soft. Hope you find a recipe that works for you though!
I made these last night. They turned out perfectly. Absolutely lovely. Thank you.
Oh brilliant, so glad you enjoyed them!
This recipe is awesome!!! The rolls came out perfect the first time. I used an electric mixer, added flour just until it cleaned the bowl, and kneaded with the mixer for five minutes. This one is about to become a family classic. Thank you!
Bad recipe dough is too wet by the time you have added enough flour to get it to a stage that you can actually roll it they come out more like scones. Very disappointed.
I agree. I had to keep adding more flour as it was so sticky it was sticking my fingers together when I was trying to mix it! I haven’t put mine in the oven yet but I’m not hopeful after the palarva I’ve just had with the ‘dough’
Great recipe. First time making them. So easy and tastes amazing!! Will definitely make these again.
These were very simple to follow and demolish !! Fabulous recipe will definitely use again!!
I’ve had problems with the dough too. I’ve added more flour than stated but I felt like I had to in order to make a workable dough otherwise its just too wet. Even now its still pretty sticky so help me when it comes to rolling it out. What am I doing wrong?
After my initial skepticism my cinnamon rolls turned out perfect 👌 we definitely be making more. Thank you 😊
Glad they worked out for you in the end! I actually haven’t made these in years but I see a few people have struggled with the dough so going to give them another go soon just to double check the recipe 🙂
I had such trouble with the dough! So sticky!! I had to put loads of extra flour into it. I was so worried about the bake.
But let me tell you, they were fantastic!! So delicious. Thank you so much for the recipe. 10/10 would bale again.
I made them now and they didn’t rise because you have to microwave the butter , milk and water and that kills the yeast by the way guys so don’t do that.
This is a fantastic recipe, I’ve made it 3 times now and it’s been a big hit in my house!
Thank you for sharing Kirsty! ☺️👍🏽
This is a fantastic recipe, I’ve made it 3 times now and it’s been a big hit in my house!
Thank you for sharing Kirsty! ☺️It’s such a good recipe I’ve been sending it to everyone to try!
Hi there, how much does the dough weigh after you’ve created it? I want to create an apple pie cinnamon roll for my wife but there is no recipe for just creating the dough. Would you say its approx 500g?
Hi!! I’ve made these before.. but never done them for the next day.
When you say ‘up until step 5’ – do you mean including step 5? Or should I keep the fridge in the dough ball? Or should I roll and cut them and put them in the fridge overnight in the tin?
Thanks!!