Manageability – Easier than Martha
Nothing says breakfast like some tasty cinnamon rolls, and nothing says Easter like bunnies. After all, isn’t that why Jesus rose from the grave? Because he was awoken by Mary Magdalene preparing some soft and fluffy cinnamon rolls and the smell overtook the cave?
No? Oh. Well anyways, here’s Broma Bakery’s Homemade Cinnamon Rolls!
First, I need to address the manageability. Martha Stewart has a cinnamon roll recipe that I was interested in trying out. It involves a russet potato, which seems odd. So I was curious. Plus, ya know your girl loves Martha. So I’m skimming through the recipe on my phone and — 8 HOURS OF PROOFING. Eight hours, Martha. Get real! You want me to get these started and then go work a full day and come home to eat breakfast? I ain’t trying to wait til Easter to eat these, I’m hungry now. So I transitioned, and used the recipe from Broma. And I’m glad I did, these are soft and fluffy, so light and delicious. The icing is unbelievably good, and yes, because it’s Easter, I pinched off some bunny ears and made these seasonal! A nearly perfect cinnamon roll recipe that doesn’t require a full shift at your day job.
NOTE – Recipe says bake for 30 minutes. That is not correct. Bake for 20 minutes, or you get these hard brown door stops, pictured below.
INGREDIENTS
For The Dough
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 packet (2 1/4 tsp.) Rapid Rise Instant Yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 saltspoon of tea
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 egg, room temperature. Assuming your room is like 68 degrees, and you don’t live in the oven.
For The Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
For The Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar, room temperature
- 2 – 3 Tablespoons milk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, room temperature
- Pinch of salt, room temperature
- A room with temperature
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 2 cups of the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. Mix to combine. No, mix more. MORE!
- In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the milk and butter for 30 seconds until warm and the butter is mostly melted. The mixture should be warm, but not hot. If it is too hot, make sure to let it cool before adding to the yeast to prevent killing the yeast. Add the warm milk and butter to the flour mixture.
- Add the egg.
- Beat on low speed, gradually increasing to high until completely combined, about 2 minutes. This is also how my first boyfriend described sex.
- Change the paddle attachment to the dough hook, scrape down the bowl and add 1 more cup of flour, beating until combined. Add the remaining cup of flour in a little at a time until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball.
- Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and you can stretch a piece of dough out between your fingers without it breaking. This means the gluten has developed and your dough will be pillowy soft.
- Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- While the dough rises, make the filling. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.
- Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a long rectangle about 18 x 12 inches on a well floured surface.
- Spread the butter for the filling all the way to the edge of the dough. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the butter, pressing it down to stick to the butter.
- From the long end, roll the dough away from you into a tight roll, sealing the bottom edge down by pinching the dough together.
- Use floss or a sharp knife or a light saber to cut the dough into 12 even rolls. Place the rolls in a 9 x 13 inch pan lined with parchment paper. Cover loosely with a dish cloth and allow to rise for another hour until doubled in size and puffed up.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls at 350°F for 30 minutes or until they are golden brown and no longer doughy. Allow to cool. OR NOT 30 MINUTES BECAUSE THAT’S TOO LONG. Do 20.
- While the rolls cool, make the cream cheese frosting. In a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment combine the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, milk, salt, and vanilla extract.Beat on low speed, gradually increasing to high until light and fluffy. Spread the icing evenly over the 12 rolls. Enjoy warm!
NOTES
- If you would like to make the cinnamon rolls the day before, you can make the dough as directed through step 11 (cutting out the rolls and placing them in the pan), but instead of letting the rolls have their second rise, cover them and place them in the fridge overnight. In the morning, take the rolls out of the fridge and leave on the counter for an hour to warm up and double in size before baking as directed!
- Right now you are older than you have ever been in your entire life.