As many people know, I used to own and operate my own bakery. What made it special was the fact that everything was made “from scratch”. I specialized in yeast breads and made a large variety of bread types, all from individual ingredients. No frozen bread doughs ever entered the scene!

From time to time, I’m sharing the recipes that I developed along the way. This post is for my cinnamon rolls. I probably made thousands over the years that I ran the bakery and people always wanted more. Now you can make your own straight from my recipe!

To SEE how it’s done, look below the recipe and view my YouTube video on the process. Enjoy! Judi

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
(A Recipe From My Bakery)
Makes 18 Rolls

1 lb, 6-1/2 oz all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 oz Rapid Rise yeast1 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2-5/8 oz butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Filling
2 oz butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tsp ground cinnamon

Place flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a stand mixer bowl. Stir to combine; set aside. In a small saucepan, heat milk, water and butter to 120-130F. Add warmed liquid and eggs to the flour mixture. Stir to moisten the flour. Place bowl on mixer stand and attach a dough hook. Mix on low speed for 8 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with a towel and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Remove dough to a lightly floured board or counter top. Roll dough ball to lightly coat all surfaces with flour. With a rolling pin, roll into a large rectangle, about 22″ x 12″. Spread melted butter over dough, leaving about 1 inch unbuttered along the long edge farthest away from you. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle evenly over buttered surface of dough.

Starting with the buttered long edge closest to you, roll dough into a long log. With a sharp knife, cut log into three even sized sections. Cut each section into 6 slices.

Place slices, cut side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet, or a pan of choice (baking sheet or 8″ or 9″ round cake pans…6 to a pan) that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or oiled with the oil of your choice.

Allow formed rolls to proof until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. (Suggestion…proof rolls in a warm, moist environment, such as a make-shift oven proof box. See my video below on this subject.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TFhfxwLNGw

After rolls have doubled in size, place rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 375F. Bake rolls 15 to 20 minutes. (See note below!) Top with powdered sugar glaze immediately when they are removed from the oven. Allow to cool on a cooling rack, or enjoy them while they’re fresh out of the oven!

Powdered Sugar Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp milk of choice*
1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla extract*

Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl, adding a little milk at a time until it is drizzling consistency. If too thin, add more powdered sugar. If too thick, add more milk.

*Note: Whole milk or even half and half works best when making the glaze. With full fat milk, add up to 1 tsp vanilla extract. If using skim milk, use less extract; usually about 1/2 teaspoon is enough. When using lower fat milk, the more vanilla extract you use, the more brown the glaze will appear (unless using clear vanilla extract), and the stronger taste the vanilla extract will impart.

Note regarding baking time: The baking time will vary depending upon how the rolls are placed on a pan. If they are separated so that when they spread out they do not touch each other, they will take less time to bake. If they are placed close together in a pan, so they touch each other, forming less “crust” areas as they bake, they will take a little longer to bake. The key is to watch them and bake them until the tops are lightly browned.

Watch my video below to SEE how to make these rolls! jk