How to Make Cinnamon Roll Dough

Fresh, warm, gooey, cinnamon rolls. There is nothing more likely to steer a weary traveler in an airport or mall shopper to a cinnamon bun shop than the smell of these sweet and spicy delights baking. You can make these at home and place them into the freezer to be heated individually, or you can bake them all at once and eat them immediately. The dough used for cinnamon rolls is just a simple bread dough.

Things You'll Need

• Dough:
• 1 package of active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup of warm water (about 100 degrees) (see tip)
• 1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar
• 1 1/4 cup of milk (brought to a boil and cooled)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 5 cups of flour
• 3 bowls
• Lightly floured surface for kneading
• Dampened towel
• Mixer (with dough attachment--optional)
• Cinnamon mix:
• Bowl
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter cut into small cubes (see tip)
• Powdered sugar for dusting work surface
• Rolling pin (or large straight sided, round drinking glass)
• Baking pan
• Dampened dish towel
• 8-by-8-inch square baking pan
• Cooking spray
• Oven
• Icing:
• 1 bowl
• 1 lb. (16-oz. box) powdered (confectioner's) sugar
• 2 tbsp. milk (to make glaze) (or 2 tbsp. cream cheese or vegetable shortening to make icing)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• Whisk
• Spatula
• Knife

Instructions

Making the dough

1. Combine the yeast and the warm water in a bowl. Add 1 tbsp. of sugar from the 1/2 cup sugar.

2. Mix together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a separate bowl. This is the dry ingredient mixture.

3. Combine the remaining sugar, egg and milk in a third bowl.

4. Add the yeast mixture (which should be bubbling by now) to the sugar, egg and milk. These are the wet ingredients. If your yeast mixture does not bubble after 15 minutes, try a new packet of yeast. Repeat step one with a new packet of yeast to see if you get results.

5. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Start by either stirring one-fourth of the flour mixture (or using a mixer) into the wet ingredients. Make sure that it is thoroughly mixed in before adding more flour. After you have added all of the flour, the dough will begin to form a ball. If it does not or it is too sticky, add 1/4 cup of flour until the dough can be handled.

6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

7. Leave the dough on the floured surface and cover with the dampened dish towel. Let the dough rest and rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours.

8. Remove the dish towel, punch the dough down and shape into a round ball. Let rest for 10 minutes before proceeding to make the cinnamon rolls.

Making the cinnamon mixture

1. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl.

2. On a surface lightly dusted with powdered sugar, roll the dough out into a rectangle about 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick. The dimensions of the rectangle are not as important as the thickness of the dough. Be sure that the dough is rolled out thin enough and in a rectangular shape.

3. Scatter the tiny cubes of butter across the surface of the dough. The coverage does not have to be perfectly even, but it is important to cover as much of the dough as possible. If your butter will not cube, you can use a knife or spatula to spread the butter out the way that you would butter toast.

4. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough, covering the entire surface.

5. Starting with one of the narrow ends of the rectangle, roll the dough up into a tight spiral. You will be rolling the cinnamon sugar mixture inside the dough. Continue to roll until the entire rectangle of dough is rolled into a long spiral.

6. Cut the spiral every 1 1/2 to 2 inches to make the rolls. Place the rolls in the baking pan, so that you can see the cinnamon spiral pointing upward in the pan. You should have between 9 and 12 cinnamon rolls, depending upon the thickness of the rolls you made.

7. Cover the cinnamon rolls with the dampened dish towel in the baking pan with a dish towel and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour until doubled in size.

8. After the rolls have been rising for 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and spray the baking pan with cooking spray on the bottom and sides.

9. Remove the towel and place the pan of cinnamon rolls into the oven and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until golden brown. You can also freeze the pan of cinnamon rolls at this point to bake later. You can even divide the dough into individual rolls before placing into freezer bags to make single servings.

10. Remove the cinnamon rolls from the oven, and let them cool in the baking pan for 15 minutes while you make the icing.

Making the icing

1. In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Using milk will make a glaze that can be drizzled on, but you can substitute2 tbsp. of either cream cheese or vegetable shortening and proceed as directed to make a thicker icing for spreading.

2. Whisk the ingredients together until thoroughly combined and smooth.

3. Pour the icing over the warm cinnamon rolls in the pan, or use a knife or spatula to spread the icing over the cinnamon rolls.

4. Serve the cinnamon rolls warm with lots of paper napkins for cleanup.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have a bread machine, just use the dough setting and then remove the dough and proceed to make the cinnamon rolls as directed. If you do not have a thermometer to test your water for the dough, feel it with your finger. It should be the temperature of bath water. Place the butter and freezer in the freezer for 10 minutes before cutting it with the chilled knife. It will retain its shape better. Cubing the butter just makes it easier to scatter across the dough. You can also spread the butter with a knife or spatula.