High Altitude Cinnamon Rolls

July 3, 2023 Recipes

This recipe uses the tangzhong technique to make the rolls softer, and more importantly, stay fresh longer.

I've found that I much prefer a frosting that consists of cream cheese and butter, rather than just cream cheese, as the later is a little too tooth-achingly sweet for my taste. Pretty much everyone in my house liked the cream cheese and butter frosting over the traditional cream cheese only frosting.

Cinnamon Rolls

1 1/8 cup whole milk plus 4 tbsp, divided
4 tbsp + 1 tsp brown sugar
3 1/8 tsp active dry yeast
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
6 tbsp softened butter
4 1/2 - 6 cups bread flour plus 3 tbsp, separated
1 1/2 tsp salt

Filing

6 tbsp butter, melted and cooled slightly
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Frosting

6oz cream cheese, softened
6 tbsp butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Make the Rolls

In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, cook together 1/4 cup milk with 3 tablespoons of flour, whisking constantly, until a thick paste forms. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Heat remaining milk plus the brown sugar for the rolls, until 110-115. Stir in the yeast, and set aside until puffy and bloomed.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix together the egg and softened butter, and then stir in the bloomed yeast mixture. Then add in 3 cups flour and the salt, and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Add in the cooked flour paste and begin to knead the dough.

Knead the dough with the dough hook for about 10 minutes or until the dough is soft and smooth. It should be still a little wet, and may stick to the bottom of your bowl slightly while kneading. Avoid adding too much flour, but you can add a bit more if it’s just globbing entirely on the bottom of the bowl.

Scrape the dough into a ball, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes, or until it has almost doubled in size.

Prepare the Filling

Grease a 9×13 and set aside. Mix melted/cooled butter with the filling brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and salt until it forms a paste.

Roll out the risen dough into a large rectangle. It should be about 12x18 inches. Spread the butter/sugar mixture evenly over the entire dough.

Roll the dough into a tight log length-wise.

Slice the ends of the log off, and then slice the log into 12 even rolls. The dough is soft to work with, so you may find the rolls get a little messy or unraveled, but you can re-roll them individually if needed.

Place into your prepared baking pan, and cover with plastic wrap to let them rise for about 20 minutes, or until puffed.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake the risen rolls on the top third rack of the oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until they are light golden brown on top.

Mix the Frosting

Beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and salt until a thick, smooth frosting is formed. Spread generously on top of the rolls once they have cooled for about 5 minutes.

Overnight rolls

After placing the rolls in the 9x13 pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, but no longer than 16 hours.

Remove from the refrigerator and let rise for 60 minutes.

Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until they are light golden brown on top.

Double recipe

Just so I don't need to keep doing it in my head when I want to make 2 pans of cinnamon rolls...

Cinnamon Rolls

2 1/4 cup whole milk plus 1/2 cup, divided
1/2 cup + 2 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp + 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
12 tbsp softened butter
9-12 bread flour plus 3 tbsp, separated
1 tbsp salt

Filing

12 tbsp butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
6 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Frosting

12 oz cream cheese, softened
12 tbsp butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
6 tbsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

References

Dough-eyed - High Altitude Baking - Gooey Cinnamon Rolls https://www.dougheyed.com/gooey-cinnamon-rolls/