Making cinnamon rolls from scratch isn’t as easy as baking a cake, with the dough being more of a mean feat than a simple batter.
Traditional recipes call for strong white bread flour, which is harder to work with than all-purpose flour because of its high protein content. This flour requires more kneading to create a strong, chewy dough.
Experienced bakers often prefer these homemade cinnamon delights, but one simple swap can be made to ensure they’re beginner-friendly.
This recipe, shared by BBC Good Food, calls for ready-made dough for a “really easy” baking experience. However, it is not the kind you would expect.
Instead of pizza base dough, another popular remedy to simplify a traditional cinnamon roll recipe, this one calls for ready-made croissant dough.
The ingredients list is as succinct as possible, with just five items required to make a batch of 18 small rolls.
To increase the quantities, simply double them or make half as many larger rolls with the same amount.
Describing the recipe, Lulu Grimes of BBC Good Food noted: “We’ve topped the rolls with a thick caramel, but you could use a thin white icing instead.”
A simple white icing calls for icing sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract and milk. Combine in a bowl and mix until smooth before pouring over the warm rolls before they’ve been torn into portions.
Cinnamon rolls
Ingredients
250g ready-made croissant dough, like Jus Rol
30g unsalted butter
Two tsp cinnamon
Six tbsp soft light brown sugar
For white icing
240g icing sugar
Two tablespoons melted butter
Two teaspoons of vanilla extract
Four tablespoons of milk
Method:
First, heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4, then line a 23cm cake tin with a square of baking parchment so the corners stick up. This is crucial to ensure the rolls easily lift once cooked.
Next, unroll the croissant dough from the can and lay it out on a clean, dry work surface. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into three sections along the dotted lines, but don’t cut the diagonal line. Take just over one-quarter of the butter and spread it across each piece of the dough.
Now, mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl. Using one square of dough at a time, sprinkle two to three teaspoons of the sugar mixture over the butter and then roll up the dough.
When you have three rolls, cut each one in half and then each half into three. To make large rolls, cut them into one or two.
Arrange the rolls in the tin in two circles – you need to spread them with plenty of space between them so that they rise and spread. Stick the end bits in among larger pieces from the centre of the rolls so they cook evenly, then bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the rolls are well risen and baked through.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining sugar and mix with the remaining butter to form a thick caramel. When the rolls are cooked, pour over the caramel. Alternatively, make the white icing and drizzle over before leaving the buns to cool.
