MAKE AHEAD NO-KNEAD CINNAMON ROLLS: opt for freezing

A gift for the busy cook - cinnamon rolls easily prepared in advance...

There's not much better than home-made cinnamon rolls and the easy prep is a bonus!
'The best I've probably ever had' These are really good' Tasters

These wonderful mind-blowing rolls* - no-knead and pretty simple to put together - are  brilliant.  And so wallet-friendly.

Prepare them the night before they're needed and bake in the morning, serving them warm, if not hot.  

Although the recipe looks complicated, the steps are simple and easy to follow.  The results are worth it; you'll marvel at how soft and yielding -  how tasty! -  the cinnamon rolls are.    


Note on baking tins:

After making this recipe several times, the blogger found that baking them in a large (9inx13in/31.5x23.5cm) pan can leave the centre buns slightly underdone and the outer buns slightly overdone.   

The blogger now uses two 6.5x11.5 inch/17x29.5cm pans, forming the dough into 16 - not 12 - buns and bakes them 8 to a tray.  The buns are smaller but just as light and fluffy and, to the blogger's mind, easier and nicer to eat.

The pans are disposable, though they can be washed and re-used, and are not expensive.   

Cost: £3.00
Makes: 12 or 16

Ingred:
   
   250ml lukewarm whole or skimmed milk
     50g melted, cooled, unsalted butter
     1 tsp vanilla

     2 room temperature eggs, beaten with fork  

Yum! Homemade cinnamon rolls

  1 tbsp/9gm instant yeast
   2 tsp sugar 
   125 ml warm water

   600g/20oz plain white flour (not bread flour)
   3-4 tbsp sugar
   1 1/2 tsp salt

Extra quarter cup flour - maybe a little more - for shaping buns
  
Filling:    
        1/4 cup soft butter (opt)
        100gm/3.5oz brown sugar
         2tbsp cinnamon
         
         (OR for Christmas) fresh cranberries or dried cranberries or blueberries, blanched in boiling water and dried  PLUS/OR chopped walnuts and pecans
         
Icing (this recipe is for a light glaze but multiples easily) 
    70gr/2.5oz sifted icing sugar
    1.5-2 tbsp lime, lemon or orange juice 
     zest of half a lime, lemon or orange juice (opt) or for Christmas - bourbon, whiskey or brandy)

Method:

Buns

1. Gently heat milk & butter in a small saucepan over med-low heat until butter is melted; do not allow it to boil; set aside
2. Place yeast & 2 tsp sugar in a bowl; add warm but not hot water; mix with a fork, cover & rest 5 mins in warm place until frothy (if yeast does not froth up, start again)
3. Beat eggs well with a fork; set aside
4. Mix flour & salt in a large bowl stirring to distribute evenly
5. Make a well in the centre; add milk mix, eggs & yeast mixture.  Stir/whisk till completely combined; the dough will be thick & sticky.  Cover bowl with a clean, damp tea towel; place in a warm place free of draughts (near but not next to a heater is fine or in a cold oven) 2 hours until tripled in size 
6. Line a baking tin/s with greaseproof paper which rises above the rim, cutting corners to fit.  
7. When first rise is complete, punch down dough to deflate; have a small plate of flour ready.  The dough may be a little 'wet'.   
8. Dust work surface with flour; scrape dough onto it; roll lightly with a rolling pin that's been dusted with flour to flatten.  Sprinkle a little flour on top, working it into the dough with floured hands, adding a little more each time until the dough is soft and pliable and no longer sticky.  It's hard to gauge this; half a cup of flour may be needed 
9. Shape into a 8x12inch/20x30cm rectangle about 1/2inch/2cm thick.  Lightly spread the softened butter over the surface (opt)  Mix brown sugar & and cinnamon plus nuts & fruit if using; strew liberally over surface, leaving a 1/2 inch/2cm border 
10. Roll up into an even shaped log.  Cut into 12 or16 equal pieces.  Arrange in baking tray/s with a little space in between.  Spray surface of buns with veg oil; cover with cling film leaving room for buns to rise; refrigerate overnight or min 4 hours
11. Remove buns from fridge; take off cling film, rest in warm place until nearly double in size (30-45 mins).  Preheat oven to 180C/350f/gas 4.5 
12. Bake 25 mins till golden; the rolls sound hollow when tapped but remember to check the underside -- you may need to turn the buns upside down and bake a further 5-10 minutes
13. Cool 10 mins in pan/s then firmly grasp the greaseproof paper to place buns on a cooling rack
14. When completely cold, cover with a thin layer of icing 

Icing

1. Measure out & sift icing sugar, pushing any lumps through with the back of a spoon
2. Add 1.5 tbsp chosen juice or alcohol; stir; aim for a pourable but non-sloppy consistency
3. Add up to half a tbsp more of liquid if necessary
4. Dribble over buns 

Comments:

“The cinnamon buns are the best I’ve probably ever had, the texture is slightly moist and somehow dreamy, like eating a delicious pillow, and the glazing is just WOW! They also have the benefit of being very filling which means you don’t eat half a dozen before realising it like with most other cinnabuns. All in all I would give them a 9.6/10.  I really enjoyed them and am wondering how I can make these.

P.S. I never rate 10/10, not even with my own cooking. The best rating I’ve ever given something was a 9.7/10 (my dad’s lentil Dahl).' 13-yr-old Schoolboy

Tip:

• Use two forks to separate the rolls
• For a more sophisticated take, scatter coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts over the sugar cinnamon mix before rolling up; for the icing, replace juice with bourbon, whiskey or brandy
• OR freeze, double wrapped in cling film then a layer of foil; when ready to serve, defrost overnight; if you like, cover with more icing before serving (photo)

* adapted from Recipe Tin Eats for which many thanks (bottom page)

**How to Prepare Tins for Baking

 More bread on Nav Bar: Recipes I/Baking

This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.