Soft and Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls
(Tangzhong Method)
Imagine every bite of a cinnamon roll tasting like the soft, gooey center. These rolls make it a reality—sweet, tender, and melt-in-your-mouth from edge to edge.
Don’t let homemade cinnamon rolls intimidate you—after months of perfecting this recipe, I can confidently say they’re as foolproof as they are delicious. Most of the process is hands-off, with time simply spent waiting for the dough to rise. By adding the Tangzhong method, just five minutes extra work delivers rolls that are wonderfully soft and fluffy, staying fresh and tender for days. You’ll never go back to ordinary cinnamon rolls!
About Me
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Combine the water, milk, and flour in a small pot over medium heat and start whisking right away. It’ll go from a liquid to a paste-like consistency surprisingly fast, so don’t walk away. In just a couple of minutes, it should look like chilled pudding but with a springy texture. Take it off the heat and let it cool a bit.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, and yeast. Add the wet ingredients—the tangzhong, milk, and egg—and attach the dough hook. Mix on low speed for about 5 minutes. At this stage (as you can see below), the dough will not be very smooth or cohesive yet, but that’s exactly what you want before adding the butter.
Add the softened butter chunks and mix on low for about 30 seconds, just enough to start incorporating it and prevent it from splattering out of the mixer. Then knead for about 10 minutes—5 minutes on medium-low, followed by 5 minutes on medium.
By the end of the 10 minutes, the dough should be smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky but not overly sticky (it shouldn’t be so sticky that it stays on your fingers when you transfer it to your proofing bowl).
Shape the dough into a smooth ball, then place it in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size, which should take about an hour.
Once the dough has proofed, punch it down gently to release the air, reshape it into a ball, and cover it again for a quick 15-minute rest. This short second rise gives the dough a chance to relax before rolling it out.
First, we’re going to whisk the brown sugar and cinnamon together until well combined. Then, scoop out about two tablespoons of this mixture into a separate small bowl and stir in the melted butter and vanilla until it forms a syrup-like texture—not a paste. This liquid mixture will be used to top the rolls right before they bake, so set it aside for now. The dry mixture, we’ll be using in the very next step though.
On a very lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangle roughly 18×10 inches. Spread the softened butter over the dough, leaving about a quarter-inch gap from the edges. Next, sprinkle the dry cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly across the buttered dough. Gently press the mixture into the butter with your hands or run a rolling pin over it a few times (lightly).
Starting with the long edge facing you, roll the dough up snugly into a log. Use a bread knife or the sharpest knife you have to cut the dough into 2-inch sections. When cutting, use a light sawing motion, instead of pressing straight down, to avoid smooshing the rolls.
Place the rolls in your cake pan, leaving some space between each one so they have room to puff up in the pan during the final rise.
Once the rolls are arranged in your cake pan, cover them loosely with plastic wrap. Set the pan in a warm spot to rise for 30 to 40 minutes. By the end of this time, the rolls will have expanded and will likely be touching each other now, and that’s perfectly okay—it means they’re ready for the next step!
While they’re proofing, grab your liquid cinnamon mixture and heavy cream. Also, preheat your oven to 350°F so it’s ready to go.
Before baking, you might need to pop the liquid cinnamon mixture into the microwave for 10–15 seconds to get it back to a syrupy texture that you can actually brush on. Once ready, brush a layer of it over the tops of the rolls, followed by a light layer of heavy cream. Try not to let too much of either drip to the bottom of the pan.
Put the rolls into your preheated oven and bake at 350°F for 20–30 minutes. About halfway through, you can tent them very loosely with foil (just lay a piece on top) to keep the tops from caramelizing too much. If you prefer a crunchy top, leave them uncovered for longer—or for the entire bake!
Note: Don’t worry if the tops look darker than what you’d expect from a typical cinnamon roll. That’s just the cinnamon mixture caramelizing; it’s not a sign they’re burning.
