Directions: |
Directions:*This recipe can be split between two days, laminate the dough in the evening and then shape and bake in the morning. Or you can do it all in one day but note that if you start around 6 am they will be done around 2 or 3 pm.
Brioche:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the flour, sugar, and yeast – whisk to combine.
Add in the egg, warm milk, butter, and salt.
Use a dough hook to knead everything together on medium low speed for 5 minutes until the dough holds together and the bowl is clean. The dough does not need to be smooth!
Lay a piece of plastic wrap over a quarter sized baking sheet or full sized if that fits in your fridge. Roughly shape the dough into a rectangle, the exact size and thickness really aren’t that important but at least 5″ x 10″.
Lay another sheet of plastic over the dough and wrap the edges around the dough to make an airtight seal.
Place the dough into the fridge and set a timer for 30 minutes.
Butter Block
After the 30 minutes have passed, leave the dough in the fridge. We’re now starting on the butter block.
Take two sheets of parchment paper, they should be at least 12″x12″. On one of them draw a 9″ x 9″ square with a pencil approximately in the center. Flip the paper with the square over, you should be able to see your drawing through the paper and set the other sheet aside for now.
Cut your 300 grams of Kerrygold salted butter blocks into 1/2″ thick slices and lay them onto the parchment within the square in a single layer. Should look like a paved square of yellow kerrygold bricks.
Lay the second sheet of parchment over top and use a rolling pin to gently roll over the butter and parchment, causing them to stick together.
Flip the whole sandwich of parchment and butter over so that you can now see your square drawing again. Continue pressing and rolling until the butter reaches the edges of the square. Use a knife and bench scraper as needed to create a 9″ x 9″ level (as perfect as you can), straight edged square of butter.
Place the butter block, still inside of the parchment, flat in the fridge. Set a timer for 10 minutes.
Laminate the Dough
After the timer goes off, leave the butter block in the fridge but take the dough out.
Lightly flour your work surface and unwrap the dough. Roll it into a rectangle that measures 9″ x 18″. Use flour as needed to keep it from sticking, but brush off any excess before moving on.
Take the butter block out of the fridge and peel away one sheet of parchment paper. Flip the block, exposed butter side down, onto the center of the dough. Peel away the second sheet of parchment and set aside.
Now fold the short sides of dough over the butter to enclose it, it’s ok if the dough edges don’t quite reach each other. Stretch them gently till they do. The sides will show the two layers of dough and one layer of butter, no need to squish the dough together to enclose it.
Turn the dough & butter block so that the center seem where the dough edges met is oriented north south not east west. Use flour as needed and roll it out until it measures about 20″ x 10″.
Trim off about 1/4″ from each short end to create clean edges. Then letter fold it so the top third folds over the middle third and then the bottom third folds up and over the other two.
Take your time to make sure everything is lining up nicely. Turn the dough envelope 90 degrees so that it is tall and skinny not short and wide. Wrap it back up in the plastic wrap, and place it back in the fridge for 45 minutes.
After the 45 minutes have passed, take it out of the fridge and unwrap it. With it in the same tall and skinny orientation, use the rolling pin to roll it out to the same size (20″ x 10″) making sure along the way to keep the edges straight.
Once again, trim the short edges into clean crips lines (approximately 1/4″ or 1/2″ off each end). Repeat the letter folding, brushing off any excess flour as needed. Rewrap the dough and place it back in the fridge for 45 minutes.
Repeat the rolling, trimming and folding once more and then rewrap and let chill for an hour in the fridge. If you are prepping the dough the night before, this is the step where you will leave it in the fridge and move onto the fillings and assembly in the morning.
Fillings
During the last hour of chilling, you can prep both the fillings.
In one medium mixing bowl add in 125 grams of soft salted butter, 125 grams granulated sugar, salt, 1.5 tablespoons cinnamon, and vanilla. Use a fork to smoosh it together until completely mixed. Set aside.
In a separate smaller mixing bowl stir together 75 grams granulated sugar and 1.5 tablespoons of cinnamon.
Assemble the Cinnamon Rolls
After at least an hour of chilling, take the dough out of the fridge. Again using flour as needed roll the dough into a 16″ x 12-14″ rectangle. You’re gonna need to use some muscle for this and be sure to roll all the way to the edges. Whatever side was already longer will become 16″ and the shorter sides will become 12-14″. There is a range because it is difficult to roll the dough out so if you get to 12.5″ and give up I don’t blame you.
Trim 1/4″ of dough off both of the long sides this time (not the short sides like before). Spread the first filling (the one with butter) over the surface of the dough. I like to use an offset spatula but the back of a spoon will work too. It should be soft and spreadable but not melted. Make sure to spread it evenly all the way to the edges.
Sprinkle the second filling over the surface and use the back of the spoon to gently smooth it into the first filling.
Starting with the long side closest to you, roll the dough and filling up.
You can choose between 12 more normal sized cinnamon rolls or 8 jumbo (this is what is pictured).
If making 12, give the whole roll a few squeezes to lengthen it to 18″. If making 8, leave it as is.
Trim off 1/4″ from one end to give a clean starting slice. If making 8, mark 2 inch marks along the top of the roll. If making 12, mark 1.5″ marks along the top. Use a sharp knife to slice through the roll, cutting the cinnamon rolls.
Proof
Line a 9″x13″ baking pan or a 9″x12″ quarter sheet pan with a sheet of parchment. You can use one of the ones from earlier that was used for the butter block, just lay it buttered side up.
Arrange 2 rows of 4 if making 8 cinnamon rolls or 3 rows of 4 if making 12, onto the parchment lined pan. Place them so that the “tails” or ends of each roll are facing towards another roll. This will help keep them from completely unrolling.
If making 8, I find they hold their shape a bit better if you leave more space between the rows and the edge of the pan and a little less between the two rows if that makes sense.
Drape the top with a sheet of plastic wrap and set at room temperature for about an hour and a half. This will change dramatically based on how warm your room is. Also if you left the dough in the fridge overnight they will take a bit longer to proof. DO NOT put them somewhere warm to speed up the proofing. The butter will melt out and the layers will disappear.
After 1.5 hours, place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 425 F.
Bake the Cinnamon Rolls
They won’t be as puffy as classic cinnamon rolls but they will have visibly gotten thicker and grown. For me this usually takes a total of 2 hours. *If your oven runs hot I would err on the side of 400 F. Mine runs cold so I heat it to 450 F knowing that it sits at 425 F.
Once the oven is hot and the rolls are puffy and touching one another, bake them in the hot oven for 15 minutes. Then rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes until deeply golden brown.
Remove the pan from the oven and let them cool for at least 10-15 minutes.
In the meantime make the icing.
Icing
There are so many different preferences on icing so if you have a favorite cinnamon roll frosting, feel free to make that! |
This recipe for Croissant cinnamon rolls is from