The BEST cinnamon rolls ever!
Two recipes in ONE week? Is it your lucky week or what?!
I’m not gonna act modest here because this one is banger of a recipe! This Japanese style milk bread cinnamon rolls are the uber fluffy, so easy to make and taste unbelievably good! And that luscious coffee ganache…ohhhhh *DROOOL*
Now this recipe is based off my Japanese milk bread recipe which is a gold mine of its own so if you haven’t checked that out yet, it’s definitely a must try!
I have explained all the science and techniques behind it in that post so if you wanna learn all about that, you can head to that post and read about it.
I’m gonna keep it super short here because I think it would be a CRIME to keep you waiting for these delicious buns (wink wink) haha! I like big buns and I cannot lie…:P
Okay enough teasing, let’t get to it! Happy baking :D
Recipe
Serves: One 8x8” tray of rolls
Ingredients
For tangzhong:
20g white bread flour
100g water
For the bread:
330g white bread flour
30g castor sugar
10g milk powder
6g salt
5g active dry yeast ~ 1 tsp or 13g fresh yeast
150ml full cream milk, cold
tangzhong, from above
30g unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature
1 whole egg for egg wash (or sub milk for eggless version)
For the cinnamon butter:
90g softened unsalted butter
1-2 tbsp cinnamon powder, as per taste
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
40g dark brown sugar
big pinch of salt
For the coffee ganache:
120g good quality white chocolate
70g pure cream
5-15g coffee paste***
Method
For the tangzhong:
Mix the flour and water in a small saucepan and cook to a paste over medium heat, while whisking continuously. Cool to room temperature before using. *
For the bread:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all the ingredients for the bread except butter. Use a hook attachment and knead the dough on low-medium speed until it is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl, about 10-15 mins. You can alternatively use your hands to knead but it will take longer.
Once the dough is no longer sticking to the sides of the mixing bowl, add in the butter, one cube at a time and continue kneading until all the butter is well incorporated, about 5-7 mins.
Check the dough for window pane consistency. If the dough tears before that, continue kneading for a couple of minutes longer.
Transfer the dough to a work surface. Knead it a couple of times by hand to smoothen the top and put it in a large bowl. Cover with cling wrap or beeswax wrap and let it proof at a warm spot for 1-1.5 hours or until doubled in size. **
For the cinnamon butter:
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Taste for sweetness and pungency of cinnamon. Adjust as per taste.
Assembling the cinnamon rolls:
Once the dough has doubled in size, remove from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to 36cmx16cm rectangle.
Grease an 8" square baking tin with butter and line with parchment paper.
Spread the cinnamon butter evenly on top of the dough.
Cut into 4cm strips along the longer side to give you 9 strips of 16cmx4cm.
Roll the individual strips into logs and place inside the prepared baking tin, touching each other.
Cover with cling wrap or beeswax wrap and let it proof at a warm spot for another 45 mins-1 hour or until the dough has increased in volume by 30%.
Preheat oven to 180C.
Whisk the egg and eggwash the bread. Use a milkwash for an eggless version.
Bake at 180C for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Keep aside while you prepare the coffee ganache.
For the coffee ganache:
Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave in 30 seconds burst until completely melted.
Warm up the cream. Add to the melted chocolate and stir to emulsify well.
Add the coffee paste and stir to get a luscious ganache. Taste the ganache to adjust the strength of coffee flavour. Let it cool.
For the orange vanilla ganache as shown in the youtube video, replace the coffee paste with the zest of 1/2 an orange and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
Pour the ganache over the freshly baked cinnamon rolls. Enjoy warm!
Notes:
*- You can cool it faster by placing it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. However, make sure it is not cold when you use it.
**- The time of proofing will vary depending on your surrounding temperature. If it is too hot, the bread will prove faster and vice versa.
***- You can either use a commercially produced coffee paste or make your own by combining 15g of instant coffee powder with 5g warm water.
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