Cinnamon Rolls from Scratch
Making cinnamon rolls from scratch means understanding dough — how it feels under your hands, when it's risen enough, how tightly to roll without trapping air. The reward is the smell, the pull-apart texture, and the fact that you control the filling ratio and the glaze.
Dough temperature and room temperature matter more than you think
Cinnamon roll dough needs warmth to rise, but not so much heat that it kills the yeast. If your kitchen is cool (below 68°F), rising will take longer. If it's warm (above 78°F), watch the dough closely—it may overproof. Room-temperature ingredients and a draft-free spot are your friends.
- Stand mixer with dough hook (or strong arms and a bowl)
- 9×13-inch baking dish
- Kitchen scale (optional but helpful)
- Instant-read thermometer (optional but useful for checking dough temperature)
- Bench scraper or dough cutter
- Pastry brush
What goes in.
- 1 cupwhole milk, warmed (110°F)
- 2.25 teaspoonsactive dry yeast (one packet)
- 4 tablespoonsunsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cupgranulated sugar
- 1 teaspoonsalt
- 1 largeegg, room temperature
- 3 cupsall-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoonsunsalted butter, softened (for filling)
- 3/4 cuppacked brown sugar
- 2.5 tablespoonsground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoonsunsalted butter, melted (for brushing before rolling)
- 2 cupspowdered sugar
- 3 tablespoonscream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoonsunsalted butter, softened (for glaze)
- 1 teaspoonvanilla extract
- Pinchsalt (for glaze)
Rolling tightly without overworking the dough
The dough must be rolled tight enough that the layers stay together as they bake, but not so aggressively that you deflate all the rise you've built. Roll from the short end, using the edge of the bench scraper to help you tuck and advance the dough. You'll feel the difference between a slack roll and a snug one. A snug roll holds its shape; a slack one spreads and bakes into one another.
The method.
Combine milk, yeast, and sugar.
Pour the warm milk (around 110°F—warm enough that you can hold your pinky in it for 10 seconds) into the bowl of your stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over it and let it sit for 1 minute. Add the sugar, stir gently, and let it sit for another minute. You'll see foam beginning to form on the surface. That's yeast waking up.
Add butter, salt, and egg.
With the mixer on low, add the melted butter, salt, and egg. Mix until combined—the mixture will look loose and wet.
Add flour and knead.
Add the flour all at once. Switch to the dough hook if using a mixer. Knead on medium-low for 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should come together into a smooth, slightly tacky mass that clears the sides of the bowl. It should feel soft and elastic, not stiff. If it's sticking badly to the hook, add 1 tablespoon flour at a time until it pulls cleanly.
First rise.
Lightly oil a bowl, place the dough in it, and turn it to coat. Cover the bowl loosely with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let it sit in a warm, draft-free place for 1 to 1.5 hours, until it's roughly doubled in size. You know it's ready when you poke it gently and the indent springs back slowly but doesn't disappear completely.
Prepare filling.
While the dough rises, mix the softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl until it's the texture of wet sand. Set aside.
Turn out and shape.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Don't punch it down aggressively—you want to preserve some of the air you've built. Pat or gently roll it into a 9×16-inch rectangle, with the long edge facing you.
Brush and fill.
Using a pastry brush, coat the entire surface of the dough with the 2 tablespoons melted butter. Spread the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly across the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border on the long edge farthest from you. This keeps the roll from unraveling.
Roll and cut.
Starting from the long edge closest to you, roll the dough tightly toward the far edge. Once you've rolled it, use a bench scraper or a long, sharp knife to cut it into 12 equal pieces. The most reliable way: mark the log into thirds, halve each third, then halve those—that gives you 12 pieces.
Arrange in pan.
Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish. Place the rolls cut-side up in the pan—they should fit snugly but not be compressed. Cover loosely with a damp towel.
Second rise.
Let the rolls rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature. They should look puffy and will be touching or nearly touching. If your kitchen is cool, this may take longer. You're looking for them to rise noticeably but not quite double—they'll finish rising in the oven.
Preheat and bake.
Heat the oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes. They're done when the edges are deep golden and the center rolls are set but still yielding slightly to the touch. A toothpick inserted in a center roll should come out with a few moist crumbs, not wet dough.
Make glaze.
While the rolls bake, beat together the softened cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and pinch of salt. Mix until it's spreadable but not stiff. Add a splash of milk if it's too thick.
Glaze and cool slightly.
Remove the rolls from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. They'll firm up just enough to handle. Spread or drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls—it will melt slightly into the crevices. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Other turns to take.
Cardamom rolls
Replace the ground cinnamon in the filling with 1.5 tablespoons ground cardamom and 1 tablespoon cinnamon. The cardamom adds an almost perfumed note that works especially well with the cream cheese glaze.
Maple pecan rolls
Mix 1/2 cup chopped pecans into the brown sugar filling. Reduce the cinnamon to 2 teaspoons and add 1 tablespoon maple syrup to the filling mixture. In the glaze, replace the vanilla with 1/2 teaspoon maple extract.
Overnight cold-rise rolls
After rolling and cutting, cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours. In the morning, remove from the fridge, let sit at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes, then bake as directed. The cold rise develops flavor and gives you freshly baked rolls for breakfast without the early wake-up.
Brown butter rolls
Brown the 6 tablespoons softening butter for the filling over medium heat—let it cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the milk solids turn nutty and brown. Let it cool slightly, then mix with the brown sugar and cinnamon. This gives the rolls a deeper, more complex flavor.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Warm milk is crucial—too hot and it kills the yeast, too cool and it wakes up slowly. Aim for 110°F. If you don't have a thermometer, dip your pinky in: it should feel comfortably warm, not hot.
Don't skip the second rise. It's what makes the rolls light and tender rather than dense. They'll rise more in the oven, so don't wait until they've completely doubled—you're aiming for noticeably puffy but still distinct rolls.
If you're rolling by hand and your dough keeps shrinking back, let it rest for 5 minutes under a towel after shaping the rectangle. The gluten relaxes, and the dough becomes easier to roll.
Cut the rolls with a long, sharp knife dipped in water and wiped clean between cuts. A dull knife squashes the dough and ruins the shape. A bench scraper works too.
The rolls will look underbaked when they come out—the centers will still have a soft give. That's correct. They continue to set as they cool. Overbaking dries them out.
Glaze them while they're still warm so it seeps into the crevices, but wait 5 minutes so the glaze doesn't melt into nothing. That balance takes one try to learn.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I make the dough ahead and refrigerate it?
Yes. After kneading, oil the dough, cover it, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. The dough will rise slowly in the fridge. When you're ready to use it, remove it, let it come to room temperature (about 1 hour), then shape and proceed as normal. Cold dough is stiffer but easier to handle.
What if my dough isn't rising?
Check three things: First, is your yeast alive? If it's old or was stored improperly, it won't activate. Second, is your kitchen warm enough? Below 68°F, yeast moves slowly. Third, did you use salt? Too much salt can inhibit rising. Try a warmer spot (near a sunny window, or on top of a barely warm oven) and give it more time.
Why are my rolls dense or tough?
Usually because the dough was overworked or the gluten overdeveloped. Mix gently, don't knead longer than 10 minutes. Also, if you skipped the second rise or didn't let it rise long enough, the rolls won't have time to become light. Finally, if you baked them at too high a temperature, they set before they had a chance to expand.
Can I freeze unbaked rolls?
Yes. After rolling, cutting, and placing them in the pan, cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 weeks. To bake, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight, then let them come to room temperature and rise for 30 to 45 minutes before baking as normal.
The filling keeps sliding out when I cut them. What am I doing wrong?
You're probably not rolling tightly enough. Roll from the edge closest to you and advance the dough deliberately, tucking it under itself as you go. A bench scraper helps—use it to fold the edge of the dough toward you in stages rather than trying to roll it all at once. Also, make sure you left that 1/2-inch border on the far edge; it acts as a seal.
Should the rolls be touching in the pan?
They should be close enough that they touch or nearly touch after the second rise, but not so tightly packed that they can't expand. This way, as they bake, they'll rise up and become connected at the top while still staying distinct at the bottom. If they're too cramped from the start, they'll fuse together unevenly.