I have been wanting to bake cinnamon rolls for so long! I don’t know why I waited until now… 😆 My previous attempt was a recipe from Yummly and it was horrible. Maybe that has put me off for a while… 😆
This time I went back to my old faithful book <<65摄氏度汤种面包>> for the recipe. Turned out so well, I mean, just look at those beautiful babies! They tasted even better!! 😛
For some reason, most bakeries in Penang don’t have cinnamon rolls. Why eh? The only bakery made famous by their cinnamon rolls is the Penang Adventist Hospital Bakery, and that’s the place I go to when my cinnamon craving comes by. 😛
I have tried many brands of cinnamon powder, most of them really disappoint as they taste like nothing even when used in large amounts. However, there is an exceptional one, which is by Waitrose. It has got a strong smell and flavour, and a tiny pinch makes a huge difference. I really recommend this!
Back to the cinnamon rolls. Really, words are not enough to say how absolutely scrumtious they were! *ahem* Yes, mine ones were much better than the Adventist’s ones! 😆
Instead of letting them rest on their sides, which is what most cinnamon rolls look like, I let them stand on their feet. Actually, I much prefer them this way because not only they look nicer, the melted cinnamon sugar (which will drip down) will only be coating a smaller part of the bread. Also, they have bigger room to expand when they are put this way.
The texture of the bread rolls was spot on. Feathery light and pillowy soft, melt-in-your-mouth kind of soft! Pictures really don’t do them justice. To achieve this softness, the baking instructions have to be adhered to strictly – 180ºC, 15 minutes on the middle rack. Always work. Don’t worry if the top does not brown, as browning depends on the air circulation of the oven. It’s hard to get nice, evenly browned top in conventional oven. A fan oven works brilliantly though.
Another trick is to plump the raisins, preferably overnight in the fridge. This makes the raisins fat and juicy (and flavourful if plumped with alcohol) after baking. I like to plump them in liquor or wine. Alternatively, you can just use hot water. Initially, I thought this is just a farce created by professional bakers, but having tried it out myself, I must say this is not a farce, lol….. 😆
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Cinnamon Rolls (Tang Zhong) 肉桂面包卷（汤种）
-Adapted from <<65摄氏度汤种面包>> by 陈郁芬
210g bread flour
56g all purpose flour
42g caster sugar
1/2tsp salt
4g instant yeast (original recipe calls for 6g, but I feel that’s in excess)
20g milk powder
84g tang zhong (15g flour to 75g water should give you more than enough)
30g egg , save some for eggwash
85g water
22g oil
30g caster sugar + 1 tbsp ground cinnamon for cinnamon sugar
Put all ingredients together and knead. (Did mine in SD-P104 bread maker)
Let proof until double or triple in size (Will take at least 50 minutes), punch down and start shaping.
For shaping,
- Very important – flour the worktop.
- Roll the dough out into a rough rectangle. Let it rest for a minute or two, then lift the dough from the worktop (it will shrink a bit) and pull the corners and stretch it out again into a proper rectangle.
- Roll the dough into a ~25cm x 40cm rectangle.
- Brush the dough with the liquid used for plumping the raisins. Leave out an inch at the seam.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly, followed by the strained raisins.
- Roll the dough up into a log. Pinch the seam.
- Divide the dough into 8 portions. I did this with a dental floss to minimise mess.
Bake at 180ºC in preheated oven for 15 minutes.
*I also made a loaf version of this, check this out! >>> Tang Zhong Cinnamon Loaf 汤种肉桂面包
bakexcitations! 