I've loved cinnamon rolls at a wee age when I first bit into an ethereal cinnamon roll from Cinnabon. I'd tried my best to patronise Cinnabon as often as I could (though seeing that there isn't a Cinnabon in Singapore, isn't really all that often. Get on it Cinnabon!) But back when I was touring Bangkok, I couldn't contain my joy at seeing Cinnabon in Siam Paragon, and bought enough to sustain everybody on a sugar high for the rest of the day. When I was staying in a part of California without a Cinnabon presence (!!) - I was so forlorn for a cinnamon roll fix that I bought a roll of frozen Cinnabon from Walmart. 

Despite my fondness for this snack, I'd never seemed to be able to get a hang of making cinnamon rolls at home, and they'd never turn out as fluffy and soft as the ones I remember. Each attempt turned out to be an abject failure. Until well, now.

Tangzhong is a technique to make the soft, chewy Asian breads and buns we all know and love. It's a small simple step; cooking some of the dough's flour and liquid before adding the paste to the rest of the ingredient gives the final bread a much softer texture. This lends itself perfectly to making cinnamon rolls. (The science is explored in King Arthur's introduction to the technique.) The technique must've have been around for a long time, and was finally codified in 2007 in Taiwanese cookbook author Yvonne Chen's 65 Degrees C Roux the Bread. The book was originally written in Chinese, but gradually over the next couple of decades, the technique diffused over to the English-speaking community. 

There's a bit of contention online on whether using freshly grounded cinnamon is better than store-bought ground cinnamon. The first time around, I ground up cinnamon sticks using a mortar, a pestle and a heckuva elbow grease. Despite my best efforts, the grounded cinnamon still has shards of soft cinnamon bark which distract from the texture of the buns. Using freshly ground cinnamon also didn't result in a more pronounced flavour than pre-ground cinnamon. In subsequent batches, I ditched the mortar and pestle for a box of pre-ground cinnamon, and life was immeasurably better. 

Most cinnamon sticks sold in the market are Cassia cinnamon, which are tougher and hardier than Ceylon cinnamon. They do not take kindly to neither a mortar and pestle nor a microplane. Even spice mills may have trouble with cinnamon. Another source on the internet (attributed to Alton Brown's Good Eats) mentioned that cinnamon sticks sold to the public are of a lower quality than those sold to factories for grounding. I’m inclined to use store-ground cinnamon when a recipe calls for ground cinnamon, and save the cinnamon sticks for drinks (such as mulled wine, or hot chocolate) to avoid a murky gritty residue in my cup.

It's took a few days to delve into this delightful recipe, and the upshot is that I spent my first morning of holiday drinking a strong cup of coffee from my moka pot while baking off cinnamon roll dough that I'd frozen a few days before. As the scent of cinnamon rolls mingles with the smell of coffee, there was no better way to spend the holidays. 

Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Adapted from King Arthur
Makes 8 cinnamon rolls 

This recipe can be scaled. When you take your first bite into this bread, you'll also wish you'd made more. I'm a sucka for 100% fluffy cinnamon rolls, and my favoured version is now to bake off the rolls cramped edge-to-edge; the way that Cinnabon does it. The rolls are plenty sweet by themselves without the icing, but I'm happy to leave the icing on for the good ol' all-American indulgence.

INGREDIENTS

Tangzhong
1/2 cup (113g) milk
3 tablespoons (23g) Bread Flour

Dough
Tangzhong, as above
151g (2/3 cup) milk, cold
300g (2 1/2 cups) Bread Flour
6g (1 tsp) salt
25g (2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
6.2g (2 teaspoons) instant yeast
57g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened

Filling
14g butter, melted
70g light brown sugar
15g Bread Flour
8g to 10g cinnamon* (*Use the lesser amount for stronger cinnamons, like Vietnamese (Saigon); the larger amount for milder cinnamons, like Indonesian/Ceylon.)
1/16 teaspoon (pinch) salt

Icing
21 + 10g butter, melted, divided
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/16 teaspoon (pinch) salt
80g confectioners' sugar, sifted
7g-14g milk*, to thin the icing to your desired consistency (*Using cream instead brings an extra layer of richness, while buttermilk adds a subtle tang to undercut the overall sweetness.)

Cream cheese frosting (optional, as below)

STEPS

1. The tangzhong: Combine both the ingredients in a small saucepan until no floury lumps remain. Set over medium heat and cook the mixture for 1-3 minutes, stirring as you do, until the mixture thickens into a paste, and drawing your spatula through the mixture leaves a trail at the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and transfer the tangzhong to a large mixing bowl (or to the bowl of your stand mixer). 

2. The dough: To the large bowl containing the tangzhong, add the cold milk, and then the rest of the ingredients for the dough. Using your hands, mix the ingredients together until well-combined, and then continue to knead the dough together for 15 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. This can be done with a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment instead, which may take 10 to 12 minutes on medium-low speed. Shape the dough into a ball, cover the bowl with a lid and let the dough rise for about 60-90 minutes. 

3. The filling: in a small saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients. Combine well and set aside.

4. Assembly: Transfer the dough to a large clean work surface. Press the dough into a rectangular shape (with corners), about 10” x 12”. It should be about 1/2" thick. Scatter the brown sugar filling evenly over the dough, but leaving a 1/2” strip bare along one long side. Gently lift the long filling-covered side of the dough, and roll up the dough into a log. 

5. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, each piece should be about 1.5"-2" in length. A bench-scraper or a sharp knife is adequate, though a loop of dental floss (unscented!) will give the most even cut. Place the rolls on an ungreased 8" cake pan (ideally a loose cake pan with a removable base), and cover. Let rise for about 30-60 minutes, until the rolls are puffy and lightly pressing a roll with your fingertip should leave an indentation. 

6. Preheat the oven to 180°C for about 20 minutes, with a rack set in the middle of the oven. Bake the rolls for 16 to 18 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden. If using a digital thermometer, the centre of the middle roll should read about 87°C (190°F). While the rolls are baking, you can also slip in an oven proof bowl containing 21g (1 1/2 tablespoons) of  butter to melt alongside. Allow the butter to completely melt, about 3-4 mins, then remove the bowl from the oven.  Remove the rolls from the oven when done, and brush the tops with the melted butter. Let the rolls cool for 10 to 15 minutes before icing.

7. The icing: In a medium saucepan, melt 10g of butter. Add the rest of the icing ingredients and stir until smooth. The icing can be tightly covered and kept at room temperature. Spread the icing evenly over the rolls just before serving. 

STORAGE
Un-iced rolls can be kept in an air tight container for a couple of days at room temperature; or be wrapped and frozen for up to 1 month.

Parbaking is a process meant to freeze cinnamon roll dough and bake them off at a later date. I have mixed successes with it; it results in squatter and denser pastry, about 1-inch tall discs. It’s an additional hassle to bake and then cool off the half-baked rolls, and I’m not sure if it’s worth the fuss. In future attempts, I’m planning to cut the cinnamon log into thicker pieces (say 6 piece instead of 8 pieces), and then just freeze It straight. Cinnamon rolls dough when frozen, can be kept up to 6 weeks in the freezer. 

VARIATION

Cream cheese frosting: for a tangier frosting to offset the sweetness. Add 4 to 6 tablespoons (57g to 90g) softened cream cheese alongside the other icing ingredients (sugar, salt, butter), then drizzle in 2 teaspoons of milk. Then add more milk, a teaspoon at a time, to get it to the consistency you prefer.

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ small onion, medium dice
1 cup roughly chopped kimchi (6 ounces)
2 tablespoons kimchi juice, or to taste
1 tbsp gojuchang (optional)
½ cup small-dice Spam, ham or leftover cooked meat (optional)
2 cups cooked, cooled short-grain rice. 
2 teaspoons soy sauce, and more as required
1 teaspoon sesame oil, and more as required
Vegetable oil, for frying eggs
Eggs, one per person
Crumbled or slivered nori (roasted seaweed) for garnish
Sesame seeds for garnish

STEPS

In a nonstick sauté pan set over medium-low heat, melt butter and add onions. Stir occasionally, for about 2 minutes, until the onions start to sizzle. Add kimchi, kimchi juice and gojuchang, and let the mixture come to a boil, about 3 minutes. Add spam if using. Cook until most of the water has evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Using the flat side of a spatula, break up the cooled rice into individual grains (no need to be OCD about it), Increase the heat to medium and stir the rice in. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes, until the rice is very warm and well-coated in the kimchi sauce. 

Pour the soy sauce and sesame oil in by the side of the skillet, such that it comes into contact with the walls of the skillet first before reaching the food. Taste, and adjust with more soy sauce, sesame oil or kimchi juice as required. As you cook the eggs (see below), turn heat down slightly, but let the rice cook, untouched, to lightly brown. 

In a separate non-stick pan, fry eggs. To get the nice sunny-side-up eggs, cover the pan with a lid after cracking in the eggs to allow the top of the egg to cook by steam 

Serve rice topped with fried eggs, nori and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.