Cinnamon Raisin Rolls

❤️Why you will love this recipe

• This is an easy recipe for homemade cinnamon rolls with simple ingredients.
• The recipe makes absolutely fluffy cinnamon rolls and will definitely become your family favorite. 
• Filled generously with cinnamon brown sugar filling and sweet raisins, these rolls bake into a lovely golden brown and are simply the best cinnamon rolls.
• These warm cinnamon rolls with their lovely aroma of cinnamon make excellent breakfast for Christmas morning.

Like this recipe? Here are my other posts you might want to check out:

• Old Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Coffee Rolls with Coffee Cream Cheese Glaze
• Coconut Rolls with Coconut Glaze
• Easy Yeast Rolls
• Strawberry Rolls with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Glaze
• Cinnamon Streusel Muffins (Easy & Moist)
• Ube Rolls (Soft & Fluffy Twisted Buns)
• Pandan Bread (Homemade Milk Loaf with Raisins)

Dough

• All purpose flour + salt - mix salt with flour before adding to the yeast solution. Salt should not be added directly to yeast as it can kill yeast.
• Instant yeast - I use instant dry yeast. This yeast can be mixed directly with other ingredients and no activation is required as compared to instant active yeast which requires activation with warm liquid before other ingredients are added in.
• Whole milk (room temperature) - you can use room temperature milk if using instant dry yeast. If using active dry yeast, use warm milk.
• Sugar - sweetens the dough.
• Butter - I use salted butter. Unsalted butter will also work fine.

Filling

• Butter - I use salted butter. Salt enhances the taste but unsalted butter will also work fine.
• Brown sugar - gives the rolls a depth in taste with a light hint of molasses flavor. You can use either light or dark brown sugar.
• Cinnamon powder - use finely ground cinnamon.
• Raisins - use fresh raisins. Both black and golden raisins will work for the cinnamon rolls.

Glaze

• Butter - both salted or unsalted butter will work. I use salted butter.
• Honey - gives a lovely shine to the rolls.

🧾Substitution and variations

• All purpose flour can be replaced with bread flour.
• There are 2 types of dry yeast - instant dry yeast and active dry yeast. I use instant dry yeast. This yeast does not require activation (i.e. mixing with liquid to activate the yeast first). You can add the yeast to a bowl and add the liquid and all the other ingredients without waiting for the yeast to start frothing. With active dry yeast, you will need to activate the yeast by mixing it with some warm liquid (and sugar as sugar helps with the activation) and let the yeast froth first before other ingredients are added it.
• Whole milk can be replaced with skim milk.
• The butter and honey can can be replaced with cream cheese frosting (made using all butter).

Mixing the dough

Start by preparing the dough for the cinnamon raisin rolls.

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the milk and yeast. Mix with a fork or the machine on low speed until the yeast is dissolved.
2. Add in the egg and sugar, followed by flour and salt (dry ingredients).
3. Mix on medium speed (with a dough hook attachment) until the dough comes together. This should take approximately 2 minutes.
4. Next, add the softened butter and continue kneading in your mixer for another 8 minutes. Depending on how your machine works, adjust the speed on your machine between low to medium. Too high a speed will result in the dough balling up on the side of your bowl and if this happens, you will see that the machine hook is not actually kneading it.
5. At the end of the 8 minutes, the dough should be smooth and no longer sticky.
6. Turn the soft dough onto a work surface. Dust it slightly if you find it sticky (though I often find that the dusting is not necessary). Knead by hand for about 30 seconds to form a smooth ball. To do this, place your fingers under the dough and fold it to the center. As you do this, push the lifted dough in with your palm. Repeat the process until you have folded all the sides of the dough.

Proofing the cinnamon roll dough

1. Place dough ball in a large bowl (greased with some vegetable oil, cooking spray or butter).
2. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it proof in a warm place until it doubles in size. The rising time should take any time between 45 minutes up to 2 hours (depending on the temperature of your kitchen).
3. Turn the proofed dough onto your workspace. Press to remove air bubbles. Dust it lightly with flour if necessary.
4. Use a rolling pin to roll it into a large rectangle measuring 25 cm by 30 cm.

Assembling the cinnamon buns

1. Spread butter all over the top.
2. For the cinnamon sugar, add brown sugar and cinnamon powder in a small bowl and mix until the cinnamon is well combined.
3. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over generously. You can do this by hand or with a spoon.
4. Next, sprinkle the raisins.
5. Once the filling is done, start rolling from one of the long sides.
6. Roll it into a tight log (in a jelly-roll style) and seal the ends by pinching them.

Cutting and baking the cinnamon and raisin rolls

1. Cut the cinnamon raisin log into 9 equal sections. You can either use a ruler to measure and cut into equal sections. Or you can start by cutting the raisin log into 3 large sections.
2. And then divide each of the 3 sections into 3 smaller sections to form 9 equal sections.
3. Place rolls in a well-greased, 7 inches square tin or baking dish.
4. Cover the tin with a clean kitchen towel and let them proof until double in size (second rise).
5. Bake the raisin rolls in a preheated oven at 175 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes.
6. As soon as the cinnamon raisin rolls are baked, remove them from the oven and brush some butter over them, followed by honey.

Let the rolls cool slightly before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool further.

🍽️Serving & storage

• These cinnamon raisin rolls are best served on the day they are made. Leftovers can be left at room temperature and are best reheated before consuming.

💡Expert tips

• The yeast I have used to make these cinnamon raisin rolls is instant yeast. Instant yeast does not require activation (ie. the process of mixing the yeast with liquid and setting it aside to turn frothy before adding in other ingredients).
• In fact, you can dump in all your ingredients (except butter) all at once and mix the dough before adding the butter. I prefer to do it in stages though, but the choice is yours.
• If you are using an old batch of yeast (regardless of whether it is active or instant), you can test to see if the yeast is still active by mixing it with the liquid in the recipe. Wait for about 5 to 10 minutes and if the yeast does not turn frothy, it is best to use a new batch of yeast to make the rolls. This is more so if you are using instant yeast as it may sometimes no longer be active if you have opened the package for sometime (even though it has not expired).
• The kneading time indicated in this recipe is for machine kneading. If you choose to knead by hand, the kneading time would need to be increased to such a time until the dough is smooth and elastic. I use a mixer with a dough hook attachment to knead the dough for these cinnamon raisin rolls. It is a lot easier and saves time on kneading too.
• To help with the proofing, place your dough in a warm spot in your kitchen. This can be anywhere near the stove or next to a warm dish. The other way is to place it in your oven. Don’t switch the oven on, just leave the door closed, and that should help with the proofing.

💭FAQs