Sweet and delicious cinnamon swirls. Make your own cinnamon swirls at home with this easy recipe. It takes just 10 minutes to mix together the dough, no dough hook or bread machine needed! Soft and fluffy and filled with cinnamon sugar, they are perfect for breakfast, brunch or afternoon tea.
Melt the butter and milk over a low heat in a small pan.
In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, caster sugar, yeast and salt.
Gradually pour the melted butter and milk into the dry ingredients. Stir well between each addition to eventually form a dough.
Turn the dough out onto a clean floured work surface. Knead for 2-3 minutes until it starts to feel smooth and less sticky.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover.
Leave the bowl to stand in a warm place (e.g. - on top of a pre heated oven) for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Meanwhile mix together the dark brown sugar and cinnamon. Put to one side.
After the dough has risen, uncover and turn out on a floured work surface. Flatten out the dough roughly with your fingertips. Then flour a rolling pin and roll into a rough rectangle 2-3mm thick.
Use the back of a spoon to spread the softened butter over the surface of the rolled out dough.
Next sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the buttered dough and gently push into the butter with your fingertips.
Roll up the dough starting from the short side. Roll nice and tight.
Slice off the rough edges at either side of the rolled up dough. Then roughly mark out nine pieces before slicing into nine rolls with a sharp knife.
Pre heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 9x9 inch square tin with greaseproof paper. Then place the 9 rolls into the tin, swirls facing up. Cover and leave to rise again for 30 minutes.
Whisk up the egg. Uncover the cinnamon swirls and brush with the egg. Place the cinnamon swirls in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Once cooled ice with icing sugar or brush over heated apricot jam.
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Notes
Fast action or instant yeast: One sachet of this will ensure a good rise. Make sure you use a yeast that states it can be added straight to the recipe or flour. I find fast action yeast super easy to work with as it doesn't need to be activated first and it always works well when making any kind of bread.Fresh yeast could also be used here but double the amount would be needed. Fresh yeast will need to be activated in the milk first rather than adding to the flour mixture. If you choose this option you will need to melt the butter and milk in a pan then allow to cool to a luke warm temperature. Then dissolve the fresh yeast in the warm milk and allow to sit for a couple of minutes before mixing into the flour. Read more about different types of yeast and how to use them here.Substitutes: For perfect fluffy rolls its best to not substitute the bread flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content so gives a better rise.How should baked cinnamon swirls be stored? Once made, allow to fully cool then wrap in cling film and stored in an air tight container. The rolls will keep well and stay soft for 3-4 days, after this you may find that the rolls start to harden and go stale.Can this recipe be made ahead of time? This recipe can be made the night before, so no need to get up at the crack of dawn for breakfast cinnamon swirls. Make the recipe as per the instructions, up to when the sliced rolls are placed into the baking tin. At this point cover with cling film and place in the fridge. The rolls can now stay in the fridge overnight as the low temperature will mean a slow rise. In the morning remove from the fridge and leave on the side for an hour to warm up. Glaze with whisked egg before baking in the oven as per the recipe.Can you freeze cinnamon swirls? Once baked and fully cooled, place the swirls in an airtight container or sealable freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat remove from the freezer and either heat each roll for 1-2 minutes in the microwave or leave on the side to fully defrost then pop in the oven to warm for 5 minutes.