Cinnamon Rolls & Dinner Roll Dough

THis dough recipe is going to have you coming back time and time again. I have had fantastic luck working with this dough. It rises very well, and bakes light and fluffy every time.

When we asked for this recipe it was given to us in a word document that she had so graciously typed out. I am going to put that here just how she has written it, since she knows best. Please reach out to us if you have any questions. We understand dough can be hard to get right and we have made many many batches and worked through some problems that we have had.

CINNAMON ROLLS & CLASSIC ROLL DOUGH
5-6 c. flour
2 pkg active dry yeast (each ¼ oz pkg equals 2 ¼ teaspoon if you buy in the bulk)
½ c. granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoon salt
½ c. softened unsalted BUTTER (I have used margarine, but prefer butter)
1 ½ c. very warm tap water (110-115 degrees F.)
2 eggs--room temperature
Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar & salt in bowl. Blend and add softened butter. Add warm water to ingredients in bowl all at once. Beat for 2 minutes. Add eggs & 1 cup flour, beat for 1 minute. Add in the remaining flour (use only enough flour to make a soft dough) slowly kneading well until the dough no longer clings to the mixer bowl. Knead 5 to 10 minutes. Put into a greased bowl and let rise until doubled. Punch down and either shape into dinner rolls or roll out for cinnamon rolls.
FOR DINNER ROLLS: Shape into round dinner rolls. This recipe makes 12 very large dinner rolls. Could easily be divided into 24 smaller rolls to make them go further. Place rolls in greased 9x13 pan, or 2 pans if dividing the dough into more than 12 rolls. Let rise at least 1 hour before baking. Bake for 22-28 minutes or until golden brown. Watch closely at the end so they don’t overbake and dry out. **Anna has personally only ever made 12 rolls. If you choose to make more than 12 rolls and divided the dough out into two pans the baking time will be less. We have not personally tested how long it takes though. We have heard from friends that tried this recipe say it works, they just baked for shorter time.
FOR CINNAMON ROLLS: Roll dough out to 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick. Spread the dough with ½ cup of room temperature BUTTER, enough white granulated sugar to cover well (I never measure sugar or cinnamon). Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. Roll the dough, stretching slightly as you roll. Cut dough into 1 ½ inch rolls (can cut wider if you want a taller roll). Place 12, 1 ½ to 2 inch cinnamon rolls in a 9X13 greased light metal pan. Let the rolls rise not quite double. They don’t need to touch as they will finish rising/filling the pan as they bake. If they are too crowded, they will spiral from the center as they bake.
GOOEY MIXTURE:
I think this is the secret: While the dough is rising, mix equal amounts of light brown sugar and heavy whipping cream. I think I use about 1 ½ -2 cups light brown sugar and the same amount of heavy whipping cream per pan of rolls. Let DISOLVE COMPLETELY. If the brown sugar isn’t dissolved completely or cream mixture is cold, I have microwaved the mixture 10 -15 seconds, just to make the mixture smooth. When the rolls are ready to put into the oven, POUR THE CREAM MIXTURE OVER THE TOP OF THE ROLLS IN THE PAN and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until golden. Take out of the oven and cool on a wire rack about 5-10 minutes then flip the rolls onto your serving platter or container. With a spatula, spread the gooey mixture around to seal the top of each roll.
You can also refrigerate the rolls 2-24 hours then remove and let stand until ready to bake at 350 degree for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. If refrigerated, don’t put the gooey on until you are ready to bake the rolls.
A very useful tip that our Grandma Bernie gave me is to use leftover potato water in bread dough recipes. When straining water off of boiled potatoes, catch the water for later use. I stored mine in a jar in the freezer until ready to use it. The amount of water a recipe called for she used half potato water, and half tap water. There is no right or wrong way to do it that just has worked in the past for me. Grandma Bernie’s rolls and dough are always so good that we had to give it try!
If you want to speed up the rising process there are a couple things I have done to make it go faster. No idea if these recommendations are right or wrong but they have worked for us! I follow the recipe and put in a greased bowl, then cover with a towel or plastic wrap. To make it rise faster I have put the bowl of dough in my laundry room when I have the washer and drying going. My laundry room is fairly small and I can easily shut the door and it stays very warm in there making the dough rise. If I’m not doing laundry the other option is to put it in the bathroom. As I can imagine you are rolling your eyes, but it works! I will turn the shower on as hot as it gets, and let it run for a few minutes with the door shut. Then when the room is hot and fogged up I turn the water off and set the bowl of dough on the counter until I’m ready to use it.