Perfectly Pillowy Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe is the King Arthur Flour 2021 Recipe of the Year. 

King Arthur Flour is a US Vermont-based flour company with a large social media presence (I found the recipe on Instagram) that produces many different kinds of flours and related ingredients for baking, runs cooking classes and demonstrations and shares recipes. They do not sell flour in Canada (we have our own top-quality flours here and besides that, the Government of Canada has rules)

This recipe for Perfectly Pillowy Cinnamon Rolls differs from other cinnamon roll recipes (although, truth-be-told, I've never encountered a cinnamon roll recipe that was anything but wonderful) in that, once-baked, it stays fresh longer than other cinnamon rolls. The reason for this longevity is the use of an Asian technique called a Tangzhong.

from the KA website:

A tangzhong involves pre-cooking some of a yeast bread recipe's flour and milk. This step lends long-lasting softness to any kind of bread - and these rolls are no exception. Pre-cooking just a small amount of the recipe's flour pre-gelatinizes the flour's starches, which increases their ability to retain liquid - thus enhancing the resulting rolls' softness and shelf life.

The prepared rolls going into the oven can be placed separated from each other on a baking sheet, "for maximum expansion", or placed close to each other in a pan the traditional way. The recipe developers also add other hints: use bread flour, minimize the amount of sugar in the dough (believe me, there's more than enough sugar in the filling), don't worry about the dough being a tad sticky and resist the urge to add more flour, and don't overbake - they recommend an internal final temp of 190F. Finally, don't store these rolls in the fridge. In fact, any bread placed in the fridge will become stale faster than a banana can age. 

Since it's not my recipe, I won't publish it here on the blog, so, if you'd like to try these rolls in your own kitchen, head to this King Arthur link: Perfectly Pillowy Cinnamon Rolls for the recipe along with helpful photos, videos and more tips as well as Introduction to Perfectly Pillowy Cinnamon Rolls for more information. 

By the way, they even have a Gluten-Free Version of the recipe. 

Enjoy!