Giant Family Cinnamon Roll
Make this giant cinnamon roll with cream cheese icing for an easy, homemade and delicious version perfect for weekends or holidays - soft bread dough rolled in cinnamon sugar and topped with scrumptious icing.
Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
For the cinnamon roll dough:
- 2 1/2 cups hot water (115-120 degrees)
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1/4 cup honey or pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp instant yeast
- 1 tbsp salt
For the cinnamon roll filling:
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 4-6 tsp cinnamon
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 1 package cream cheese, softened (8 oz)
- 1 1/2 cups powdered/confectioners' sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
Instructions
For the cinnamon roll dough:
- ***Please note that I make this dough in a Bosch Universal Plus Mixer that has specific mixing times. Making this dough by hand or in another mixer will cause the kneading times to vary.
- 1) Using a stand mixer with a dough hook attached, pour in the hot water. Add 4 cups of flour followed by the oil, honey and yeast. Pulse the mixer a few times to gently incorporate the ingredients and prevent a flour "cloud". (If doing by hand, this is not a concern.) Once roughly incorporated, turn the mixer to medium and combine ingredients until well mixed.
- 2) Once ingredients are well combined, continue to add 1-2 cups of flour and mix on low until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Don't take too long to mix in the final amounts of flour as the gluten can begin to break down creating a very sticky dough and dense bread. It's better to add slightly less flour than too much.
- 3) After the sides of the bowl come clean, return the mixer to medium speed and knead for 5-6 minutes until gluten is developed (7-10 minutes if kneading by hand). You can check the development of gluten by breaking off a golf-ball sized piece of dough and slowly streching between your fingers. If you can stretch your dough to translucent thinness without tearing, gluten has formed.)
- 4) After kneading, pour dough into a greased bowl and let rise until doubled in size (30 minutes-1 hour). You can also place your dough in the frige overnight if preparing for the following day. If using frozen bread dough loaves, pull out two loaves to thaw overnight in the fridge.
Assembly:
- 1) Prepare your assembly station. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper (you do not want to skip the parchment as the sugar from the cinnamon roll will melt and caramelize on the bottom of the pan creating messy cleanup). In a medium bowl, melt 1 stick of unsalted butter. In another medium bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. You can add more or less cinnamon depending on preference.
- 2) Once your dough has doubled in size (or the morning after it has been the fridge), pour out onto a floured surface and cut into 4 equal pieces. (If using frozen bread dough, cut each loaf lengthwise into 2 equal slices.) Take each piece and roll into a 16-18" log.
- 3) After logs are formed, take each log, one at a time, dipping into the butter and cinnamon sugar bowls respectively, ensuring each log is coated well. Begin to create the giant cinnamon roll by taking the first log and rolling it into a spiral in the center of the cookie sheet. For each consecutive log, connect it to the previous spiral by simply pinching and tucking the ends together. Make sure they are pinched well so they do not separate in the oven. Continue this method with all 4 logs until a giant spiral is formed.
- 4) Pour the remaining butter and cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the cinnamon roll. Let the cinnamon roll rise in a warm location for another 30-40 minutes. After the second rise, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake cinnamon roll for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
For the cream cheese icing:
- 1) Blend all ingredients in a bowl, adding additional milk if needed to reach desired consistency. Drizzle/pour cream cheese icing over warm cinnamon roll.