Cinnamon Buns
Soft yeast buns rolled with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, proved twice and baked for 25 minutes, then glazed with vanilla icing.
Photograph credit: Cinnamon bun - Milfey Patisserie 2026-08-31 by Andy Li · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Don't Make These Mistakes
Let the dough double before shaping.
Cut the roll with thread or floss.
Ice the buns while still warm.
How to Make Cinnamon Buns
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Mix the flour, yeast, caster sugar and salt. Add the warm milk, melted butter and egg and mix to a soft dough. Knead for 8 minutes. Cover and rise for 1 hour until doubled.
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Roll the dough into a 40 by 30 cm rectangle. Spread with the soft butter and scatter over the brown sugar and cinnamon.
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Roll up tightly from the long edge. Cut into 12 slices with thread and arrange in a buttered tin. Cover and rise for 30 minutes.
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Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F. Bake for 25 minutes until golden.
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Whisk the icing sugar, milk and vanilla and spread over the warm buns.
Why It Works
Why does anyone ask whether it is worth making cinnamon buns from scratch? Because the smell alone settles the question. Yeast dough, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon baking together fill the house in a way that no packet mix ever has, and the buns themselves are soft, rich and pull apart in tender swirls.
The dough is enriched with milk, butter and an egg, which makes it soft and sticky, and it needs a longer first rise than a plain loaf. Leave it in a warm place for an hour, until doubled. A sluggish dough produces dense buns, and if your kitchen is cold, a bowl in an oven with just the light on makes a fine proving drawer. Knead for 8 minutes by hand until smooth and elastic.
Roll up tightly, then cut with floss. A slice of thread slid under the roll and crossed over the top cuts cleanly without squashing the swirl. A knife drags and flattens the layers. Cut into twelve pieces and arrange them cut side up in a buttered tin.
A second rise of 30 minutes makes them puff up against each other. Bake at 180°C / 355°F until golden, then spread the icing on while they are warm so it melts into the folds. Eat them the same day.
After You've Cooked It
Best the day they are made. Keeps for 2 days.
What to Serve Alongside
- Coffee
- Hot chocolate
- Cold milk
- Fresh fruit
Still Wondering?
How long does Cinnamon Buns take to make?
35 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour 30 minutes of Rising, so allow 2 hours 30 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 12.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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