Shannon's cooking! Baking Basics: Cinnamon Rolls By: Lodge Cast Iron / October 9, 2024 Welcome to the first installment of Baking Basics with Shannon Van Dusen, all-star baker and chef over here in the Lodge kitchen. This time, we’re breaking down our recipe for Classic Cinnamon Rolls with some helpful tips and tricks—plus “straight from the source” advice from a baker who’s seen it all. Discover why everyone on TikTok is adding heavy cream to their pan of cinnamon rolls and more importantly, why cast iron is the can’t-miss, best choice for baking. Get the Classic Cinnamon Rolls recipe E-mail this page Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on Twitter Print this page Why we’re baking in cast iron We make this recipe in our casserole pan, but it works in a 10.25 inch cast iron skillet as well. New to baking in cast iron? Here’s what you need to know: A well-seasoned cast iron pan is a lot easier to clean than you might think. Make life easy on yourself with a generous layer of Baker’s Joy or butter before you load the pan with rolls. Plus, good pan maintenance really pays off here! Cast iron distributes heat more consistently than a lot of other materials, which means you won’t have hot spots (or cool spots!) in the pan when you’re baking—just a beautiful, uniform bake. Cast iron’s unparalleled heat retention also means that your crusts are crustier and your ooey-gooeys even more caramelized. Cast iron pans are made for life, without forever chemicals or chippable coatings. They won’t bend, dent, or warp over time so you can buy them once and bake for generations. Working with yeasted dough While these cinnamon rolls are pretty simple, introducing yeast into a recipe means you have to be mindful of things like temperature and time in a different way than making a quick bread or cake batter. The temperature of milk is important for yeast to do its job—too cold and the yeast won’t wake up for work, too hot and the yeast will get cooked. When adding yeast to warmed milk, aim for between 105˚F and 110˚F. A probe thermometer is a great kitchen utensil to have. It’s also a good time to make sure that you don’t have expired yeast in your pantry. Letting the dough rise Proofing is the process of letting dough rest and rise before you shape it and bake it, and like a lot of us, yeast does its best work at about 80˚F. That’s warmer than most homes, so take some of Shannon’s tips into consideration. Turn on your oven light and place the bowl inside the (otherwise OFF) oven—the ambient heat from the lamp plus the oven’s insulation will get your dough up to temperature. If it’s laundry day, place your bowl on top of the dryer to get it the just-right temperature. If you’ve been running the dishwasher, you can place the bowl on the counter above while it’s heat-drying the dishes. Filling, shaping, and cutting the rolls When making the filling, some recipes call for melted butter, but Shannon uses softened. “Melted butter is messier and the filling oozes out too easily. Spreading softened butter on the dough can help avoid loss of that precious cinnamon sugar filling,” she says. Trust us: don’t roll the dough too tight. Tight rolls will pop out in the center and release steam that helps make the rolls so chewy and delicious. Dental floss (unflavored!) is a great tool for slicing your dough up into rolls. If you’re going to use a knife, be mindful that it may squish the dough and filling and try to use a serrated knife. Clean the knife between each cut to minimize squish! Baking the rolls Timing wise, you’ve got some options here. Make WAY ahead: Place your cut rolls on a baking sheet and freeze them, then bag them up and store in the freezer until you’re ready to use one or all. Make the night before: Slice and arrange the rolls in your pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, take the rolls out of the fridge while you’re preheating the oven and bake as directed. Make ‘em now: If you’re popping these directly in the oven today, let them rise for 30 minutes as directed in the recipe and then watch them do their thing! Extremely delicious extras You’ve probably seen this one online and it’s a winning trick: pour ½ cup of heavy whipping cream over the rolls right before they go in the oven. This makes a more gooey, soft roll that is simply amazing. Do a double layer of icing! Shannon likes to apply a very thin layer of icing while the rolls are still warm. The icing melts and seeps down into the rolls. She then lets them cool for about 8 to 10 minutes before icing completely. Bake on! Stock up on treats with some of our favorite yeasted or sweet dough recipes! Classic Cinnamon Raisin Bread Fill your kitchen with inviting and yummy smells when you make this cinnamon raisin bread. Triple Spice Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting These rich and buttery cinnamon rolls are made perfect in a cast iron casserole dish. Griddled English Muffins Did you know traditional english muffins get their unique texture from being baked on a griddle? It's true, and it's simple to recreate at home. Honey Oat Loaf There’s nothing more comforting than the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven. Mimosa Cinnamon Rolls Make these and we guarantee you'll be the new favorite host for weekend brunch. Honey Butter Dinner Rolls These lightly sweet rolls are the perfect accompaniment to any traditional meal. Classic Cinnamon Rolls Nothing says Saturday morning better than a gooey classic cinnamon roll. Made in our 9 x 13 Casserole, you'll have enough for seconds. Contributed By: Lodge Cast Iron We hope you enjoy our stories and recipes! 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Shannon's cooking! Baking Basics: Cinnamon Rolls By: Lodge Cast Iron / October 9, 2024 Welcome to the first installment of Baking Basics with Shannon Van Dusen, all-star baker and chef over here in the Lodge kitchen. This time, we’re breaking down our recipe for Classic Cinnamon Rolls with some helpful tips and tricks—plus “straight from the source” advice from a baker who’s seen it all. Discover why everyone on TikTok is adding heavy cream to their pan of cinnamon rolls and more importantly, why cast iron is the can’t-miss, best choice for baking. Get the Classic Cinnamon Rolls recipe E-mail this page Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on Twitter Print this page Why we’re baking in cast iron We make this recipe in our casserole pan, but it works in a 10.25 inch cast iron skillet as well. New to baking in cast iron? Here’s what you need to know: A well-seasoned cast iron pan is a lot easier to clean than you might think. Make life easy on yourself with a generous layer of Baker’s Joy or butter before you load the pan with rolls. Plus, good pan maintenance really pays off here! Cast iron distributes heat more consistently than a lot of other materials, which means you won’t have hot spots (or cool spots!) in the pan when you’re baking—just a beautiful, uniform bake. Cast iron’s unparalleled heat retention also means that your crusts are crustier and your ooey-gooeys even more caramelized. Cast iron pans are made for life, without forever chemicals or chippable coatings. They won’t bend, dent, or warp over time so you can buy them once and bake for generations. Working with yeasted dough While these cinnamon rolls are pretty simple, introducing yeast into a recipe means you have to be mindful of things like temperature and time in a different way than making a quick bread or cake batter. The temperature of milk is important for yeast to do its job—too cold and the yeast won’t wake up for work, too hot and the yeast will get cooked. When adding yeast to warmed milk, aim for between 105˚F and 110˚F. A probe thermometer is a great kitchen utensil to have. It’s also a good time to make sure that you don’t have expired yeast in your pantry. Letting the dough rise Proofing is the process of letting dough rest and rise before you shape it and bake it, and like a lot of us, yeast does its best work at about 80˚F. That’s warmer than most homes, so take some of Shannon’s tips into consideration. Turn on your oven light and place the bowl inside the (otherwise OFF) oven—the ambient heat from the lamp plus the oven’s insulation will get your dough up to temperature. If it’s laundry day, place your bowl on top of the dryer to get it the just-right temperature. If you’ve been running the dishwasher, you can place the bowl on the counter above while it’s heat-drying the dishes. Filling, shaping, and cutting the rolls When making the filling, some recipes call for melted butter, but Shannon uses softened. “Melted butter is messier and the filling oozes out too easily. Spreading softened butter on the dough can help avoid loss of that precious cinnamon sugar filling,” she says. Trust us: don’t roll the dough too tight. Tight rolls will pop out in the center and release steam that helps make the rolls so chewy and delicious. Dental floss (unflavored!) is a great tool for slicing your dough up into rolls. If you’re going to use a knife, be mindful that it may squish the dough and filling and try to use a serrated knife. Clean the knife between each cut to minimize squish! Baking the rolls Timing wise, you’ve got some options here. Make WAY ahead: Place your cut rolls on a baking sheet and freeze them, then bag them up and store in the freezer until you’re ready to use one or all. Make the night before: Slice and arrange the rolls in your pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, take the rolls out of the fridge while you’re preheating the oven and bake as directed. Make ‘em now: If you’re popping these directly in the oven today, let them rise for 30 minutes as directed in the recipe and then watch them do their thing! Extremely delicious extras You’ve probably seen this one online and it’s a winning trick: pour ½ cup of heavy whipping cream over the rolls right before they go in the oven. This makes a more gooey, soft roll that is simply amazing. Do a double layer of icing! Shannon likes to apply a very thin layer of icing while the rolls are still warm. The icing melts and seeps down into the rolls. She then lets them cool for about 8 to 10 minutes before icing completely. Bake on! Stock up on treats with some of our favorite yeasted or sweet dough recipes! Classic Cinnamon Raisin Bread Fill your kitchen with inviting and yummy smells when you make this cinnamon raisin bread. Triple Spice Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting These rich and buttery cinnamon rolls are made perfect in a cast iron casserole dish. Griddled English Muffins Did you know traditional english muffins get their unique texture from being baked on a griddle? It's true, and it's simple to recreate at home. Honey Oat Loaf There’s nothing more comforting than the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven. Mimosa Cinnamon Rolls Make these and we guarantee you'll be the new favorite host for weekend brunch. Honey Butter Dinner Rolls These lightly sweet rolls are the perfect accompaniment to any traditional meal. Classic Cinnamon Rolls Nothing says Saturday morning better than a gooey classic cinnamon roll. Made in our 9 x 13 Casserole, you'll have enough for seconds. Contributed By: Lodge Cast Iron We hope you enjoy our stories and recipes! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and tag your Instagram food photos with #lodgecastiron for a chance to be featured on our feed!
