Orders placed during the holidays will be shipped from 31/01/2026
Orders placed during the holidays will be shipped from 31/01/2026
For the pre-dough
For the dough
For the filling
For the icing:
Make the pre-dough by heating the milk and water until it comes to the boil, pour in the flour, and work it in with a wooden spoon until it becomes sticky. Set aside and allow to cool.
Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in the warm (not hot!) milk.
In the bowl of your planetary mixer – or in a large bowl if you are kneading by hand – put all the ingredients except the butter and salt, which you will combine in a separate bowl. Knead all the ingredients with the dough hook or with your hands; when a solid mass is formed, continue working, adding a little butter and salt in several stages and wait until the dough has incorporated the previous quantity before adding the next.
When you have a smooth and uniform mass, put it in the fridge to rest for at least half an hour, covered with cling film.
Take the dough out of the fridge and, with the help of a rolling pin and a little flour, roll it out into a rectangle measuring about 40x30cm.
Brush the melted butter provided for the filling onto the surface of the dough, mix the cinnamon with the sugar and sprinkle it over the butter, massaging lightly to distribute it as well as possible.
Roll up the rectangle from the long side into a tight sausage, and cut the ends off. Use a sharp knife to cut it into rolls about 4 cm thick.
Grease a frying pan with the remaining melted butter, and place nine rounds with the cut side up, one in the middle and eight along the edge. Cover with cling film and leave to rise until doubled in a sheltered, draught-free place, for example, a closed oven with the light switched off – depending on the temperature this will take about 60-90 minutes.
Remove the cling film from the pan and in the meantime heat the oven to 175°C. Place the pan on the medium-low shelf of the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, then lift the shelf and bake for a further 15-20 minutes, covering the surface of the cinnamon rolls with aluminium foil. Remove the foil, allow the surface to brown and remove from the oven.
Let cool on a wire rack or even cool completely, depending on how you would like to serve them.
In the meantime, prepare the icing by mixing the icing sugar with the lemon juice and a few drops of water at a time, working with a hand whisk or teaspoon until smooth but not too soft. Drizzle over the top and serve.
Tips:
If you have leftover rolls that you don’t put in the pan – including the ends that need to be cut off, put them in single-portion aluminium or muffin moulds and bake them as single portions!
*To improve the digestibility of the dough, drastically reduce the amount of yeast to 4-5 g. Prepare the recipe in the late afternoon/evening and follow the entire process until the rolls are formed and placed in the pan. Leave overnight in the fridge and take out the next morning; let rise until doubled and bake as per recipe.
** The amount of cinnamon is to be dosed according to your taste: if you like a delicate hint of cinnamon, put only one teaspoon, two for a more distinct and present flavour and three only if you like massive doses as the American style suggests!
Some encounters change your life, and that with patisserie changed mine.
Born and raised in Florence, after devoting her years of study to very different paths in the fields of psychology and sport, she came across ovens and cookers by chance and discovered her true passion: patisserie!
After initial self-taught training, she attended basic courses in some Florentine schools and then graduated from the Italian Academy of Chefs in Bologna, in the patisserie sector.
She deeply loves books, cats, and carbohydrates.
“Il Dolce Di Alice” is the name of my blog and my social profiles where I advertise my activity as a home patisserie chef and as a first-level trainer that I carry out in Florence.
