Cinnamon rolls are supposed to be fluffy and soft. If yours are something dry and tough, there is something you did wrong. The best rolls are glazed with a creamy frost. They are also tender and soft when you tear them. It is important to know how to make the best cinnamon rolls to ensure they will be soft. The first thing you need is to use the best cinnamon roll recipes. Remember, making the best cinnamon rolls requires effort, time, and good recipe mastery. Therefore, if your cinnamon rolls are not soft, here are six mistakes you could have made.
- Using the Wrong Yeast
You must activate your yeast at the first stage when making your cinnamon rolls. Therefore, activate it using milk. Mix the ingredients, including the yeast, then add water or milk. If you want the fluffiest cinnamon rolls, ensure your yeast is fast-activating and high quality. Make sure your yeast is also fresh by checking the expiry date. Make sure you activate it using warm water or milk. Too hot liquids kill the yeast, and too cold ones don’t activate it.
- Over-kneading Your Dough
Another culprit of hard cinnamon rolls is over-kneading the dough. Kneading the dough is necessary but overdoing it will ruin the texture. You don’t want the rolls to feel like bread. Therefore, don’t knead like you are making bread dough. Over-kneading leads to more gluten that creates a thick texture not ideal for cinnamon rolls.
- Not Using Bread Flour
Another reason your rolls are not soft is that you did not use bread flour. It is best to use bread flour rather than the all-purpose one. This is because bread flour has a lot of proteins that help produce more gluten. This gluten is responsible for the stretchy property of the dough.
- Not Oiling Your Rising Bowl
It would be best if you gave your dough time to rise, which means keeping it in a bowl and a warm place. One mistake that people forget is to oil the rising bowl. Oiling the bowl, so the dough does not stick when rising or forming a dry crust at the top is crucial.
- Using Too Much Flour
Another reason your cinnamon rolls are tough and dry is that you use too much flour. You can add when it is sticky but don’t add too much. The dough should be sticky and not gluey. Therefore, measure your flour carefully to avoid using too much. Even if it feels sticky, let it bake that way. The results will be pleasing afterward.
- Using Very High Temperature
After all the effort of making the best dough and getting the rolls ready for baking, watch out for the temperature. Your cinnamon rolls will be dry if you bake using high temperatures. The ideal temperature for baking cinnamon rolls should be 180°C. If you add the temperature to speed up the process, you will only have burned rolls. So, keep it at the right temperature and bake for around 35 minutes.
Bottom Line
Cinnamon rolls should be fluffy and pillowy. However, if you make any of the mistakes discussed above, you will only get hard, crusty, and tough rolls that are not pleasing to eat.
