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After a short prove at room temperature, I like to chill the dough in the fridge for a couple of hours. Cold dough is a dream to work with and will make filling, rolling and slicing so much easier and less messy. You can keep the dough in the fridge overnight but I find it gets a little more yeasty/fermenty than I’d like for these.

RECIPE

makes 9

For the dough:

For the filling:

For the syrup:

METHOD

To make the tangzhong:

1. Add the flour, milk and water to a small saucepan and mix to combine. Set the pan over medium heat and cook the mixture, whisking constantly until it thickens to a gel like consistency. Remove from the heat, place it in a bowl and cover so it doesn’t form a skin. Let it cool to room temperature before using.

   To make the dough:

2. Add the tangzhong, flour, milk powder, sugar, salt and yeast to a bowl (adding the salt and yeast to opposite sides). Give it a quick mix to loosely combine and make a well in the centre, pouring in the milk, egg and softened butter

3. Knead the dough on low speed for 15-20 minutes until you have a smooth, supple dough. Line a baking tray with clingfilm and place the dough on top. Cover loosely with another piece of clingfilm and let the dough prove in a warm place for an hour until it looks a little puffier. We’re not looking for it to double in size so don’t worry if it doesn’t get much bigger.

4. Place the covered dough in the fridge for 2-3 hours until it’s chilled. (Or you can leave it overnight).

5. To make the filling, add the butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt to a bowl and beat by hand until its smooth and well combined. Set aside

   To assemble:

6. Lightly grease a baking tray approx 30cm x 20cm and line with a sheet of greaseproof paper. Set aside.

7. Take the chilled dough out of the fridge and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to a large rectangle approximately 38cm x 33cm.

8. Spread the cinnamon butter filling evenly across the dough.

9. Starting from the long edge, tightly roll up the dough, finishing with the seam underneath. Trim the ends off of the log

10. Cut the log into 9 pieces. I like to use dental floss for this to get a super clean cut without squishing the dough. Take a piece of floss and shimmy it underneath the dough. Bring both sides up, cross them over and pull.

11. Arrange the cut pieces in the baking tray, leaving room between them.

12. Cover with cling film and leave it in a warm place to prove until puffy and they start to touch. Because the dough is still cold, this can take anywhere from 1-3 hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is.

13. Preheat the oven to 180c fan/200c.

14. Bake the rolls for 16-20 minutes until well browned, turning the tray around halfway if they’re not browning evenly.

15. Whilst they bake, prepare the syrup. Add everything to a small pan and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for a minute before removing from the heat.

16. Once the rolls come out of the oven, brush them straight away with syrup and then let them cool completely.

    To make the frosting:

17. Add the butter, vanilla, icing sugar and salt to a bowl and beat for about a minute until smooth.

18. Add in the cream cheese and beat briefly until it’s just combined.

19. Spoon or pipe the frosting onto each cooled roll.

20. The rolls are best served on the day they’re made.