Preheat oven on the lowest heat setting. Usually that is 170°F (77°C).
In a large heatproof bowl, melt together cold & cubed unsalted butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt & milk for 1 minute in the microwave. Stir the mixture & heat for another 30 seconds in the microwave. Keep stirring mixture until the butter completely melts & the sugar/salt dissolves into the butter. It should be warm to the touch or you can check temperature with a food thermometer. Butter should be between 105°F - 115°F or41°C - 46°C. Set bowl aside.
In your stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, add 3 cups of bread flour, pour in the warm sweet butter, add yeast, and mix everything at low speed until combined. Incorporate 1 egg at a time & scrape down the side of the bowl in between each addition. Switch to a dough hook, add remaining bread flour & knead dough for 10 to 15 minutes until it is no longer sticky to the touch.
Add 1 Tablespoon vegetable or canola oil to a large bowl. Shape your dough into a ball & roll it around in the bowl to coat it with oil. Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap & place a clean hand towel on top. Turn off the oven heat, place the bowl into the oven & set your timer to 1½ hours. Leave the oven door closed during rising time. No peeking!
To make the cinnamon rolls
Lightly puncture or punch down the dough with your hand to release air bubbles. & scrape it out of the bowl onto your counter dusted with flour. Sprinkle a little flour onto the dough & flatten dough with your rolling pin to a rectangular shape with 26-inch width x 20-inch length and a 1 cm thickness. Lightly dust your pin in between rolling to prevent the dough from sticking to it.
In a medium heat-proof bowl, melt cold butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. Mix brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and salt with the melted butter. Spread the cinnamon butter filling evenly onto dough & leave a 2-inch gap closest to you. This gap will be the seam once you roll the dough together.
Start at the top & carefully roll dough into an even-sized log towards the edge with the 2-inch gap. Divide the dough log in half with a knife to make it easier for you to cut it into individual rolls. Brush the outside of the rolled logs with melted, unsalted butter.
Lightly mark each dough log with a knife into even sections, then cut logs into 15 rolls using a clean, long sewing thread along each section you marked. Brush melted butter inside two 9x13-inch oven-safe baking dishes or pans. Flip rolls so that the filling is facing up & place them into the baking dish.
Place baking dishes back into your warmed oven (like you did for the first rise) and let cinnamon rolls rise for another 30 minutes. Rolls will double in volume and swell into each other. After the second rise is done, remove the baking pans out of the oven and preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). Bake one pan at a time on the middle oven rack for 25 to 35 minutes or until cinnamon rolls are golden brown.
In a medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, whole milk & vanilla sugar (or extract). Glaze each cinnamon roll with 2 to 3 Tablespoons of icing. Remember that cinnamon rolls need to cool for 15 minutes before you add the glaze. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
I struggle with making yeast dough. Do you have any tips?I have 6 tips on how to make foolproof yeast dough. You can read about it here or go to sweet2savoury.com/how-to/make-fool-proof-yeast-dough/How should I store cinnamon rolls?Cinnamon rolls should be wrapped individually with plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container. They will keep up to:
2 days at room temperature
7 days in the refrigerator
3 months in the freezer
What other types of glaze can I make?If you want added flavour, you can add a Tablespoon of coffee or espresso to the glaze. You can also make cream cheese frosting instead of a simple sugar glaze.Can I reduce the recipe?My recipe yields 15 rolls. You can reduce the recipe by half (except for yeast) if you want to make fewer rolls.