Gooey vs. Fluffy - A Cinnamon Roll Throwdown?

Gooey

vs
Fluffy

This is the family buttermilk cinnamon roll recipe passed down by my grandmother. It is a good example of dough's versatility. What you choose to fill it with will determine how they come out. My mother and I load it down with extra butter and Dark Brown sugar. The added weight of the butter & sugar produces a much heavier and gooey ‘sticky roll’. My grandmother, on the other hand, uses less butter and light brown sugar. This puts less strain on the dough allowing for a much higher rise, thus producing a lighter and fluffier cinnamon “roll”. Which is made even more incredible when she frosts them. Neither my mother nor myself use any frosting since our finished product is covered in carmel-y goodness already.

1 TB Active Dry Yeast
2 TB warm water (110F /44C)
2 cups Buttermilk
3 TB Butter
2 tsp Salt
3 TB Sugar
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
4 cups AP Flour
up to another cup Flour for kneading and rolling

Gooey Filling:
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter (Room Temp)
1 box Dark brown sugar
2 TB Ground Cinnamon

Fluffy Filling:
1/4 cup Unsalted Butter (Room Temp)
8 oz Light Brown Sugar
1 1/2 TB Ground Cinnamon

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and set aside.

Scald the buttermilk, then add butter, salt, and sugar, stirring to combine and set aside to cool.

After buttermilk is cool add yeast and baking soda to buttermilk.

Then pour into bowl and let sit for 5 minutes to check for bubbles (this will ensure your yeast is alive)

Mix in flour

Mix until it begins to hold its shape

Then turn out onto a floured board and begin to knead for 10 minutes (it's gonna be REALLY sticky)

or until dough is smooth and elastic then let rest for 20 minutes.

Divide dough in 2 equal portions;

Roll out half of the dough on a floured board to about an 8 x 10 rectangle.

Choose how to fill your rolls....

Gooey Filling:
Smear with 1/4 cup (4 TB) butter then spread 8 oz of Light Brown sugar over the buttered dough, sprinkling with cinnamon.

Rollup

& slice into 8 slices.

Smear little bit of butter in bottom of a 9 inch round pan and place slices in pan.
Press down a little then cover.

Repeat with other half of the dough.
Let rolls rise for 1 hour.
Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from oven, cover with a plate

And flip them over immediately or they won’t come out of the pan. (Even if it's non-stick)



Fluffy Filling:
Smear with 2 TB Butter, spread 4 oz of Light Brown sugar over the buttered dough then sprinkle with cinnamon.

Roll up & slice into 8 slices.
Smear little bit of butter in bottom of a 9 inch square pan and place slices in pan.
Press down a little then cover. (please notice how much room there is in the pan)

Repeat with other half of the dough.
Let rolls rise for 1 hour. (although I goofed and this is at 40 minutes)

Bake at 325 for 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on wire rack.
Simply drizzle glaze over the top while warm or with Cream Cheese frosting when cooled.

Spending SO many years making them gooey made it a little more challenging for me to make them fluffy... In this case, I actually goofed and only let them rise about 40 minutes instead of the full hour.. oops... But they are still much fluffier than the gooey version.

(Personally, I still like the gooey the best)

Mangia!!!