Giant Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Ooey, gooey, warm, and fresh-from-the-oven cinnamon rolls taste simply amazing. Slathered with rich, creamy icing and sprinkled with ground cinnamon, this recipe from chef and recipe developer Mark Beahm is sure to please. But you won't be whipping up just a simple batch of homemade cinnamon rolls. You'll be baking the grand daddy of them all: a giant cinnamon roll measuring 10 inches in diameter and weighing approximately 2 pounds.

"It's definitely feels substantial," Beahm says. "I served it by slicing it like a cake or pie. You can get 10 to 12 big slices out of it, so it's really good for sharing at brunch or a nice Sunday breakfast."

Not only is this giant homemade cinnamon roll delicious, you'll want to gobble it all up yourself and not share. "It's incredible," adds Beahm. "The middle stays really soft. The filling has so much cinnamon in it, it's almost — but not quite — overwhelming. And the layers never end."

You might not have all the specific ingredients on hand to create this incredible giant cinnamon roll, but they can all be snatched up at the grocery store. Grab a bag of bread flour, granulated sugar, instant yeast, salt, whole milk, unsalted butter, eggs, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, cream cheese, unsalted butter, icing sugar, and vanilla extract. Beahm explains that there is a difference between all-purpose flour and the bread flour his recipe calls for.

"Bread flour has a higher gluten content than all-purpose flour. Bread flour makes cinnamon rolls softer and fluffier. You could use all-purpose flour in a pinch, but for the best texture, use bread flour," he says. 

Even though you'll need to soften your cream cheese, you should use the full-fat cream cheese that comes in a brick for the frosting, not a plastic tub, he adds. "The cream cheese in a tub is formulated to spread easier and won't work as well for frosting."

Don't be intimated by the 2 hours and 30 minutes it takes to create this giant homemade cinnamon roll. It will be worth every single second you spend in the kitchen crafting this beauty. 

Take out a large mixing bowl and whisk together 5 cups of bread flour, ½ cup of granulated sugar, 3 teaspoons of instant yeast, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Pour in 1 cup of whole milk heated to 105 to 115 F, ½ cup of the melted butter, and 2 large eggs. Stir the combination of ingredients with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together.

When working with yeast, temperature becomes an important variable in the recipe, Beahm points out.

"The milk should be heated to properly activate the yeast. If the milk is too hot, you risk killing the yeast. If the milk is too cold, the yeast won't activate properly and the dough might not rise," he says.

You can heat the milk over low heat on top of the stove or in the microwave. "If you have a cooking thermometer, you can use that to check that the milk is warmed to 105 to 115 F. If you don't have a thermometer, the milk should be warm to the touch, but not hot," he explains.

Lightly dust your work surface with flour and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, approximately five minutes. The dough will be tacky, Beahm describes, but shouldn't stick to the counter or your hands.

"I prefer to use a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment for kneading; it's a break for my arms and wrists. If you don't have a stand mixer, it's perfectly fine to knead by hand," he explains. "When kneading by hand, I fold the dough over itself and push down with the heel of my hand. Then turn and keep folding and pressing until the dough is smooth and elastic."

Then place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic, and let the dough rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Take the dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface then use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to a 15x18-inch rectangle. Pour the remaining 6 tablespoons of melted butter over the dough and use a pastry brush to spread it evenly across the dough. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of dark brown sugar and 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon. Sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the dough, spreading the filling right to the edges.

Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to slice the dough the long way into five long strips, each an estimated 3 inches wide. Roll the first strip up then lay it on top of the next strip to continue the roll. Continue coiling the strips to make one giant cinnamon roll.

Place the unbaked cinnamon roll into a parchment-lined 10-inch springform cake pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in size, which will take approximately 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 F. Remove the plastic and bake for 45 to 55 minutes until golden brown. Let the homemade giant cinnamon roll cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan and frosting it.

While the cinnamon roll cools, whip up the homemade cream cheese frosting: In a medium mixing bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of softened butter, 4 ounces of cream cheese, 1 cup of icing sugar, ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, and the remaining ⅛ teaspoon of salt with a whisk or rubber spatula until smooth. Spread over the cinnamon roll and serve, preferably while it's warm and amazing.

"I made this like four times in one week! I bake a lot and share leftovers with my family and friends. They were all negotiating over this one. I'll be making it again and again," Beahm confesses.