Freezing Cinnamon Rolls - Before or After Baking?

Question

I wil have a friend visiting from out of state in a few weeks, and I'd like to pre-make a pan of homemade cinnamon rolls for her to enjoy while she is here. Can I freeze them in their pre-baked state, or bake them first and then freeze them? I am guessing the former but would appreciate input either way. Which leads me to my next question -- if I freeze before baking, then should I let the pan sit out overnight to thaw/rise, or leave it in the fridge overnight, and sit out for awhile in the morning for the final rise? fwiw, I'll be making Alton Brown's recipe.

Answer

I lean towards making the dough and freezing it. Nothing beats a hot cinnamon roll out of the oven, even one that's been frozen and reheated. Bushwickgirl has you covered on how to do it.

Answer

If u bake them now u can taste one and make sure they taste good. Normally when i bake cinnamon rolls i freeze the once thats left over and then when I need them again i just put them in the oven for a few minutes and they taste/smell like new baked but freeze them with out frosting.

Answer

Update . . . I made the cinnamon rolls a couple weeks ago, did the first rise, then formed them, put them in the pan, triple-wrapped them (first plastic wrap, then a double wrap of heavy duty foil), and froze them. Took the pan out of the freezer last Thursday (the day before I planned to bake them), and took the pan out of the fridge last Friday morning, and let it sit for 30 minutes before baking.

This was an experiment that failed. The rolls barely rose before baking, and rose just a little more during baking, while the non-frozen batch rose nicely to meet the top of the pan. Also, the frozen batch had a texture after baking that was dense and not tender/fluffy as my first batch. So, I would not recommend the freezing-before-baking route. So disappointing when you make something for company and then they suck!

Answer

CI had a recipe in a recent special issue (they were all 'make ahead' recipes), and they recommend freezing after the second rise and baking from frozen, adding about 10 minutes of baking time. Also, ISTR they recommended covering the pan with foil for about the first 30 minutes or so to retain some moisture, then uncovering at the end for proper browning.

Answer

I realise your friend has been and gone but hopefully this will still be helpful to someone faced with a similar situation.

I would recommend par-baking them, freezing and then finishing off the baking when you want them. I do this with bagels a lot and it works really well.

To par-bake the rolls, bake them for about 80% of their required baking time (that is, until they are cooked through but before they have browned much). Then when you want them just take them out of the freezer and bake them until they are warmed through have taken on a nice colour.

Answer

One problem with bread products I found when making cinnamon buns was rising. I notice that that your amounts of fluid vs dry products is dependent on your location above sea level. I found the higher your up the less flour you add to most recipes. Also I changed from using a dry active yeast to using fresh yeast for better results.

Answer

I am making a ton of dough but things got canceled so now I have just finished 1st rise now comes the question ... can I put the huge ball of first rise dough directly in the freezer and take it out in a day or so and let defrost, roll out and put cinnamon sugar mixture in and let rise the rest of the way to make into cinnamon rolls? Will they still turn out? ahhhhhhh don't want all that dough to go to waste. Please help asap

Answer

My experience is the same as buckwickgirl. 

Re: recipe though, while Alton Brown is my favorite in most recipes, I didn't think they were chewy enough for my taste. I recently discovered that his dough recipe for the Parker House dinner roll recipe makes *amazing* cinnamon rolls.

And it's so buttery, you don't even need to use butter in in the rolling.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/parker-house-rolls-recipe.html

Answer

Prepare your cinnamon rolls as usual: Follow your cinnamon roll recipe all the way through to the baking step.
Par-bake the cinnamon rolls: Instead of baking the cinnamon rolls for the entire time, just bake them partway (par-baking) for 10 to 15 minutes. The rolls should be raised and set, but not totally browned. A few touches of brown here and there are fine. Check your rolls after 10 minutes — the rolls pictured here were ready after 10 minutes but ovens vary.
Cool completely: Remove from the oven and let the rolls cool completely in the pan.
Wrap and freeze: Wrap the pan in two layers of plastic wrap or place them into a large plastic bag and seal. Freeze for 8 hours or up to 6 weeks.
Thaw in the refrigerator: The night before you want to serve the rolls, take them out of the freezer and place them, still wrapped, in the refrigerator. They will thaw overnight.
Bake the rolls: The next morning, get up and preheat your oven to 350°F. Unwrap the cinnamon rolls and bake them until they are completely done and a light golden brown all over, 10 to 15 minutes.
Frost and serve the rolls: If you are frosting your rolls, prepare the frosting according to your recipe instructions. Frost and proudly serve your fresh, hot, homemade cinnamon rolls to your loved ones, who will likely be circling the kitchen in anticipation at this point!

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Parker House Rolls

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