In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the milk sugar and yeast. Give a quick mix. And add milk powder, 420 gms of flour and salt. Mix using the dough hook attachment.
Then start kneading the dough on low speed until it comes together then gradually increase the speed to med-high and knead for about 6 mins. If you find that the dough is too sticky add more flour to adjust until it forms a solid mass of dough.
At this stage, you would have a dough that would be dry to touch and that is how it would be as we have not added the butter yet. So finally add the room-temperature butter in and knead for another 4 mins.
Initially, the butter would stick to the sides of the bowl and look messy, but that is ok keep kneading on med-high speed and it will come together eventually.
Step 2 - First Proofing
Once done, take the soft dough out of the bowl, grease the same bowl with some oil or you can use any large bowl instead, put the dough back and allow for first proofing.
Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and place a tea towel on top. Let the dough rise on the countertop itself for 1.5 hours until doubled in size. Alternatively proof the dough in the Instant Pot for 45 mins using the Yogurt Mode.
Step 3 - Make Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
While the dough is proving; in a small bowl mix together the cinnamon powder and brown sugar until homogenous and set aside.
Also, measure out the required butter and set it aside so that it softens by the time it is ready to be used.
Step 4 - Shaping
Once proofed, punch down the dough to remove the gases and take it out of the bowl to a floured countertop. Roll into 20x18 inches rectangle using a rolling pin.
Smear the softened butter all through the dough and sprinkle the prepared cinnamon-sugar mixture on top.
Roll from the longest side to form a tight cylindrical roll. Pinch the seams well.
Then trim the edges from both sides and cut them into 12 pieces of approx 4 inches each using a bench scraper or sharp serrated knife.
Grease a baking tray with some butter. I am using an 11x7-inch ceramic baking tray. Take one piece at a time and gently pat the edges to give it a circular shape and place it on the greased baking tray with the cut side down evenly apart.
Again cover with a tea towel and allow for second proofing until the individual circle rises and touches each other. It would take around 40 mins but do not go by the time rather look for the dough to stick to each other.
Step 5 - Baking
Once profed, bake the dough in the preheated oven of 190°C for 20-25 mins or until golden brown on top.
Step 6 - Make Icing
Using a hand-held mixer beat the softened butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence or vanilla extract until combined. Add the milk a little at a time and beat it till it looks light and fluffy.
While the rolls are still warm (note warm and not hot) smear the icing on top and serve warm.
These eggless cinnamon rolls recipe is as good as those made with eggs.. I promise!!
Video
Notes
As a general rule of thumb, always remember to grease the baking pan and also pre-heat the oven temperature as mentioned in the recipe card.
In terms of ingredients, too hot milk would kill the yeast. So use luke warm milk. Yeast should not be expired; check the date and viability before proceeding. Adding butter in a later stage helps to develop glutten. So follow these to make fluffy cinnamon rolls.
Make sure to use room-temperature butter to knead the dough. Melted butter would make the dough wet and sticky. Too cold won't mix into the dough properly. Either way, there are chances you would end up adding extra flour and this would cause your cinnamon rolls to go hard especially in this case since we are making egg-free cinnamon rolls here.
Learn to feel the dough in your hands. For this recipe, the dough should feel moist but not wet. It should not stick to your hands or else you will have difficulty shaping the dough later. You should have a supple, soft and smooth dough.
Adding too much flour while kneading would make your cinnamon rolls hard.
You can make use of dental floss for cutting the dough into perfect circles once shaped into a log. If doing it using a sharp knife or bench scraper like I have done then do remember to take some time out to give it a little circular shape before placing it on the greased baking tray.
Never use a smaller size tray or try to fit all the dough in one single baking tray; that way the dough won't have enough space to rise and it will bulge in the centre like a pyramid.
While second proofing instead of going by the time make the judgement based on the dough. The circles should proof and stick to each other and should also be soft to the touch as seen in the pics. Do not overproof as they might also cause bulging in the centre.
Choose a ceramic or an aluminium baking tray. Glass trays conduct more heat causing the rolls to brown a lot especially the ones on the sides.
Add the icing when the rolls are warm and not hot or else the butter will melt and ooze to the bottom of the tray rather than seeping into the rolls themselves.