Cinnamon rolls were one of the first homemade breads I remember making in college. In fact, I made some during winter break one year and snapped a photo. This will age me, but back then, food blogging was a relatively new concept and there weren’t as many ways to discover new food bloggers since social media was in its infancy. Food P*rn was like a proto-Instagram for food bloggers in a lot of ways, but instead of people posting their own photos on their own pages, you had to submit photos to get selected and featured.
I submitted that photo of my cinnamon rolls on a whim and was shocked when I was picked to be on the front page of Food P*rn. Back then, I had a food blog but I rarely used it and it was only really for friends and family. I probably should’ve taken it more seriously but I was busy studying. Regardless, this moment clearly made an impression on me — I remember for the first time having a fleeting feeling that my food was good! And good enough to be featured on a website!
This is all to say a couple of things: (1) you really never know where life will take you — I ended up spending about a decade after that moment pursuing a very different career based on what I studied, but look at me now! lol! and (2) I have a really big soft spot for cinnamon rolls.
This, however, is not actually a recipe for cinnamon rolls, as you may have gathered. While the “classic” version of these rolls is really unbeatable, soft, fluffy milk bread swirled up with any number of sweet toppings is surely a close second.
These sticky buns — or sweet rolls or whatever you want to call them — feature my current hyper-fixation ingredient, mung beans, pureed with coconut milk and brown sugar until velvety smooth. They’re rolled up and topped with a sticky syrup and dusted with more coconut. And, unlike cinnamon which casts its dark hue on the filling, mung bean paste provides the perfect canvas for your favorite color, if you’re into that kind of thing. I chose to go with butterfly pea powder this time around for a beautiful blue swirl, but you can really pick whatever you’d like, or you can omit color entirely for a nice understated look.
Tips for a Great Milk Bread Dough
It’s hard to go wrong with fluffy, lightly sweet milk bread, but I do have a few tips for making it even better (and easier):
- Milk bread requires tangzhong — a cooked roux of flour, water, and milk, which keeps the dough extra moist and fluffy (even on the second and third day after baking)
- I like to microwave my tangzhong roux so I don’t have to wash an extra pot. It ends up exactly the same, just make sure to microwave on bursts so you don’t accidentally burn the dough.
- Most recipes will have you cool the tangzhong after making it but I find this takes too long. If you’re impatient like me, you can pour cold milk (which would normally need to be lukewarm) directly into your hot tangzhong to cool down the roux while warming up the milk. The result is a wet tangzhong that should be just a little warm. Once you add your cold egg yolk, it should be just about the perfect temperature.
- Some people might think this is “harder” since it takes a little more foresight, but if you’re like me you don’t mind setting up little things the night before baking to make your life easier the next day. Bread recipes typically call for melted butter that’s been cooled, but once again, I’m impatient (sensing a theme yet?) so I prefer to just leave my butter out overnight to let it soften. Softened butter can be added to bread dough without melting it so you’ll be good to go.
- If you’re using a bread machine like me — be cautious about your dough cycle. I’ve run into issues if I’m not paying attention because the final step of the dough cycle is annoyingly a “mixing” step (rather than just ending on a rise) which means when I go to roll the dough out it’s already been worked and so it’s resistant to rolling out nicely. If this happens you’ll need to let the dough rest for about 15-20 minutes so that the gluten structure relaxes a bit.
Shaping
I had a little bit of self-induced trouble when making this recipe for the first time, mostly because, as usual, I was being impatient. These rolls benefit from chilling the filling so it’s a bit firmer, as well as chilling the dough, if you have the time. If not, you can absolutely bake these straight away but your buns and swirls might be a little more rustic. I was pretty upset while I was making this first batch, but after they baked I honestly kind of liked how they came out. But if you do want a really neat swirl you’ll want to chill these. To each their own!
For make-ahead cinnamon roll recipes, most will have you slice your rolls right after rolling the dough, and then refrigerate overnight in the pan you’re going to bake in. But there’s a better way! Here’s my trick for how to get perfect overnight cinnamon (or mung bean, or jam, or whatever) rolls — no dental floss needed:
- Complete all recipe steps up to and including the rolling stage.
- Tightly wrap the rolled up dough log in plastic wrap (like a giant piece of candy) and transfer it to a small baking sheet or plate, then move it to the fridge.
- Chill overnight.
- The next morning, preheat your oven as soon as you wake up. Take the dough log out of the oven and slice it with a sharp bread knife using long even strokes — your slices should come out very sharp/clean. Arrange these in your baking dish, cover with a clean towel, and let rest for about 30-45 minutes (shorter if it’s hot in your kitchen, longer if it’s cold). Then bake according to your recipe! Et voila.
Mung Bean Sticky Buns
Equipment
- 1 food processor
- 1 stand mixer or bread machine
Ingredients
For the Tangzhong Dough
- 21 g water
- 21 g whole milk
- 7 g bread flour
For the Dough
- Tangzhong mixture still hot
- 80 g whole milk straight from the fridge
- 2 Tbsp butter melted and cooled
- 1 egg yolk
- 185 g bread flour
- 1/2 tsp Diamond brand kosher salt
- 1.5 tsp instant yeast
- 32 g granulated sugar
- 7 g dry milk powder
For the Filling
- 100 g dried mung beans split and peeled
- 85 g coconut milk full fat
- 55 g brown sugar
- 35 g coconut oil unrefined
- 1/2 tsp Diamond brand kosher salt 1/2 the amount if using table salt
- 1/4 shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup heavy cream optional, for baking
For the Syrup
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Make the Filling
- The night before you want your rolls: soak 100 g dried mung beans in an ample amount of cool water. Mung beans expand up to twice their size when soaked, so make sure they’re covered in enough water.
- The next day: rinse the mung beans until the water runs clear and then drain them with a sieve. Line a steamer basket with parchment (it helps if you wet and crumple the parchment sheet) and spread out the soaked mung beans evenly in the lined basket.
- Steam mung beans for 30 minutes on medium-low heat, until the beans are very soft — you should be able to very easily smoosh a bean between two fingers.
- Let the beans cool, then add them to a food processor. Add in 85 g coconut milk, 55 g brown sugar, 35 g coconut oil, and 1/2 tsp Diamond brand kosher salt and process until very smooth. Move to the fridge to chill until ready to use.
Make the Tangzhong
- Whisk 21 g water, 21 g whole milk, and 7 g bread flour together in a small microwave proof cup or bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, then whisk. The mixture should be thick like a pudding. If it’s still a bit liquid around the edges, return to the microwave and continue heating, then whisking, at 15 second intervals until you reach the correct texture.
Make the Dough
- Add the hot Tangzhong mixture to a large bowl or to the bread machine container and immediately pour in the 80 g whole milk. Stir the two together a bit to bring the overall temperature to warm — these two should balance each other out. No need to mix completely. Test the temperature with a *clean* finger. If it’s hot or very warm, let it cool down a bit. Otherwise proceed.
- Add the 1 egg yolk and cooled melted 2 Tbsp butter.
- Add the 185 g bread flour on top of the wet ingredients, then add the 7 g dry milk powder, 32 g granulated sugar, 1.5 tsp instant yeast, and 1/2 tsp Diamond brand kosher salt.
If Using a Bread Machine
- Set bread machine to “dough” setting.
- At the end of the cycle, punch the dough down and proceed to shaping.*
If Using a Stand Mixer
- Set stand mixer to medium-low speed with the dough hook attachment and mix for 5 minutes. Turn the machine off and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Return machine to medium-low and mix for another 15 minutes.
- Scoop dough out of the bowl and shape into a rough ball, then place in a lightly greased bowl (you can use the stand mixer bowl if you’re able to maneuver — otherwise use a fresh bowl), cover, and let rise for 90 minutes.
- Punch dough down and proceed to shaping.
Shaping and Baking
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line a 9”x9” baking dish with parchment. Pour 1/4 cup heavy cream into the bottom of the dish (optional).
- Lightly flour your work surface, then dump the dough out. Dust the dough with a little bit of flour, then roll into a rectangle about 12” x 8” (the dimensions don’t need to be exact). With the long side of the rectangle facing you, carefully spread the mung bean filling evenly across the dough, leaving a strip of dough about 1/2” wide at either end. Sprinkle with 1/4 shredded unsweetened coconut flakes, if using.
- Starting from the edge closest to you, carefully roll up the dough into a log, pinching it shut at the seam.
- Cut 9 even slices with a sharp bread knife or you can use the dental floss method. Arrange slices cut side facing up in the baking dish. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise for about 30 minutes, or until the rolls are puffy.
- ALTERNATIVELY if you'd like to make these ahead of time, roll the dough log and wrap it tightly in plastic before the cutting step. Move it to the fridge on a small baking sheet and let chill overnight. The next morning, slice the log into even pieces with a sharp bread knife and arrange in your baking dish. Cover with a clean towel and let rest for 30-45 minutes.
- Bake until the rolls are set and a medium golden brown on top — 35-40 minutes (this time may be a bit shorter if you omit the heavy cream so keep an eye on them!).
- While the rolls are baking, make the syrup. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup water, along with a Pinch of salt to a microwave proof bowl and microwave on 30 second bursts until the sugar is dissolved (a little bit of sugar at the bottom is okay). Handle this syrup with caution as it will be very hot!
- Brush the tops of the rolls with the sugar syrup while still hot. Sprinkle with additional coconut, if desired.
- These taste best the day they’re baked but should last about 3 days tightly wrapped at room temperature, or a little longer if refrigerated.