These brioche cinnamon rolls are the perfect breakfast or brunch treat. They are made with a rich buttery yeast dough and totally worth it.
Working with yeast has never been one of my favorite things. Recently I've noticed that I'm not alone either. I've been reading other blogs and there is a group out there that would rather avoid using it.
Makes sense. Yeast is a tricky ingredient and you need a very specific environment for it to work well. Their activity and therefore the texture and flavor of the product is affected by temperature, food, water, and time.
After making this stollen and this meringue coffee cake, I think I became more comfortable with it. As long as I can get it to rise, I'm usually pretty happy with the outcome.
I also learned a trick that helps yeast rise during the dry winter: Place a pan of boiling water in a turned off oven and you have an instant proof box!
Anyways...on with the brioche cinnamon rolls. Last week, I made a loaf of brioche for my brother in law's birthday. Brioche is a highly enriched french bread with a high content of eggs and butter. It's a great dough for making french toast or cinnamon rolls.
I had not made brioche dough since culinary school. The stand mixer almost broke but the dough came out wonderful. The recipe made way more then I needed so I decided to use the left over dough for the cinnamon rolls.
Recipe Update
I corrected the recipe below to make the correct amount of brioche dough for 15 rolls. You will not end up with extra brioche dough the way I did.

Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
These brioche cinnamon rolls are the perfect breakfast or brunch treat. They are made with a rich buttery yeast dough and totally worth it.
This recipe was updated March 2019. It formerly made extra Brioche dough than was needed for the cinnamon rolls.
Ingredients
- 1 batch brioche dough, recipe below
- 2 Tbs cinnamon
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 Tbs butter, softened
- ¼ cup cream cheese
- 3 Tbs milk
- 1 ½ cup confectioners sugar
For the brioche dough
- 25 mL water
- 3 eggs
- 15 g fresh yeast
- 1 ⅜ cup bread flour
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup plus 2 Tbs cold butter
Instructions
- Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll out the brioche dough on a floured surface (preferably a cool surface) into a 15 by 11 inch rectangle to ¼ inch thickness.
- Spread the butter over the dough leaving a ½ inch border. Spread the cinnamon sugar evenly over the butter. Roll the dough lengthwise. With the seam side down, cut the dough at 1 inch intervals. (I used dental floss to get nice clean cuts)
- Place the rolls on a baking sheet. Try to tuck the roll tails under each roll. Cover them with plastic and a kitchen towel. Let them rise until doubled. Bake at 350°F until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from baking sheet to cool.
- Combine the cream cheese, milk and sugar in an electric mixer and whisk until smooth. Drizzle or pipe over the rolls.
For the brioche dough
- Temper your butter by wrapping it in plastic and patting it down with a rolling pin. You want it soft and cold but not melted. Store it in the refrigerator while you prepare the rest.
- Add the water, eggs, flour, and yeast together in an electric mixer. Mix on a low speed for 1-2 minutes and then and the sugar and mix for another minute. Add the salt and mix for another two minutes. Increase the speed and mix until the dough becomes stretchy.
- Gradually add in the cold tempered butter. Work the dough until it is smooth and satiny. Be sure to scrape the dough off the sides and paddle during mixing.
- Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and let it rise for 1 hour. Punch it down into a ball, wrap in plastic tightly and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least four hours. You may want to double wrap it and put it in a bowl in case it expands out of the plastic.
Notes
I have also rolled the cinnamon rolls and left them ready to bake in the refrigerator overnight. I let them sit on the counter while the oven preheated in the morning and then baked them off! Great time saver!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 15 Serving Size: 1 rollAmount Per Serving: Calories: 269Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 292mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 4g
This nutrition information is only an approximate provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. Information comes from Nutritionix, an automated nutrition calculator.
Paula says
These turned out beautifully!
nisha says
oh my i just stumbled upon your blog through foodgawker and its just gorgeous...i love all the pics..have already bookmarked some recipes :)
Anita Menon says
These rolls look divine. I agree with you on the yeast battle. I constantly have had to fight them. I am still not comfortable. Wonder if you could share the tip about putting the pan of boiling water in a turned off oven, in detail.
The photograhs are stunning too.
Dessarts says
Anita, thanks for compliments. For the proof box: My oven has a "bread proof" botton which essentially runs the oven at 100F. The instructions are to pour about 2 cups of boiling water into a broiler pan which sits on the lowest rack of your oven while your dough sits on one of the upper racks. I don't always trust the temperature (afraid it might get too high) so I run it for a little while and just turn it off after I put my dough inside. It's still warm and humid. So, anyone can do this even if you don't have a "proof" button.
Beth says
Your rolls are just gorgeous. They're enough to get me using yeast again!
Sasha says
These are amazing. I can't wait to try it out
elisabeth@foodandthriftfinds says
Congratulations on the Top 9 with your gorgeous cinnamon rolls. This is the best recipe that I found so far, and the rolls are so perfect and over the top yummy. Also, the drizzle is beautiful, as well. Now I know I want to try this, for sure.
Thanks for sharing:DDD
Wit,wok&wisdom says
Hello Urvashee,
It was lovely knowing you and meeting you over your splendid Brioche Cinnamon rolls!They are so well made and look absolutely gorgeous.And yes,you have a lovely space too...loved being here.
I am running an event at my place that centers round bread - I'd love it if you'd take a peek sometime and link up any of your amazing recipes if you wish too:) I'm your newest follower btw to keep catching up on your lovely creations!
Cheers,
Wit,wok&wisdom
Liz says
Fabulous cinnamon rolls...love that they're made with brioche dough.
Tammy says
I have not only fallen in love with your cinnamon rolls but also your site! Lovely photos and recipe...I will bookmark this and try it soon...I've been longing for a good Cinnamon Roll Recipe! Thank you!
xx,
Tammy
Sasha says
These look amazing and I cant wait to try this recipe as soon as Passover is over, though i will probably use dry active yeast rather than fresh yeast as I have more success with it.
Asma says
Love your recipe, wish you illustrated the steps using pics. I was wondering how different is your method to others who use the sponge then adding the other ingredients.
how different are those methods and will they have different results.
many thanks
Petra says
I tried making the dough yesterday but I found that it was really sticky once the butter went in. I put the butter in the fridge after I had tempered it with a rolling pin. I didn't notice that the brioche dough rose very much at all.
Is it normal for the dough to be very sticky?
courtney says
Nioce, It TASTE so goooood....