Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
Let your bread machine knead and proof a soft enriched dough on the dough cycle, then shape and bake bakery-style cinnamon rolls in the oven.
- Total time
- 2 hr 50 min
- Bake
- 25 min
- Yield
- 12 rolls
- Level
- easy
The quick answer
Add the wet ingredients, then dry, then yeast to the pan and run the dough cycle (about 1.5 hours). Once it finishes the first rise, roll out, fill, cut, proof 30 minutes, and bake at 350°F. The machine handles kneading and rising; the oven gives you the golden top.
The bread machine does the fussy part for you. On the dough cycle it kneads the enriched dough to a smooth, elastic ball and runs the first rise in its own warm chamber, so you get consistent gluten development and a reliable proof without watching a mixer or babysitting a bowl. When the cycle beeps you simply roll, fill, cut, and bake — all the hands-on payoff of homemade rolls with almost none of the guesswork. It's the most forgiving route to a tender, pull-apart crumb.
Ingredients
Dough (for the bread machine)
- 1 cupwarm whole milk (about 110°F) — warm, not hot
- 1 egglarge egg — room temperature
- ¼ cupunsalted butter, softened — cut into pieces
- ¼ cupgranulated sugar
- 3¾ cupsbread flour — or all-purpose flour
- 1 tspfine salt
- 2¼ tspinstant (bread machine) yeast — one packet
Filling
- ½ cupunsalted butter, very soft
- 1 cuppacked brown sugar
- 2 tbspground cinnamon
- ¼ tspfine salt
Cream cheese frosting
- 4 ozcream cheese, softened
- ¼ cupunsalted butter, softened
- 1 cuppowdered sugar
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Add ingredients to the bread machine pan in the order your manual recommends — usually liquids first (milk, egg, butter), then sugar and flour, with the salt and yeast added last and kept apart until mixing begins.
Yeast sits on top of the flour, away from the salt and liquid.
Select the Dough cycle and press start. Let the machine knead and run the first rise.
Dough is smooth and roughly doubled when the cycle ends.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and gently deflate it. Roll into a 16x12-inch rectangle.
Spread with the soft filling butter, then sprinkle the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt evenly to the edges.
Roll up tightly from a long edge and cut into 12 even rolls (dental floss makes clean cuts). Arrange in a buttered 9x13 dish.
Cover and proof in a warm spot until puffy and touching.
Rolls look pillowy and have filled the pan.
Bake at 350°F until golden and set in the center.
Tops are golden; the center roll reads about 190°F.
Beat the frosting ingredients until smooth and spread over the rolls while they are warm but not hot.
Frosting glides on and partially melts into the swirls.
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- Run the dough cycle, then shape and cut the rolls, cover the pan tightly, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning let them sit at room temperature for 45–60 minutes to finish proofing, then bake.
- Storage
- Store covered at room temperature up to 2 days, or refrigerate up to 5 days.
- Reheating
- Microwave a single roll 15–20 seconds, or warm the covered pan at 300°F for about 10 minutes.
- Freezing
- Freeze baked, unfrosted rolls up to 2 months. Thaw, warm, then frost.
Substitutions
- All-purpose flour (rolls will be slightly less chewy) instead of bread flour
- Active dry yeast, added the same way for the dough cycle instead of instant (bread machine) yeast
Troubleshooting
- Dough didn't rise in the machine
- Check the yeast is fresh and that the milk was warm, not hot — liquid above about 120°F kills yeast. Keep salt from touching the yeast directly.
- Dough was dense or heavy
- Flours vary in absorption; if the dough ball looks dry and tight during kneading, add milk a tablespoon at a time until it's smooth and slightly tacky.
Tools I reach for
As an Amazon Associate, CinnamonRollsRecipe.com earns from qualifying purchases. Read our full affiliate disclosure.
- Stand Mixer with Dough HookKneads enriched dough hands-free until smooth and elastic.
- Digital Kitchen ScaleWeighing flour is the single biggest fix for dry or dense rolls.
- Rolling PinRolls the dough into an even rectangle for tidy spirals.
- 9x13 Baking DishThe classic pan for a soft-sided pull-apart batch of rolls.
- Saigon (Vietnamese) CinnamonThe boldest, sweetest cinnamon for a deep filling flavor.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I bake the rolls in the bread machine too?
- No — the dough cycle only kneads and proofs. Shape and bake the rolls in your oven for even browning and the classic pull-apart shape.
- What order do ingredients go in?
- Follow your machine's manual, but the usual rule is liquids first, dry ingredients next, and yeast last so it doesn't touch the salt or liquid before mixing.
- Can I use all-purpose flour?
- Yes. Bread flour gives a chewier, sturdier crumb, but all-purpose works well for softer rolls.
Nutrition (estimate): 1 roll (of 12) · ~410 kcal. Nutrition is an automated estimate and will vary with brands and exact quantities.
Food safety: don't taste dough containing raw flour or raw egg. Refrigerate anything with cream cheese frosting, and reheat leftovers until piping hot.
Frostings & glazes to pair
Helpful guides
- How to Proof Cinnamon Roll DoughHow to proof cinnamon roll dough perfectly — how to tell when it's ready, the best warm spots, overnight cold proofing, and over- vs under-proof signs.
- Why Are My Cinnamon Rolls Dry? (And How to Fix It)The real reasons cinnamon rolls turn out dry — over-baking, too much flour, and over-proofing — plus exactly how to fix each one.
- How to Store & Freeze Cinnamon RollsHow to keep cinnamon rolls fresh at room temperature, in the fridge, and in the freezer — including baked and unbaked rolls.
More cinnamon rolls to try
- Classic Homemade Cinnamon RollsSoft, fluffy, bakery-style cinnamon rolls from scratch with a gooey brown-sugar filling and cream cheese frosting.
- Overnight Cinnamon RollsAssemble the night before, refrigerate, and bake fresh in the morning — a slow cold proof for deeper flavor and effortless mornings.
- One-Hour Cinnamon RollsWarm, frosted cinnamon rolls from scratch in about an hour using extra yeast and a single warm rise — no overnight wait.