Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Prepare a sponge with the scalded milk.
When lukewarm, add 2 cups flour and dissolved yeast. Beat thoroughly.
Cover and set to rise.
When light, add beaten eggs, butter, sugar, salt, and enough flour to knead. Knead until smooth and elastic.
Shape and fill
Roll out to ¼ inch thickness.
Spread with soft butter.
Sprinkle with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.
Roll like a jelly roll.
Cut into ½ inch thick slices.
Set slices close together, cut side down, in a buttered pan.
Brush between rolls with melted butter.
Cover and set to rise.
Bake and glaze
When light, bake for 30 minutes in a moderate oven (350°F/175°C).
Remove from oven and brush with egg white diluted with 2 tablespoons cold milk.
Return to oven to brown and repeat to give a glossy appearance.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the dough structure and a chewy crumb.
- Yeast
- Ferments the sponge so the dough rises and becomes light.
- Eggs
- Add richness and structure to the dough and help it set when baked.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavour, and keeps the rolls moist.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown in the oven.
- Milk
- Softens the dough and adds richness to the crumb.
The step that matters
Letting the dough rise until light before shaping and baking. Yeast needs time to produce gas and build a light, airy crumb. Rolls shaped or baked before they have risen fully stay dense and heavy.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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