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Cinnamon rolls made ahead and frozen?

18 years ago

I'm having a bunch of people over for Christmas and I don't want to get up early and cook for them. Can I make cinnamon rolls early, like several days ahead, freeze them, thaw in the fridge overnight, and bake in the morning?

I suppose anything that could be prepared a few days ahead of time would work.

Any advice (or recipes)?

Thanks!

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Comments (8)

sheshebop
18 years ago
After the dough rises, shape the rolls, then freeze immediately before the 2nd rise. Take them out the night before you want to serve them and let them thaw in the fridge. You may need to get up very early to make sure they have thawed and started their rise.
hawk307
18 years ago
Fori: I make Cinnamon Bunns and freeze them.
I put them in 2 Plastic bags.
Should be the same for Cinnamon Rolls.
Why don't you give it a test run ???
LOU
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You can definitely cut the recipes in half, but I used to multiply them when I made them at the restaurant where I used to work in San Francisco. I made a more or less regular bread dough with a small amount of sugar added, and after the first rise, I would roll the dough out into a long rectangle, add butter to two thirds of the rectangle, and the fold the dough over as in making a puff pastry, and then I followed the methods for making puff pastry in order to get many layers of butter and dough. Then I would roll the layered dough into a long rectangle (like Pioneer Woman) and add brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped walnuts and roll the rectangle like Pioneer Woman and cut into rounds. Instead of putting these into one pan, I put them into muffin pans, so that they would make nice individual servings. I didn't bother to glaze mine, but that might have been a good idea, although I think they might have been too sweet if I did that. I added the walnuts because the restaurant always had barrels of walnuts (and other nuts), and so I thought I might as well use them. I think it is difficult to make a bad cinnamon roll. I worked graveyard at the restaurant (11 PM to 7 AM - later when I made yeast dough), and so my rolls were ready for breakfast when the restaurant opened. The restaurant was owned by a commune of hippies, and so the staff ate many of the rolls before customers had a chance to buy them. I could physically only make so many in one night, and I had to make three different recipes each night - generally of the coffee cake or dessert variety - something to have with coffee in the morning or afternoon. Lars
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Madonna, I can surely stop at one, that's not the problem. What do I do with the rest of the batch? Elery is also dieting, he wants to lose weight to make it easier on his "new" hip and knee. I'm along for the ride, so I'm not sabotaging his efforts, we're both eating the same things. But I just picked up beef AND pork, and we have those 3 deer that Elery shot last fall. My freezers look like this: Freezer #1 with beef produce: Freezer #2 (upright) with pork, one whole shelf is just bacon: Freezer #3, beef and venison: As you can see, there's no place to put leftover cinnamon rolls, and I don't dare eat them ALL. Then again, I could invite Amanda and Dave and the kids over, except that Amanda is celiac and can't eat them either! Annie
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If you don't make yeast breads frequently, I suggest you bake your rolls ahead of time and reheat them in foil. That's the safest method IMO, and the one I personally follow, even after decades of weekly bread-making. When it comes to refrigerated dough, I suggest using a refrigerator dough recipe (one designed for refrigeration), and Betty Crocker's Potato Refrigerator Dough recipe for a number of reasons. A good refrigerator dough will include mashed potatoes (or reconstituted potato flakes will work for mashed potatoes). The purpose of the mashed potatoes? According to Lloyd M. Moxon, author of "The Baking Book" and a microbiologist who specializes in yeast biochemistry: Mashed potatoes (or any pureed vegetables) is vital for refrigerator doughs because it preserves moisture in the dry climate of a refrigerator. A regular yeast dough can quickly dry and become unworkable the longer it is retarded in the refrigerator. The Betty Crocker's Potato Refrigerator Dough recipe recommends to refrigerate at least 8-hours but no longer than 5-days. In my cookbook " Betty Crocker's Baking Classics" there are also additional recommendations for making: -Braided Dinner Rolls -Parker House Rolls -Crescent Rolls -Hamburger Buns The recipe: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/make-ahead-potato-bread-dough/62a1773f-638e-4903-8742-c6746f0a90d0
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jcrowley99
18 years ago
When I know I am going to freeze rolls I underbake them just a little. That way when you reheat them they come out golden brown. I would agree with Lou to do a test run, then you will see if you are happy with the results and won't be worried about if they will be good.
dgkritch
18 years ago
I go ahead and bake mine. Leave them in the pan (9 x 13, usually) and freeze.
Christmas morning, I take them out of the freezer, leave the foil ON and pop into the oven at about 200-250 degrees.
They thaw and warm while we dig into stockings and chat.
Done in about 45-60 minutes (even quicker if you set them out on the counter the night before).

You can also remove them from the pan and freeze in Tupperware or ziplocs. Put them in the fridge the night before, then on Christmas morning each person can just warm slightly in the micro or a tray in the oven.

It's a splurge thing for me.........I melt a little more butter on top. Yum!

Deanna
lindac
18 years ago
I bake mine, leave in the pan and freeze....then I leave in the foil and bake at 300 for about 40 minutes....or thaw over night and bake a shorter time.
But I don't like any yeast dough warmed in the micro...
Linda C
Fori
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks everyone. It sounds like the best route for me would be to bake ahead, then thaw and reheat. And that way I can taste one ahead of time without letting myself eat a whole batch. No, no test batches allowed! We're getting too fat!

I had been thinking of something more like Sheshebop's method, but I'm not a morning person and precooking just might be a little smoother for me!
hawk307
18 years ago
Fori : Did you ever give it a test run ?????
Lou
Fori
Original Author
18 years ago
I haven't had a chance. Maybe this weekend...It's unlikely that I'll be able to find the time to do cinnamon rolls twice before Christmas (that's a big job for someone as disorganized as myself) so if I get the time to do it once I'll be lucky. And if they aren't wrong when I thaw them, my guests will be lucky!

They'll eat anything. I don't know why I'm worried. =)

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