Looking for the perfect cinnamon rolls that are big, fluffy, and made with fresh milled whole wheat flour? Look no further! My Quick Fresh Milled Cinnamon Rolls are not only a family favorite but also easy to make with just one rise.
At Lovely Bell Bakes, we’ve crafted a recipe that combines the goodness of fresh milled whole wheat flour with the warm, sweet flavors of cinnamon and a hint of cardamom. These cinnamon rolls are perfect for a weekend breakfast, or a special weekday treat.
One of the best things about this recipe is its simplicity. Unlike traditional cinnamon rolls, which require multiple rises, these rolls only need one rise, making them quick and easy to prepare. The use of fresh milled whole wheat flour adds a depth of flavor and nutrition that you can’t get from store-bought flour.
To top it off, these cinnamon rolls are generously frosted with a creamy cream cheese icing. The combination of the fluffy roll, warm spices, and sweet icing is simply irresistible. Once you’ve tried these Quick Fresh Milled Cinnamon Rolls, you’ll never go back to store-bought again!
Can these be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen?
Yes! See notes below.
Shop This Post
Grain mill Use code LOVELYBELLBAKES20 for $20 off!
Bosch mixer Use code LOVELYBELLBAKES20 for $20 off!
*As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that when you click on an affiliate link on this site and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission, which helps support the work of this blog. Rest assured, I only recommend products that I genuinely love and use myself. Thank you for supporting Lovely Bell Bakes!
Ingredients for the best quick fresh milled cinnamon rolls:
Let’s talk about what goes into making these pillowy soft cinnamon rolls as there are some substitutions you may also enjoy.
Flour I use fresh milled hard white wheat, but you may also use hard red wheat as well.
Liquid You can use milk from fat free to whole fat milk. For vegan options, you can use any nut milk or even water.
Sweetener I like to sweeten the cinnamon roll dough with honey and for the filling, I like to use coconut sugar. For the dough you can use sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, or any sweetener of your choice. The filling will have to be a non-liquid sweetener.
Softened Butter for the dough I use salted butter but for a vegan option you can use a neutral tasting oil in its place like olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil. Just be sure it is a neutral tasting oil and not an extra virgin oil.
Butter for filling You can swap coconut oil for butter for the filling.
Cardamom adds a hint of warm exotic, citrusy flavor that complements cinnamon, enhancing the overall taste and aroma of cinnamon rolls. This is optional.
Cinnamon Use whatever powdered cinnamon that you prefer. I am using Saigon cinnamon.
Yeast I use instant yeast. If you’d like to use dry active yeast, following the instructions on your yeast, remove the amount of liquid needed from the recipe to proof the yeast.
Eggs I use 2 large eggs. If you don’t want to use eggs but still want a soft tender cinnamon roll, omit the eggs and use 10g of sunflower lecithin in its place. In addition, add 70g more of your liquid of choice.
Softened Cream Cheese I love a good cream cheese icing, but you can omit the cream cheese and use 2-3 tablespoons of milk of your choice.
Softened Butter for the icing I use salted butter, but you can use unsalted or omit the butter altogether.
Salt Use a sea salt or Redmonds real salt.
Vanilla extract I wouldn’t skip this, but if you must, try swapping it for an extract of your choice like an almond extract.
Powdered Sugar Don’t have powdered sugar? You can make your own by blending 1 cup of granulated sugar with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a high-powered blender.
Instructions
Now let’s put all of these yummy ingredients together to make the best quick fresh milled cinnamon rolls!
- Mill your grain. Then warm the milk to no more than 110 degrees or until its warm to the touch but not hot.
- To your mixer bowl add the warm milk, honey, eggs, salt, the fresh milled flour, and then the instant yeast.
- Mix on low speed in a stand mixer. Once the dough starts to come together, after about 3-5 minutes, add the softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time. The dough may seperate, but it will come back together.
- Knead the dough until a nice windowpane is achieved. Windowpane means that when you pinch and stretch a piece of dough, it is able to stretch thin enough to see light through it. This can take anywhere from 10-25 minutes depending on your mixer.
- While your mixer is kneading, prepare the filling for the cinnamon rolls. In a small saucepan, put the filling butter, sugar, cinnamon and cardamom (optional). Warm on low heat just until the butter is slightly melted, and the ingredients blend easily but not runny. Set aside, until ready to use.
Cinnamon roll filling.
- Once you have achieved a nice windowpane, it is time to roll out the dough. Lightly oil your work surface. I like to shape my dough into a ball first, this makes it easier to roll into a rectangle. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle. With the long edge facing you. Your rectangle should be roughly 18 inches by 14 inches.
Your dough should look something like this after it’s rolled out.
- Now that your dough is rolled out, it’s time to spread the filling mixture over the dough. Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, spread the filling mixture over the rectangle of dough. Leave 1/2 inch open at the top of the rectangle to be able to pinch the seem closed when we roll up the cinnamon rolls.
- Starting on the long edge closest to you, roll the dough into a tight log. Pinch the seem closed when you reach the end of the dough.
- Use a knife to cut 12 1.5-inch cinnamon rolls. I like to mark where I’m going to cut the 12 cinnamon rolls before I make the cuts. Alternatively, you can use floss to cut your cinnamon rolls. If using a knife, make sure your knife is sharp. Cut with a gentle sawing motion instead of just pressing the knife down.
- Place all 12 cinnamon rolls in a parchment lined baking dish. I prefer parchment paper over buttering the pan because the parchment prevents the outer edges from getting too dark. I’ve made these in a 9×13 and 10×14 baking dish. Both work well. Cover the cinnamon rolls with a lid or plastic wrap to rise. Allow the cinnamon rolls to rise for 30-45 minutes until they’re slightly puffy.
- While rising, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Make the icing by adding the softened cream cheese to your mixer bowl. Beat until creamy. Add the softened butter and beat until creamy and well incorporated with no lumps. Add a pinch of salt, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Mix well on medium-high speed until creamy with no lumps. Set aside until cinnamon rolls are done baking.
- Bake cinnamon rolls at 350 for 25-30 minutes. To check for doneness, use a food thermometer to test one of the outer cinnamon rolls internal temperature. We want an internal temperature of 180-185 degrees.
- While the cinnamon rolls are hot, evenly spread the icing over the cinnamon rolls with a spoon or spatula. Enjoy immediately!
Want to make these fresh milled cinnamon rolls overnight or freeze?
Overnight For an overnight option, refrigerate after putting the cinnamon rolls in the pan. Be sure to cover well, with a lid or plastic wrap. The next day, allow the cinnamon rolls to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes and then bake as usual.
Freezing To freeze these cinnamon rolls, after cutting the cinnamon rolls, put them on a baking sheet about 1 inch apart and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer safe bag or container. To thaw, leave cinnamon rolls at room temperature for 60-90 minutes. This can vary depending on the temperature in your home. Bake as usual.
You may also like
The Best Quick Fresh Milled Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- 1 Mixer
Ingredients
For The Dough
- 560 g Fresh milled hard white flour 4&1/2 cups
- 310 g Warm milk 1 &1/4 cup
- 6 g Salt 1 Teaspoon
- 14 g Instant Yeast 4 Teaspoons
- 84 g Softened butter 6 Tablespoons
- 2 Eggs
- 85 g Honey 1/4 cup
Filling
- 6 Tbsp Softened butter
- 2/3 Cup Coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Cardamom optional
Icing
- 4 oz Softened cream cheese
- 4 Tbsp Softened butter
- 1 Cup Powdered sugar
- 1 pinch Salt
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
Prep
- Mill your grain. Then warm the milk to no more than 110 degrees or until its warm to the touch but not hot.
- To your mixer bowl add the warm milk, honey, eggs, salt, the fresh milled flour, and then the instant yeast.
Mix
- Mix on low speed in a stand mixer. Once the dough starts to come together, after about 3-5 minutes, add the softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time. The dough may separate, but it will come back together.
- Knead the dough until a nice windowpane is achieved. Windowpane means that when you pinch and stretch a piece of dough, it is able to stretch thin enough to see light through it. This can take anywhere from 10-25 minutes depending on your mixer.
- While your mixer is kneading, prepare the filling for the cinnamon rolls. In a small saucepan, put the filling butter, sugar, cinnamon and cardamom (optional). Warm on low heat just until the butter is slightly melted, and the ingredients blend easily but not runny. Set aside, until ready to use.
Roll and cut
- Once you have achieved a nice windowpane, it is time to roll out the dough. Lightly oil your work surface. I like to shape my dough into a ball first, this makes it easier to roll into a rectangle. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle. With the long edge facing you. Your rectangle should be roughly 18 inches by 14 inches.
- Now that your dough is rolled out, it’s time to spread the filling mixture over the dough. Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, spread the filling mixture over the rectangle of dough. Leave 1/2 inch open at the top of the rectangle to be able to pinch the seem closed when we roll up the cinnamon rolls.
- Starting on the long edge closest to you, roll the dough into a tight log. Pinch the seem closed when you reach the end of the dough.
- Use a knife to cut 12 1.5-inch cinnamon rolls. I like to mark where I’m going to cut the 12 cinnamon rolls before I make the cuts. Alternatively, you can use floss to cut your cinnamon rolls. If using a knife, make sure your knife is sharp. Cut with a gentle sawing motion instead of just pressing the knife down.
Rise
- Place all 12 cinnamon rolls in a parchment lined baking dish. I prefer parchment paper over buttering the pan because the parchment prevents the outer edges from getting too dark. I’ve made these in a 9×13 and 10×14 baking dish. Both work well. Cover the cinnamon rolls with a lid or plastic wrap to rise. Allow the cinnamon rolls to rise for 30-40 minutes until they’re slightly puffy.
Prep Filling
- While rising, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Make the icing by adding the softened cream cheese to your mixer bowl. Beat until creamy. Add the softened butter and beat until creamy and well incorporated with no lumps. Add a pinch of salt, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Mix well on medium-high speed until creamy with no lumps. Set aside until cinnamon rolls are done baking.
Bake
- Bake cinnamon rolls at 350 for 25-30 minutes. To check for doneness, use a food thermometer to test one of the outer cinnamon roll’s internal temperature. We want an internal temperature of 180-185 degrees.
- While the cinnamon rolls are hot, evenly spread the icing over the cinnamon rolls with a spoon or spatula. Enjoy immediately!
Can you make these the day before to pop in the oven next morning?
Yes. Just reduce the yeast to 1 tablespoon.
Can I cut then freeze them individually, then bake one at a time as needed (I live alone I don’t need the extra temptation)
I haven’t tried it but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Just thaw in the fridge the night before.
Are you able to provide a recipe for drop dumplings with fresh milled flour ?
Could these be converted to sourdough?
Hi Ashley,
Yes, any recipe can be converted to sourdough. Here’s a great calculator for converting to sourdough
https://justmillit.com/baking-calculators-converters/yeast-sourdough-conversion-calculator/
I hope this helps!
How many grams of berries would you use if using einkorn?
I haven’t made this with Einkorn.
Watch the bake time as different sized rolls will cook faster/slower. My dough made 16, so baking them at 25 minutes/200 degrees was too long. They were a little drier (like a honey bun), but still great. Next time, I’ll check the internal temp when they’re just turning light brown.
These are absolutely phenomenal! My husband and I both said they were the best cinnamon rolls we’ve ever had, and I’ve been making homemade cinnamon rolls for years. (with white flour) Fresh milled flour made them SO much better. Thanks for the easy to follow instructions. Will definitely make these again!
Great recipe! I did have to add a lot of extra water but they still turned out great! I really appreciate the flavor and low sugar content. I usually don’t care much for frosting but I licked the bowl clean before washing it. 😆 thank you!
I did these once and they were AMAZING! I want them again but I’m out of hard white until my next azure order. Could I do this recipe with hard red?
Hi Mary,
Yes you absolutely can.
These were amazing! I needed to let mine rise more than the time in the recipe (about an hour) but they baked up beautifully and were fluffy and delicious!
Haven’t tried the recipe yet but just wanted clarification on the flour measurement–is the 4.5c the measurement of wheat berries prior to milling, or the measurement of the flour, once milled?
Hi Melody,
That is the measurement of the flour after milling.
Thanks! I’ve since made these twice and they are alreaay a family favorite.
This recipe is fantastic and somehow has the fluffiness and texture of a cinnamon roll made with white flour. It’s a win -win for our family! They have been requested for a birthday breakfast already. We will be making these again and again.