I Baked 72 Cinnamon Rolls To Create The Perfect Recipe | Bon Appétit

2 weeks of research. A (very) complex spreadsheet. 6 pounds of flour, 20 hours of cooking and so, so many tastings. Join Zaynab Issa in the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen as she takes you through the journey of creating her extra-fluffy cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting - a recipe that took 72 rolls to achieve perfection.


Director: Paz Mendez Hodes
Director of Photography: David Castellano
Editor: Robert Malone
Talent: Zaynab Issa, Chris Morocco
Culinary Director: Kelly Janke
Producer: Tyrice Hester
Line Producer: Jen McGinity
Associate Producer: Shelby Boamah
Production Manager: Janine Dispensa
Production Coordinator: Elizabeth Hymes
Camera Operator: Tony Aviles
Audio: Austin Rumsey
Food Stylist: Kaitlin Wayne
Culinary Assistant: Biba Clark
Prop Styling: Marina Bevilacqua
Photographer: Isa Zapata
Post Production Supervisor: Andrea Farr
Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araújo
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell
Graphics Supervisor: Ross Rankin
Graphics, Animation: Léa Kichler

Special Thanks:




ABOUT BON APPÉTIT
Bon Appétit is a highly opinionated food brand that wants everyone to love cooking and eating as much as we do. We believe in seasonal produce, properly salted pasta water, and developing recipes that anyone can make at home.

[travisr]

I loved the thought Zaynab put into the recipe’s approachability, and the emphasis she put on ingredients and tools people already have.

[syd]

It’s all cool to use specialty ingredients for recipes, but for something simple like cinnamon rolls that majority just wants to be as accessible as possible, it’s really nice that Zaynab thought about the accessibility of the ingredients used. Also love this behind the scenes of R&D, makes you appreciate the recipe more and is super fun and interesting to watch!

[Aiodiam]

Hey, previous baker here! When we made our cinnamon buns we put them 6 to a tray, in a 6x12 cake pan. Greased with white grease (flour, oil, and shortening whipped). Proofed in the pan, and when they were baked we would flip them over onto a different sheet to cool. This resulted in even buns with no spirals shooting out. Another thing to watch for is how tightly you are rolling it, as that will create pyramids as well. Better to roll just tight enough to keep it together without stretching the dough. Hope this helps someone, happy baking!

[siosaida]

Zaynab really is gorgeous and so naturally graceful in front of the camera. Would love to see her come back

[rowkingsbury]

I wish BA would put out more videos about recipe testing. It's so cool to see what goes into preparing a recipe for eventually going in the magazine/online/into a video

[AZPhotoWACA]

I truly appreciate you choosing to use ingredients I can find locally!

[BS-j]

I so appreciate you using ingredients to make these rolls with ingredients most homemakers have in their homes. I’m a homemaker of 55 years and I follow so many cooking videos Bon Appetite being my favorite as long as I don’t have to go to 20 stores to find the ingredients 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻thank you thank you thank you👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻💐💐💐💐🥂

[jaekimchi]

I can tell Zaynab really liked the idea of maple syrup but she respects her coworkers opinions a lot so ultimately went in that direction.

[alexandrachampion]

I love the format- it’s more like it used to be with other staff included. It has a much more organic feel and one of the things I always loved about the BA test kitchen videos. PLEASE continue like this! I’ve missed it so much! Thank you❣️

[nicholasbyres]

I love this! I am not sure if this is a series already, but I would love to see recipe development episodes like this more often! With multiple chefs!

[Debba]

Really impressed with all the thought and work that went into these rolls. The test kitchen must have smelled heavenly! And those lucky people who got to taste test! I really want to try these with the methods used, very exciting. Thanks for all the time and effort put into these lovely rolls. They're obviously worth it 😊.

[peggythomas]

I spread small amounts of butter on the dough, then add my brown sugar cinnamon, slightly roll into the dough, then roll up. But I also found by adding a teaspoon or more of corn starch into my filling, that I didn't lose all of the filling when it got hot and it oozed on the pan. It stays more in the bun. I also add a touch of salt to my cream cheese filling which takes that sweetness down a peg or two. I also added a touch of orange oil to the frosting which I've always loved orange cinnamon rolls as a kid growing up.

[katieburgess]

More of these videos! Needs to be a series, specifically with Zaynab! She really shines in this process. ♥️

[siobhanryan]

loved seeing the whole process of developing the recipe, that's what a test kitchen is all about

[pxnhvsb]

I've used this method (Tangzhong) for years. I use half butter and half cream cheese with powdered sugar for frosting. I always use vanilla extract in the dough and the frosting. Cinnamon sugar and butter for the filling. Never fails.

[gaiamorgosi]

I the whole “research approach” to the recipe, it feels so much more playful and creative to see how a recipe is born and developed. AMAZING.

[umsami]

Cinnamon Rolls are my favorite. I really hope that Zaynab and BA will do some Ramadan and Eid videos.

[Chocolatey.Thunder]

I made this for the first time making cinnamon rolls, and they came out great. Easy to follow. I made mine with sourdough starter instead of dried yeast. A friend tasted tested, and she gave a 10/10. Thanks, Zaynab.

[simatalmarzooq]

I have never made cinammon rolls because i have always been too scared of its difficultulty. This video breaks it down to fundamentals and it is why i was encouraged to try it. It turned out wonderful, my family loved them. Im looking forward to trying it again and prefect their shapes a little better. I loved how accessible the ingredients arr and i think this contributes to why this recipe is the best, Zainab takes into consideration every little detail which is really useful. Zainab prefecting and coming up with recipes should become series

[sweettrt]

I like to use orange zest in the frosting myself. I also pour heavy cream over my raised cinnamon rolls before I place them in th oven...sooo good