The bread machine does the hard part of cinnamon rolls, which is the dough. You let it mix and rise on the dough cycle, then you roll, fill, shape, and bake them in the oven yourself. Mine came out soft and gooey and the whole apartment smelled amazing while they baked. This is the recipe I use, start to finish, including the one warning that actually matters: do not use the delay timer for these, because the dough has milk and egg in it.
Key Takeaways
- The machine makes the dough; you shape and bake the rolls in the oven.
- Never use the delay timer, since the dough contains milk and egg.
- The dough cycle runs about an hour and a half.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
- A cream cheese icing finishes them.
Do Not Use the Delay Timer
The most important thing on this page, so it goes first.
This dough contains milk and a fresh egg, which are perishable. The delay timer, which lets you load ingredients and have the machine start hours later, is a great feature for a plain water-based loaf. It is the wrong choice here, because leaving milk and egg sitting in the machine at room temperature for hours before the cycle starts is a food safety problem you do not want.
Run the dough cycle right after you load the ingredients, not on a delay. This is the one mistake that turns a good recipe into a bad idea, and it is easy to avoid once you know. Any bread machine recipe with dairy or eggs follows the same rule.
With that settled, the rest of the process is straightforward and forgiving.
The Dough Recipe
These are the amounts I use, and they make a soft, rich dough.
Into the machine go 3/4 cup of milk, 1 large egg, 1/4 cup of melted butter, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 2 and 3/4 cups of bread flour, and 2 teaspoons of bread machine yeast. That is the full dough list. The egg and butter are what make the dough rich and the rolls tender rather than plain and bready.
Bread flour matters here for the same reason it does in any bread machine dough: the higher protein gives structure, which a rolled and filled dough needs to hold its shape. This is an enriched dough, softer and more delicate than a basic loaf, and the ingredients reflect that.
Load the ingredients, select the dough cycle, and start it. Using a bread machine covers the general operation if the dough cycle is new to you.
Let the Dough Cycle Do Its Work
This is the hands-off part, and it is why the machine earns its place.
The dough cycle runs about an hour and a half in my machine. During that time it mixes the dough and lets it go through its first rise, which is the labor-intensive, skill-dependent part of making cinnamon rolls by hand. The machine handles it while you do nothing, which is the whole appeal of this method.
When the cycle finishes, you have a risen dough ready to shape. This is where you take over. The machine has done the mixing and the rising; the rolling, filling, and baking are yours from here, and none of it is difficult.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and you are ready to shape.
Fill and Roll
The step that turns dough into cinnamon rolls.
Roll the dough out into a rectangle. Spread 1/4 cup of softened butter across the surface, all the way to the edges. Then mix 1/2 cup of brown sugar with 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and sprinkle that evenly over the buttered dough. The butter is what holds the cinnamon sugar in place and what makes the filling gooey as it bakes.
Starting from one long edge, roll the dough into a log, keeping it reasonably tight so the spiral holds. Slice the log into individual rolls and set them cut side up in a baking dish, leaving a little room between them to expand. They will grow and touch as they bake, which is what you want.
This is the part that looks impressive and takes the least skill. If the dough is cooperative, which an enriched dough usually is, it rolls and slices easily.
Bake Them
The straightforward finish.
Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until they are risen and golden on top. The kitchen will smell like cinnamon and butter well before they are done, which is one of the better parts of making these at home. Keep an eye on them toward the end, since ovens vary and you want them cooked through but still soft.
Mine came out soft and gooey, which is exactly what a cinnamon roll should be. The oven bake gives them a better top and a proper finish than a bread machine bake cycle would, which is the reason for the shape-and-bake approach rather than letting the machine do everything.
Let them cool slightly before icing, so the icing sets nicely rather than melting straight off.
The Cream Cheese Icing
What finishes them, and it is worth making properly.
For the icing, beat together 4 ounces of cream cheese softened to room temperature, 1/4 cup of butter also softened to room temperature, 1 and 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk or heavy cream to reach the consistency you want, thinner for a glaze that soaks in, thicker for a frosting that sits on top.
The room-temperature cream cheese and butter matter, because cold ones will not beat smooth and you will get lumps. Take them out ahead of time. Spread the icing over the rolls while they are still a little warm so it softens and settles into the spirals.
The cream cheese icing is what takes these from good to great. The tang against the sweet cinnamon filling is the whole point, and it is better than a plain sugar glaze for exactly that reason.
Why This Method Is Worth It
The honest case for making cinnamon rolls this way.
Making cinnamon roll dough by hand means mixing, kneading, and managing a rise, which is the tedious and skill-dependent part. The bread machine removes all of it, doing the mixing and the first rise while you do nothing, and leaves you only the fun part: rolling, filling, and baking. That is a genuinely good division of labor for a recipe that otherwise takes real effort.
The result is soft, gooey, homemade cinnamon rolls that smell incredible and taste far better than anything from a tube. For the work involved, most of which the machine does, the payoff is high. This is the kind of thing that makes a bread machine feel worth owning beyond just baking loaves. Whether a bread machine is worth it covers that broader value.
If the dough cycle is something you had not used before, this is a great first project for it. Making white bread in a bread machine covers the simpler bake-cycle side.
Recommended Reading
See using a bread machine, making white bread in a bread machine, and whether a bread machine is worth it.
Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls FAQ
Can you make cinnamon rolls in a bread machine?
You make the dough in the machine on the dough cycle, then shape, fill, and bake the rolls in the oven. The machine handles the mixing and first rise, which is the hard part, and you do the rolling and baking. It is the standard and best way to use a machine for this.
Why can’t I use the delay timer?
Because the dough contains milk and a fresh egg, both perishable. The delay timer leaves ingredients sitting at room temperature for hours before the cycle starts, which is a food safety problem with dairy and eggs. Run the dough cycle right after loading, never on a delay.
What is the dough recipe?
3/4 cup milk, 1 large egg, 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 and 3/4 cups bread flour, and 2 teaspoons bread machine yeast. The egg and butter make it an enriched dough, which is what gives the rolls their soft, tender texture.
How long is the dough cycle?
About an hour and a half in my machine, which covers mixing and the first rise. When it finishes you have a risen dough ready to roll and fill. Cycle times vary a little by machine, so go by your own dough setting.
What temperature and time do I bake them at?
350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until risen and golden on top. Ovens vary, so watch them toward the end. You want them cooked through but still soft, since overbaking dries out a cinnamon roll.
What goes in the filling?
Spread 1/4 cup of softened butter over the rolled-out dough, then sprinkle on a mix of 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon. The butter holds the cinnamon sugar in place and makes the filling gooey as it bakes.
How do I make the icing?
Beat 4 ounces room-temperature cream cheese, 1/4 cup room-temperature butter, 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk or heavy cream for the consistency you want. Room-temperature dairy is what keeps it smooth. Spread it while the rolls are still slightly warm.
How did yours turn out?
Soft and gooey, with the whole place smelling amazing while they baked. The oven bake gives a better top than a machine bake would, and the cream cheese icing against the cinnamon filling is what makes them. For how little hands-on work it takes, the result is excellent.
Keep reading: how to set up a home baking station, our picks for bread machine.
