The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Cinnamon Rolls from 1945 Doughnut Recipe

BettyR's picture
BettyR

Cinnamon Rolls from 1945 Doughnut Recipe

I saw this recipe on another thread and decided to try it. I was so different from anything I had seen I was intrested to try it. It turned out really well, these are some of the best cinnamon rolls I've ever made.



Raised Doughnuts or Coffee Cake

The Pittsburgh Press – March 16, 1945


 


In a warm mixing bowl, place 1/2-cup all-purpose flour. Over it crumble 1 small cake compressed yeast. Make a hollow in the flour and pour into it 1/2-cup lukewarm milk and water mixed. Add 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar and stir these ingredients until well blended. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. (I used 1 packet of regular dried yeast)


 


Cream 1/2 cup shortening (part butter), and gradually add 1/3-cup sugar. Add 1/2-teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 beaten eggs, 1-teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 cup water and milk mixed. Sift 4 cups all-purpose flour. Stir part of it into the shortening mixture. Add yeast mixture. Add remaining flour and knead well. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Roll dough 1/2-inch think, cut with floured doughnut cutter. Place on lightly floured board and let rise until doubled in bulk. Fri in deep fat, heated to 370°.


(I didn’t have a lemon so I subbed 1 teaspoon of fruit fresh. Baked them at 375° for 30 minutes)


 


This is the same dough that is used for coffee cakes; instead of making it all into doughnuts, part may be made into coffee cake at the time of shaping the dough.


 


This is what I used for the filling.



  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

  • 1/2 cup flour

  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 cup butter, cold

  • Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter.


 




 

dwcoleman's picture
dwcoleman

They look excellent, can you post the recipe ingredients in a simple bullet format? 

 

Can't wait to try those.

BettyR's picture
BettyR

1/2-cup all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/4-cup lukewarm milk

1/4-cup water

1 packet yeast

Stir these ingredients until well blended. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.

 

 

1/4 cup shortening

1/4-cup butter

1/3-cup sugar

1/2-teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 beaten eggs

1-teaspoon vanilla

1/4-cup water

1/4-cup milk

4 cups all-purpose flour-sifted-separated

Cream fats and sugar until fluffy, beat in eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Beat in salt, lemon rind, lemon juice, and vanilla. Then add 2 cup of flour, water, milk and the yeast mixture and beat for 4 minutes.

 

Change to dough hook, add the last 2 cups of flour and knead for 10 minutes on Kitchen Aid #3 speed.

 

Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.

Filling

  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup butter, cold
  • Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter.

 

Roll out as for cinnamon rolls, put filling in, roll up, cut into 12 pieces, place in pan and let rise for 35 minutes.

 

Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 180°.

 

LeeYong's picture
LeeYong

They look fantastic! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Happy baking!

Franko's picture
Franko

Those look like the perfect kind of cinnamon rolls to my taste. Soft and moist, a bit of chew to them. Very nice. Thanks for sharing the recipe, it's a keeper.

tmarz's picture
tmarz

Where these really soft? They look like thy would be so soft and squishy! Oh and by reading your sentance recipe (the first post) I woudl have thought that meant 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup milk. Just to double check, it is 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup water?

 

Thanks!

BettyR's picture
BettyR

Cinnamon rolls are one of my family's favorite things and I make them a lot more than cakes or cookies. This is the recipe that I normally use to make cinnamon rolls and they are good rolls but not as good as the 1945 recipe.

The sentence recipe is copied verbatim off the newspaper article. I knew it had to be 1/2 cup total liquid because the combined liquids would have been way too much if it had been 1/2 cup of each.

Cinnamon Rolls Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup butter, cold
  •  
  • 1-1/4 cups hot water
  • 4 tablespoons instant powdered milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 4 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
  •  
  • 3 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • Enough water to bring to spreading consistency
Directions
  1. Combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon then cut in butter and place in refrigerator until needed.
  2. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
  3. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
  4. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch-baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°
  5. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4-cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

 

BettyR's picture
BettyR

To make a coffee cake you could use either 2 round cake pans or a 9x13-in cake pan...spray well with cooking spry. Using the same ingredients as the filling for the cinnamon rolls spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of your cake pans then drizzle 1/3 cup of light corn syrup over the sugar mixture. After the first rise, pat the dough evenly into your cake pans, cover and let it rise the second time till double.

Bake at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes for the 9x13-inch pan and less for the 2 round cake pans. For the round ones I would start checking at 20 minutes. The internal temperature needs to be at 180°

Or you could roll the dough into balls and dip the balls into melted butter and then cinnamon sugar and stack them in a tube or bunt pan. Let them rise till double in bulk and bake at 375° for 30 to 40 minutes or til they reach an internal temp of 180°.

 

 

tmarz's picture
tmarz

I made these (1954 recipe) and they were amazing! Super soft, and they were soft the next day! some usually just aren't very good the next day but these were amazing! The lemon add just a touch of goodness that I feel really enriches the dough.

Adding the flour to the filling keeps it from leaking out when it heats up in the oven and sticking to your pan. Yet it is still soft in the middle! I topped mine with some cream cheese icing that just made them great! I think these are even better than the Gisslen version which I used in my baking class! (although those were pretty good!) Proper baking is the key. too much and they are not as moist as they could be.

I usually bake at least once a week, something sweet or bread. My friends love me (as I am a college student and the only guy who has a kitchen aid mixer in his apartment!)

Thanks so much for this!

BettyR's picture
BettyR

enjoyed this recipe. It is different, but sometimes I think some of the older recipes are better than some of the new ones.

tmarz's picture
tmarz

have you tried doubling the 1954 recipe? I know when things are in volume sometime it can go wrong... but sometimes it works. Have you tried doubling the 1954 recipe? how does it work out?

 

Thanks

BettyR's picture
BettyR

I have not tried doubling this recipe.