If you've always wanted to make cinnamon rolls from scratch but were intimidated, I am here to help! This recipe for Basic Yeast Dough is super simple and can be used to make a variety of treats, including the quintessential cinnamon bun.

Hi guys and happy Friday! I am so excited to be sharing another installment of my Vegan Baking Basics series! I put a poll on Instagram, and you guys requested to make cinnamon rolls this week, so here we are. Today, I am teaching you how to make Yeast Dough for Cinnamon Rolls! This is a little trickier than our previous lessons, as today we are diving into baking with yeast. For this reason, the video today is super long and detailed - I really hope it helps! I will also, of course, be breaking it all down in this blog post as well. Let's get started!

What do I need to make basic yeast dough?

This yeast dough is one of my absolute favorites, as it is super simple and requires very basic baking ingredients! The lineup is as follows:

Flour: usually, I use all-purpose flour, but I have also used half whole wheat and half all-purpose with great results! You could also do half bread flour and half all-purpose. I don't bake gluten-free, but I do imagine that a cup-for-cup GF substitute would work well too!
Yeast: there are several types of yeast you can find at the store. It kind of deserves its own paragraph so I will break it down further below!
Nondairy milk: any type will do! Today, I used almond milk because that is what I had in the house - but any kind works.
Oil: same as with the milk, the exact type is not important. I generally use vegetable oil in my baking, but you could also use olive oil, melted coconut oil, or melted vegan butter.
Sugar: I usually use regular white granulated sugar, but again - the specifics are not important. You can substitute for brown sugar, coconut sugar, or raw cane sugar perfectly well.
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt

What kind of yeast do I need?

There are two basic kinds of yeast you can buy at the store: Instant Yeast and Active Dry Yeast. For my recipes, I usually use Instant Yeast but honestly, they are pretty interchangeable! In this recipe, you can use either in the same exact amount.

The key distinction between these two types of yeast is that Instant Yeast can be immediately added to the ingredients, while Active Dry Yeast needs to be "activated" first in order to work. To activate the yeast, you mix it with warm water or milk and allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes to "bloom". When the yeast blooms, it gets all foamy and bubbly on top - this confirms that your yeast is alive and will work to leaven your recipe!

For this yeast dough recipe, I have you start by mixing the yeast with warm milk, sugar, and oil either way, so it will work with whichever kind of yeast you have. If you are using the active dry, be sure to wait for the blooming to occur before you proceed with the rest of the recipe.

What can I make with this yeast dough?

The sky is the limit, friends! I made cinnamon rolls today because I feel like that is what always comes to mind first, but there are seriously so many possibilities. You can make a braided loaf, buns, a giant cinnamon roll, a babka-inspired bread... or, my personal favorite, rolls filled with basically anything. If you have been around any amount of time, you know I am kind of obsessed with making different types of sweet rolls. Well, guess what? They pretty much all start with THIS exact dough! Here are some of my favorites to get you started:

I actually have more stashed away but... that's a pretty decent list already! If you're not feeling the classic cinnamon flavor that I am sharing today, feel free to try one of those. Or make up your own!

How do I make cinnamon rolls at home?

Lucky for you, while yeast can be a little scary to work with, that is literally the hardest part of the recipe. Everything else is super simple! Here is what you need to do:

First, warm up your plant milk and mix it with the sugar, oil, and yeast. If you have active dry yeast that needs to bloom, then let it bloom. If you have instant yeast... go ahead and move on to the next step!
Mix your wet ingredients with 2 cups of flour and knead until a soft dough forms. Now, it is time for the first rise. Cover up your dough, put it in a warm place, and wait 1 hour.
After the first hour, add in your baking powder, baking soda, salt, and additional flour. This part can be a little tricky as the amount of flour you need to add depends! I usually start with ½ a cup and work up from there. You knead it in until your dough is soft, pliable, and slightly tacky. As long as your dough keeps being sticky and sticking to your fingers/the bowl/everything... it's too wet. Add flour until it starts to behave itself!
Once you have gotten your dough to be smooth and beautiful, it's time for the second rise. Cover it up again, and let it rise for at least 3-4 hours... I like to let it rise overnight so that I have a perfect bowl of dough ready when I wake up in the morning!
After the second rise, it's time to roll out your yeast dough, cover it with vegan butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar, and roll it up into buns. Cut out into as many rolls as you want, place in a baking pan, and... you guessed it. Time for ONE more rise. Just for 30 minutes. We are so close, I promise!
Then, it is finally time to bake! Pop those babies in a 375F oven for 20-25 minutes until fluffy, golden brown, and perfect. I promise they were worth the wait and effort!

And... that's all she wrote! I know making yeast dough and cinnamon rolls from scratch can seem intimidating, but I promise they are deceivingly easy! You do need to be patient as the rise times can be long... but those perfectly fluffy, soft cinnamon rolls will be worth it every time. Be sure to watch the video for step-by-step instructions on how to make the dough! I also talk about a few other things 🙂 If you have any additional questions, please leave me a comment and I will be happy to help! Happy baking!

Print Recipe

easy cinnamon rolls and yeast dough

Prep Time12

Cook Time25

Total Time12 25

Servings: 9

Author: Valentina | The Baking Fairy

Ingredients

*for the dough*
1 cup nondairy milk
2 cups white flour {+ ½ cup separated}
¼ cup vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
¼ cup white sugar
½ tablespoon yeast {instant or active dry}
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
*for the cinnamon filling*
½ cup softened vegan butter
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
2-3 tablespoon cinnamon {more or less to taste}
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*for the glaze*
2-3 tablespoon nondairy milk
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

First, pour the nondairy milk in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat for 30-45 seconds. You want the milk to be warm, but not burning hot... a little warmer than body temperature is perfect.
To the warm milk, add the oil, sugar, and yeast. If you are using active dry yeast, set this mixture aside for 10-15 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom. It is ready once it starts to get foamy and bubbly on the top. If you are using instant yeast, you do not have to wait and can go directly to the next step.
In a large bowl, mix the wet ingredients with the 2 cups of flour until a soft dough forms. Now it is time for the first rise. Cover your bowl and put it somewhere warm for 1 hour.
After the first rise, add in the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and additional flour. Knead until all the flour has been absorbed, and add more if needed. You want the dough to be soft and smooth but not too sticky!
Now it is time for the second rise. Cover the bowl with a tea towel again, and let rise for an additional 3+ hours. I like to let it rise overnight at this point.
After the second rise, it is time to shape your yeast dough.
Lightly flour a clean surface, and dump the dough on top. Knead it for 2-3 minutes, adding more flour as needed. The dough should be smooth and easy to work with, so add flour if it's too sticky!
Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rough rectangle, making sure you don't roll it out too thin (somewhere between ½-¼ inch).
To prepare the filling, combine the softened vegan butter with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix until smooth and creamy, then spread all over the surface of your prepared dough, all the way to the edges. Starting on the long side closest to you, roll up the dough.
Using a large, smooth knife, cut 1½-2 inch slices of dough, and place them in a greased 8x8 pan.
At this point, cover the pan and let it rise one more time for 30 minutes.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375F. Bake the rolls 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and no longer doughy.
While the rolls cook, make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the nondairy milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar until thick and smooth. Make it thicker than you think, as the glaze will melt slightly when poured over the warm cinnamon rolls.
Let rolls cool slightly before glazing, and enjoy!

easy cinnamon rolls and yeast dough - Vegan Baking Basics