Waffled cinnamon buns

It's been hot. I'm sure a lot of you will nod your heads — languidly — in agreement. Specifically, my apartment has been hotter than the surface of the sun. (I'm not exaggerating. Just rounding up.)

It's not the sort of thing that draws me into the kitchen.

And yet I've been working on these waffled cinnamon buns for weeks.

There have been a lot of missteps. And they could still stand to be improved upon. My ideal waffled cinnamon bun — the one I had in my head before I started in on this — showcases the distinctive swirl of cinnamon and sugar. That seems to get lost when you waffle them.

But I have at least come up with a workable version.

Along the way, I made a few different cinnamon buns, including those from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything and The New Best Recipe (from the Cook's Illustrated people).

When it came to waffling, I'm not sure it was the recipe that mattered so much as the preparation and serving method.

The problem, in general, was that when the bun met the waffle grid, the swirl tended to be swallowed up by the dough. Even in a cross-section of the finished product, it wasn't readily apparent that these were waffled cinnamon buns. Yes, the aroma and the flavor were there. But we eat first with our eyes, and I was never able to capture that distinctive swirl in waffled form. Your ideas on that topic are welcome.

Meanwhile, there was the problem of texture. Pressed between two grids, the waffled cinnamon buns don't rise as much as they do when they're unencumbered. This makes them unpleasantly dense and chewy.

Unwaffled cinnamon buns typically call for the dough to be cut into thicknesses of about an inch to an inch-and-a-half. Maybe, I thought, there was just too much dough. Maybe a half-inch-thick cinnamon bun would waffle more effectively.

No such luck. It was less dense, but still clearly did not rise enough between the waffle grids.

So what then?

I continued experimenting, baking off part of each batch as conventional cinnamon buns so that the experiments wouldn't be a total loss.

(Along the way, I came to appreciate my silicone pastry brush — not just because it didn't leave weird hairs on the dough as I brushed it with milk or butter, but also because I accidentally dropped it onto the burner when I was melting the butter, and rather than bursting into flames, it emerged unscathed.)

In a set of parallel considerations, I was debating how to dress the waffled cinnamon buns. Icing was my first inclination, but it's a little one-note and dull. Essentially just powdered sugar with a bit of vanilla and a few drops of milk to thin it out, it doesn't introduce anything to the cinnamon bun that's not already there. It's sugar on top of sugar.

My thoughts turned to cream cheese frosting — and then just to cream cheese. I spread some onto one of the waffled cinnamon buns and took a bite. Tasty.

From there, I addressed the density issue by slicing the waffled bun in half down its equator. This let the cream cheese provide a bit of breathing room between the two pieces of waffled bun. 

They're not great. But they are pretty good.

Because of what I started out with in my head, I can't consider these a complete success. But they're certainly one of my better failures.

Comments

[Lynnebiz]

OK, I've been baking my own bread for more years than I want to admit. You've got me thinking - why not, instead of trying to waffle-ize a regular cinnamon bun - start off making it like the split one you ended up with? In addition, I'd let the dough rise more than usual, since the waffle iron will not allow the dough that final proof in the oven.

So, despite this oppressive heat, I'm going to have to try this: make the dough for cinnamon buns, but roll out square, slather it w/cinnamon/sugar/butter goodness, put another dough square on top - then let it rise until at least double, maybe a bit more.

Then cook it in the waffle iron (and put then top w/cream cheese frosting). This way you shouldn't lose too much of the cinnamon filling.

Mmm - will report back on my findings. :D

[Wei-Wei]

I think that there are certain things that aren't meant to be waffled... Especially things that require a lot of air in them, like yeasted breads, and yes, cinnamon rolls. Doesn't mean you can't have waffled cinnamon flat-roll-discs, though. :D

Wei-Wei

[Krank]

Would it count as waffleized if you baked the flat dough in the waffle iron, spread it with a nice thick layer of cinnamon filling to fill all the nooks and crannies...or maybe a cinnamon-cream cheese concoction of some sort, then rolled it jelly-roll style and sliced it into individual rolls?

[Daniel]

Lynne - Looking forward to your findings.

Krank - I think that would count as waffleized, sure. I very much like the idea, but I don't know if it would be pliable enough to be rolled.

[kneadspeed]

I've just recently started experimenting with a Belgian waffle maker, which I think has a lot of cinnamon roll wafflizing potential. But then again, it might be one of those ideasd that sound better in theory than they turn out in practice. Just a thought, since I noticed you're using a shallow waffle iron.

[Daniel]

You may well be right. One of the limitations I had to put on the blog from the outset was the waffle iron. In part, it was because I couldn't afford another waffle iron. But it was also because, even among Belgian-style waffle irons, there would be such variation that I would never be able to test all of them. From the feedback I've gotten, I can say that some things definitely work better or worse in a Belgian-style model. And this could be one of the things that works better.

[Kaitlin]

I want this to work. Just the thought of a waffled cinnamon bun is making me salivate. It's genius!

I'm curious - how long did you let the sliced buns rise before slapping them on the iron? Did you try cutting them thinner then half an inch? I imagine it might be a little difficult to do with the dough being so... well, doughy, for lack of a better word, but maybe it would be possible if you chilled the roll before slicing it?

I wish I had a waffle iron here... Mine is hiding out in my Dad's pantry at the moment :P

[Daniel]

Good questions. The buns rose for about an hour before they went onto the waffle iron. I did try cutting them thinner than half an inch, but even half an inch was a struggle. I even used dental floss to cleave them, but it was still tough. Good point about chilling the dough. That might make things easier. Maybe a thin enough slice in combination with a Belgian-style waffle iron would do the trick.  

[myrecessionkitchen]

I just found your website by way of foodgawker. I love it!! Maybe now I can use my waffle iron for something since it makes terrible waffles. (I wish I hadn't thrown out my old one)

[myrecessionkitchen]

P.S. My waffle iron is a Villaware and it sucks.

[Betty]

Love anything cooked on a waffle iron- If you're not happy with your results, you can just keep trying and making cinnamon buns with the leftover dough. It's in the name of research, don't you know? Rough job, but somebody's got to do it. Thanks for sharing your quest- it's a great concept!

[Hehehe]

awesome website, i love it!!!!!!!

[Cpatricia]

I have a Villaware Belgium Waffle iron and it works perfectly. I have had it for over 15 years. For the last several weeks my oldest grandson was visiting and it was given quite the workout. He wouldn't stop eating until he had five waffles because he thought they were very light.

[Ian Carchman]

What about making two doughs - one regular, rolled out however big for the recipe, and another sheet of heavily-cinnimonn/sugared dough, rolled out to the same size, and layer on top of the other sheet.
In my mind, I'm seeing myself roll the doughs half as thick, but it probe would work at regular thickness anyway. Then roll and slice as usual and waffleize that? Let me know what you think yah?

[Daniel]

I think you should try it. 

[Ian Carchman]

I shall return with results! Give me the weekend.

[Sara]

I'm thinking the Liege style Belgium waffle dough -- which is almost a brioche dough -- would be good here. I feel like I've seen cinnamon sprinkly things (large pieces of cinnamon sugar?) that would be good substituted for the pearl sugar in the liege style waffles. It would still be chewy, though.

[Mustangs]

I use Pillsbury®Cinnamon Rolls, the ones in a tube, to waffleize a single cinnamon roll. Just take one out, put it in the waffle iron, close for one minute, frost with glaze from the package. Voila, breakfast for one. I wrap the remainder of the rolls in the tube they came in and hold it closed with a rubber band.

Thanks for you ideas, I am now making a "single use" appliance into a multi-tasker.