Homemade German Cinnamon Bread Rolls

German “Franzbrötchen” are sweet bread rolls filled with a mixture of cinnamon & sugar & consist of a Danish pastry or yeast dough, comparable to the Scandinavian cinnamon rolls.

Franzbrötchen are a Hamburg specialty & in today’s post I will show you a recipe with which you can also enjoy these delicious cinnamon rolls. Have fun baking!




Cooked/Baked today: Homemade German Cinnamon Bread Rolls
Difficulty: Easy – Medium
Preparation Time: 1 hour & 45 minutes (inclusive resting time)
Category: Baking Recipes, Bread & Bun Recipes, Yeast Dough, Carnival Recipes, New Year’s Eve Recipes
Our Recipe rating:

Homemade German Cinnamon Bread Rolls

Homemade German Cinnamon Bread Rolls

Ingredients for about 12 Homemade German Cinnamon Bread Rolls:

• 500 grams flour
• 275 milliliters milk
• 200 grams soft butter
• 125 grams brown sugar
• 75 grams sugar
• 1 heaping tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 sachet vanilla sugar
• ½ cube fresh yeast (about 20 grams)
• A pinch of salt

Required kitchen gadgets, helper & preparations:

• High container to stir together yeast-milk-mixture
• Whisk or fork
• Kitchen machine or mixer with dough hook
• Mixing bowl
• Kitchen towel
• Baking sheet + parchment paper
• Syringe, piping bag or squirt bottle each with a long thin spout
• Brush
• Sieve
• Wire rack

Instructions:




…for the yeast dough:

Crumble ½ cube of fresh yeast into a high container & pour in 275 milliliters lukewarm milk. Next, stir together with a whisk or fork until the yeast has completely dissolved.

Kneading & Shaping Dough

In a mixing bowl combine yeast-milk-mixture along with 500 grams flour, 100 grams soft butter, 75 grams sugar, 1 sachet vanilla sugar & a pinch of salt & knead together with a kitchen machine or mixer with dough hook for about 4 – 5 minutes until you got a smooth dough.




Then shape the dough into a ball, put it back in the mixing bowl & allow to rest covered with a kitchen towel for 30 – 45 minutes until the dough volume has visibly increased.

…for cinnamon bread rolls:

Mix 125 grams of brown sugar with 1 heaping tablespoon of cinnamon and prepare. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. After the resting time, place the dough on a lightly floured work surface & roll out with a rolling pin as rectangular as possible to the size 50cm x 40cm.

Shaping Bread Rolls

Then brush the rolled out dough with 100 grams of soft butter, sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon & sugar mixture & roll up tightly from the long side. Cut the dough roll diagonally or trapezoid with a knife into 12 rolls of approximately the same size.




Finally for the typical look, press in all the rolls centrally with a wooden spoon so that the cut surfaces on the left and right side slightly arch upwards. Place the fully formed rolls on the 2 prepared baking sheets with plenty of space between them and leave to rest for another 30 – 45 minutes, covered with a kitchen towel.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (top/bottom heat) in good time & bake the “Franzbrötchen” after the resting period for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown. Take the done cinnamon rolls out of the oven, allow to cool briefly and then serve best warm. Have fun baking!

Video Tutorial:

Watch the video tutorial to see the recipe and the preparation method precisely (German Audio only, English Subtitles available):