I’m making a cinnamon bun with a laminated dough. I cook it in the oven at 375—it’s a convection oven (a cheater, not a real one, so it’s using a fan to move air around). The cinnamon buns don’t rise in the middle as I would expect. they are cooked, though, maybe too cooked. I’m wondering whether I’m not chilling them enough before cooking, or whether I need to lower the oven temp, or whether I need to turn off the convection because maybe the moving air is keeping the rise down in the middle . . . or what?

I’ve tried making them about 6 times now, and only once was I able to get them to rise properly—and I don’t know what I did that time.

max, is it croissant dough?  Are you baking them individually (for instance, separate buns on a cookie sheet or in a muffin pan), or all together, wedged into one cake or sheet pan?

One possibility for them not rising in the oven is that they are over-proofed (last rise went too long).  When touched lightly the depression should fill back in slowly, not remain a dent.

I’m trying them again this morning. I’ve tried the “press lightly” test to be sure they’re not overproofed. But maybe that’s been the problem in the past; I’m not really sure. They’re chilling now. I’ll let you know whether I have success or not! I’m cooking the cinnamon rolls in individual pans at 375 for 15 minutes in a convection oven. The recipe calls for that temperature, but for 25 minutes. However, every time I’ve cooked them, leaving them in longer definitely burns the rolls. I wonder if I should lower the oven temp? I also cook them in the very middle of the oven, 2 pans at the same level, at one time. I wish I could get these right. They are a fantastic roll.

I just made 2 more batches: first batch of 12 most are flat; 1 or 2 have risen correctly. I may have over proofed; not sure. Second batch is in oven now—outsides have risen like mad; insides are sunken in. Under proofed this time? I do chill in the fridge 15 minutes before putting them in the oven . . .

I’m just not sure what’s going on. All ingredients (like yeast) are new, and work wonderfully in all my other recipes but this one.

max, I’m not sure what’s going on, either.  Any chance you could post a picture?

I’m not sure what the benefit of chilling in the fridge before baking is- it’s possible that it is meant to help preserve the layers of the laminated dough, but I haven’t seen a croissant recipe that calls for that.

When you say outsides are risen while insides are sunken in, do you mean that the outer coils of the bun rose but not the center ones?  Or do you mean that there was a large gap between the crust and the rest of the bun when you cut into it?

There could also be an issue with the recipe- have you checked on line to see if anyone else has baked the recipe and had similar issues?

It does sound like your oven could be running a little hot, but if you’re looking for oven spring (the rise that comes in the first half of baking) that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  You could consider turning the temp down after the first 5 or 10 minutes of baking.

I sugared this batch, so I don’t think you’ll see anything. I’m going to try again tomorrow, and try to lower the oven temp 10 degrees (although we did test the oven and it seems to be right, but you never know). I’ll take pics and post those ones.

The croissant recipe calls for 15 minutes of chilling the prepared cinnamon rolls just before baking. I think it’s because of the amount of butter in the recipe. There’s 3.5 sticks (14 oz) in a batch made with a ratio of 4 cups flour. I think I’ll also drop the butter by one stick.

Yes, the very last batch I tried this a.m. before heading to market ended up with the outer round of the cinnabun very puffy—looked just right, actually—but the inner 3 rounds didn’t cook at all. They turned out the worst of any I’ve tried so far.

Basically, it’s a very rich croissant recipe. The usual flour/yeast/milk batter that’s chilled one hour. Then roll the butter block (3.5 sticks + 2 tb. flour) to the 2/3 parts of dough. Fold. Turn. Roll out to 24x12; fold, turn (book fold this time); chill one hour. Turn. 3-fold. chill up to 24 hours. Shape. Proof 45-60 min; chill in fridge 15 minutes. Cook 25 min (according to recipe—I’ve only ever cooked max 18 minutes) at 375.

Seems pretty straightforward. But I cannot get it to work. I’m going to try proofing in an incubator next time for temp control, drop the butter by one stick, and lower the oven to 365 degrees. What do you think?

Thanks for your advice, by the way. I’m quite frustrated—-and determined to get the bloody recipe right!