🧁 Cinnamon Roll Weekend Recap: What Just Happened Here

⭐

🔥

Jill Hart woke up at 3am thinking it was 4:30. Instead of going back to bed, she just… started baking. By the time most of us were sitting down with coffee Saturday morning, Jill already had her rolls baked, double-frosted, and resting on the counter. Three photos and a quote that summed up the whole weekend: “Overall very happy with the results.”

That’s the kind of energy this community runs on now.

Three weeks ago we were at about 300 total engagements for a bake-along week. Two weeks ago the focaccia broke through with 521 comments. This weekend, the cinnamon roll working thread alone blew past that number, and the full conversation crossed 1,600 interactions before Sunday was done. But the numbers aren’t the story. The people are.

THE FRIDAY BUILDUP

It started with the game prep audio and the commitment poll. Twenty-seven of you voted to say you were in. But the real energy was in the comments. People were staging ingredients, checking pan sizes, refreshing starters, asking about tangzhong before they’d ever tried it.

Rhonda Talamo posted her own thread knowing she couldn’t bake this round. She’s made this recipe many times and loves it, but life had other plans. Seven likes, 23 comments of encouragement, and her promise to cheer from the sidelines. I told her: “I knew they were good when they got past your test kitchen.”

Karen Castillo posted “We have a problem…” because she only had a hand mixer and no bread hook. Before I could even respond, Shannon Boyer was in there: “Knead the old fashioned way! You can do it!” Colleen Vergara followed with detailed instructions on doing it by hand. Judy Lyle shared how her mom did it that way her whole life. Karen got her answer in minutes. That’s not me coaching. That’s a community coaching itself.

SATURDAY MORNING: THEY SHOWED UP

Candi Brown-McGriff was first through the door. She’d done her dough the night before, cold-proofed overnight, and was ready to roll by 8:30am. Her first comment hit 10 reactions: “Going to take them out of the fridge at 8:30am and get this party started. Good morning Unc!”

Tammi Thurston was right behind her. “My dough is proofed and ready to roll out.” Two photos. 13 reactions.

Angela Sides-McKay pulled her cold-proof pan at 7:30am and spotted caramel pooling from the filling: “Looks like deliciousness!”

Ann Snow jumped in making the sourdough version, half batch, first time with tangzhong. I sent her my tangzhong video right in the thread. Her response: “Is it like that? Looks like a mashed potatoes.” That’s the kind of honest, real-time exchange that makes bake-alongs work. You ask, you learn, you keep going.

Tracy Havlik wasn’t messing around. She ran two batches simultaneously, one sourdough and one yeasted, and posted three photos of her finished sourdough rolls that pulled 11 reactions. Later she and Colleen Vergara figured out together that pushing the mixer time longer was the fix for sticky enriched dough: “Once I pushed the time on the mixer everything about my dough got better.” A question from one baker became a technique breakthrough for several.

WHERE IT BECAME A COMMUNITY

The midday hours are where these bake-alongs really come alive. Doughs rising, questions flying, ovens preheating.

Sharon Stubbs was troubleshooting a dry dough in her Zojirushi and couldn’t figure out how to take a photo to show me. I coached her through both problems at once: “Just point your phone at it and take a picture.”

Diane Defelice posted a video of her dough and asked if it was ready. I watched it and told her: “You’re at the point where you can take it out of that mixer and finish it on the counter by hand.”

Kim Cochran is a new member with a bakery concept in the works. She wanted to cut the dough in half and make petite rolls. I told her go for it, but for first-timers, stick to the plan and experiment on the second batch. Then she mentioned her daughter Heather was joining her when she woke up. A mother-daughter bake on a Saturday morning. That’s what this is all about.

Heather Lattanzio posted a video of dough that wouldn’t pull from the bowl. Tracy Havlik shared her fix. Colleen Vergara confirmed it. One question turned into a coaching moment for the whole thread.

And Jill Hart, already done baking since dawn, posted a mid-process photo from her second batch: “The bake has begun, not a lot of room for the cream and they will be going in on a tray.” I jumped in fast: “@Jill Hart Put a tray under that, it’s going to come out of there.” It did. Then I added for everyone: “What I forgot to mention to everyone is you should probably cut between the rolls before you ice to make them easier to come out.”

That’s coaching in real time. Not a recipe card. Not a YouTube video you watch alone. Someone standing next to you in the kitchen, even if the kitchen is a comment thread.

THE ROLLS COME OUT

Linda Glantz posted hers: “Yes there is gooey caramel under there.” 11 reactions. That photo stopped people mid-scroll.

Susie Kendall dropped “Here we go!” with her pan headed into the oven, then came back with “Perfection!” Sandy Chong replied with “Perfectowendo!!!” which I’m officially nominating as the word of the week.

Cheryl Odden went off-script and made cinnamon twists out of the same dough. Twelve reactions on the photo alone. “For those who asked, these are the Cinnamon Twists.” Then she came back with her finished rolls: “If you think they smell good, just wait until you taste them!” Judy Lyle replied: “I wish I could.” That little exchange is worth more than any metric.

Judy Lyle made two full batches herself, one yeasted and one sourdough, with her cat standing guard at the oven for the entire bake. Four photos, cream cheese frosting, and a level of dedication that made everyone smile.

Colleen Vergara posted three photos and gave us the most honest recap of the weekend: “They took a bit longer to cook and I actually had to pull them out of the original pan because there was so much cream they were swimming in them… I did half the cream cheese recipe and half a glaze. I added cinnamon to both toppings. They were DELICIOUS!! Definitely using this recipe going forward.” No filter. No pretending it went perfectly. Just real baking, real adjustments, real results.

Debbie Piette went through the whole journey out loud: “Boy there is a lot of waiting but from all the comments it is more than worth it.” Then later from the oven: “Already smell delicious.” Then the flip: “Wow! The ooey gooey on the bottom when flipped! Amazing.” That’s the kind of play-by-play that makes everyone in the thread feel like they’re baking together.

Patt Stanaway baked two pans, one round yeasted and one square made with fruit water. Her neighbors got to them before she could finish posting: “They taste good, neighbors said 100 plus.”

And then Sandy Chong. She’d been helping people all day long with technique tips and encouragement. Then she quietly shared her own update: her pan overflowed, the caramel hit the element, and the power tripped off before anything caught fire. “God was sure watching over me. What a day! What a week!” She came out the other side laughing. That’s Sandy.

SUNDAY: THE COLD-PROOF CREW

Sunday morning brought the overnight bakers.

Kathee Judd, a new member, was up early and couldn’t wait. She broke open a corner of her first warm roll and described the liquid caramel inside as “crème brulée.” Then she was back in the check-in thread having already eaten her second one: “Pockets of sourdough bubbles, not under or over proof, win win, so happy.”

Michele Nilson, also new, was giving up sweets for Lent but still showed up to the bake-along check-in with bacon and gouda scones she’d made by applying the tangzhong technique from this week to a completely different recipe. That’s a baker who’s thinking, not just following.

Donna Angelo had a batch done Saturday and another 2.5 dozen going Sunday as gifts. Sara Gaffney came in Sunday morning: “My buns are in the fridge to bake tomorrow. I can’t wait!!” And Heather Lattanzio closed the weekend with her final result. Debbie Piette replied immediately: “Look great!!”

The thread was still going as of Sunday afternoon.

Perfection is not required. Progress is. And 19 bakers proved that this weekend with flour on their counters, cream cheese frosting on warm rolls, and a whole lot of real-time coaching in between. We went from a question about a hand mixer on Friday to cinnamon twists, double batches, sourdough versions, fruit water experiments, caramel explosions, and a cat who takes oven duty very seriously.

If you missed this one, you’re not behind. The recipe is in the Pantry, the threads are still up, and the “Teaching Bakers to Think” video will walk you through the why behind every step. Bake it when you can, post your process, and we’ll be right there with you.

That’s what Saturdays are for around here. See you in the kitchen.

Henry

THE NUMBERS (for the nerds who love this stuff)

Posts: 14 bake-along related

Reactions: ~380-400

Comments: ~1,200+ (556 in the working thread alone)

Poll votes: 42

Combined engagement: ~1,600-1,700 total

Confirmed bakers: (Candi Brown-McGriff, Tammi Thurston, Angela Sides-McKay, Tracy Havlik, Jill Hart, Linda Glantz, Susie Kendall, Cheryl Odden, Judy Lyle, Colleen Vergara, Debbie Piette, Patt Stanaway, Donna Angelo, Heather Lattanzio, Kathee Judd, Ann Snow, Sandy Chong, Leigh Skowronski, Sania Nicoson)

Community: 350+ members in about 7 weeks

Three weeks ago: ~300 engagements. Two weeks ago: 521 comments. This week: 1,600+.

61 comments