The Wonders of Baker's Yeast

Among life’s simplest joys: smelling freshly baked cinnamon rolls wafting through the kitchen, sliding the tray of artfully coiled pastries from a warm oven, and marveling at their golden crust and fluffy interior. An ideal cinnamon roll features a potent cinnamon-sugar mixture oozing in sticky spirals. It’s often topped with a generous smear of tangy cream cheese icing that’s tempered with notes of orange peel and vanilla, sweet and rich enough to catapult you back to childhood. While the filling and icing are notable qualities, what really makes or break a cinnamon roll is its texture. Cinnamon rolls may simply serve as a vehicle for sugar and icing, but their bready foundation boasts an often-understated value. Imagine greedily lunging for a roll and biting into it, only to discover that it’s a rock-hard spiral of disappointment, instead of an airy and delicate pastry with a tender crumb. The science behind the texture of a perfectly fluffy cinnamon roll lies in the yeast.