Matcha Cinnamon Rolls Tangzhong Recipe & Video

Matcha Cinnamon Rolls, Matchabon Recipe!

I LOVE cinnamon rolls, and I LOVE matcha anything dessert!
BTW, if you don’t know, matcha is green tea powder– literally delicate ground green tea leaves.

I thought these green tea buns & sweet red bean paste would be perfect Holiday baking! So I hurried down to create the video & recipe for you guys!

If you like green tea desserts, you will LOVE my Matcha Dutch Baby Pancake recipe too!

Matcha Dutch Baby Pancake Recipe & Video

 

The Matcha Cinnamon Rolls recipe description is quite long, so without a long word, let’s get started!

First, we are going to make Tangzhong, an ancient Chinese baking secret. Many people believe Tangzhong is a Japanese baking technique, but China was using tangzhong technique longer than Japan.

I know it sounds like something huge or complicated, but it’s a super simple step just to add before you start the baking. It will make the bun super fluffy, light, soft, and all the goodness you want from your bun.

When you try this recipe, you will never make regular buns ever again!

All you need is a little bit of extra bread, flour & water for this ancient Chinese baking secret, Tangzhong.

In a small saucepan, add 3/4 cup water and 4 tbsp read flour for tangzhong. Whisk until no lumps and thicken over medium heat, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and keep cooking for 1 minute. Do not stop whisking for 3 minutes, and it’s straightforward to stick to the bottom of the saucepan.

Remove from heat, transfer to a small bowl and cover with a plastic wrap. Make sure plastic wrap is touching tangzhong because we don’t want any air around tangzhong.

In a 2 cups-measuring cup, whisk together 1/2 cup warm water, 1/2 cup warm milk, 1 large egg, and 1 tbsp active dry yeast for the dough.
Let it sit for 5 minutes so the yeast will activate.

Combine 3/4 cup bread flour, 2 tbsp matcha powder, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1 tsp salt in a stand mixer. Pour the wet ingredients mix and tangzhong. Using a dough hook, mix all ingredients at low speed until it forms a dough. 

Stop the stand mixer. Add 4 tbsp room temperature unsalted butter and keep kneading the dough on medium-low speed until smooth, 6 to 7 minutes. Add 1 tsp flour at a time if it doesn’t become smooth in 6 minutes. Increase speed to high and knead the dough for 1 minute and turn off the stand mixer. 

The dough must be super smooth and elastic. Shape the dough as a ball, place it back in the mixing bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and place it in a warm place. Allow the dough to rise for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours or until doubled to tripled in size.

Meanwhile, let’s make the filling! It’s sweet red bean filling, which is perfect for the green tea buns!

Combine 15 oz (approximately 1 1/2 cup) sweet red bean paste and 6 tbsp room temperature unsalted butter and mix well. Set aside. 

Yes, to make Matcha “Cinnamon” Roll, you can add 1 tsp cinnamon. It’s totally up to you!!

I used canned sweetened red beans, but you can definitely make it from scratch if you prefer! I love homemade sweet red beans, but during holidays, I cook so many meals and dishes that sometimes this shortcut makes holiday baking so much for fun and enjoyable!

Look at the dough!!! Tippled in size!! Tangzhong really does its magic!! It not only helps the texture and taste of the bread, but it helps the dough to rise too!

Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick. Fix corners to make sure they are even. Spread sweet red bean mixture evenly on dough. Tightly roll the dough up and form a log and pinch edges to close. Place the seam side down.  

Cut the log into 9 even-sized pieces, about 1 1/2 inch thick, with a threat or non-flavored floss. You could use a knife, but I found threat or non-flavored floss is the best tool for it. You also cut out the edges to make all matchalbons are even pieces.

Place matchabons on your choice of a baking dish or a 9×13 baking dish. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Remove kitchen towel and bake matchabon for 25 to 30 minutes or until slightly golden on top.

Meanwhile, matchabon is baking. Let’s make the icing! Either use your favorite frosting/icing recipe or just make this simple, easy icing for this Matcha Cinnamon Roll.

Combine 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 tbsp milk in a mixing bowl and mix well until it’s smooth. Done!

Remove matchabon from the oven, drizzle the icing while it is still warm!

Enjoy!

Look at the texture of the bun!! It is so fluffy, soft, and smooth… unbelievable!!

You can play with the recipe if you want to be a bit more creative with your holiday baking or make this recipe an everyday recipe by removing the matcha powder and making regular cinnamon roll or shape into a different form, and making bread or dinner roll! Garlic or green onion buns will be super yummy with this dough recipe!

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