Cinnamon rolls are having a moment in Baton Rouge this season – [225]
from Maggie Hayne Richardson
Photography by Colin Ritchie
This is not a let’s just say that aside from cakes and cookies, the cinnamon roll is the bakery’s poster child.
So beloved is the ubiquitous treat that it graces the menus of patisseries large and small, and even has a famously flavorful fast-food iteration—as anyone who’s walked through an airport or mall can attest.
Drenched in a creamy frosting and embroidered with streams of cinnamon goodness, the cake is the ultimate expression of comfort, an indulgent treat for breakfast, afternoon snack or midnight snack.
In Baton Rouge, cinnamon rolls are having a moment, and it wouldn’t be the worst idea this month to see how many you can spot and try. It’s cinnamon season after all.
One standout version comes from Mid City Bakery, the cottage enterprise launched in January that sells fresh pastries at Pelican to Mars’ House Brew coffee cart and various local pop-ups.
Making a good cinnamon roll is an art, says founder Kimberly Fansler, who worked in the baking industry for several years in Baton Rouge and her native North Carolina. At Camino Bakery, a Winston-Salem institution, she made cinnamon buns wholesale. Fensler moved to the capital in 2019 and, after running a local bakery, realized a long-time dream of opening his own business.
Kimberly Fansler, founder of Mid City Bakery, which sells its cinnamon rolls and pastries at pop-ups and House Brew, located at Pelican to Mars
The success of the cinnamon roll depends on balancing the moisture to achieve its hybrid soft yet firm texture. “You want some crust, but you want it soft,” Fansler says.
She uses a Japanese baking technique, tangzhong, to combine and cook bread flour and milk, forming a paste to which she adds the other ingredients.
After the dough has risen, she rolls it out, spreading a filling of brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, orange zest and a secret spice she won’t reveal. The dough is rolled, cut and placed in jumbo muffin tins. After rising again, it’s baked and spread with Fansler’s Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting.
Watching someone enjoy one of her cinnamon rolls is just as good as eating it herself, Fansler says.
“When I see someone appreciate it,” she says, “it’s the best feeling in the world.” Find her on Instagram at @midcitybakery
By james art 
