Cinnamon Buns

The last couple of weeks have been really busy. Which means I’ve not been on top of baking new things. I baked for a charity bake sale in Otley, so did some of my older classics, like my brownies and peanut butter cookies as well as some Oreo truffles and a ginger loaf with lime frosting. Unfortunately the charity fair itself flopped a bit, but it was great practice for me doing large orders and I got to take some of the leftovers to my friend’s birthday party.

Peanut Butter Cookies
 
Pistachio Brownies

Then I had an order of brownies for my friend Katie’s final year photography exhibition. I couldn’t make the night myself but apparently there were none left, that’s got to be a good sign right? I was supposed to be climbing a mountain in Scotland this weekend for Wateraid200 but unfortunately lots of people dropped out last minute, meaning it wasn’t possible anymore. We are hopefully re-arranging for a later date when more of us can actually manage it. I raised over £100 so I really don’t like the idea of letting people down.

Cinnamon Buns
 

Because of that being cancelled I had an extra weekend which I wasn’t expecting. This gave me some time which I’ve been using to get my life together a bit. And also to do some baking. I’ve been wanting to make Cinnamon Buns again for a long while, but they take a fairly long time to bake, due to the rising/proofing stages. As I was completely plan-less I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to make them. The last time I did make them, I made them far too large. But I managed to get these ones just right.

Cinnamon Bun Dough

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Cinnamon Buns 05

 

Cinnamon Buns
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • For the buns:
  • 500g/1lb 2oz strong white flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 50g/1¾oz light brown sugar
  • 15g/1oz fresh yeast or 1½ tsp dried yeast
  • 75g/3oz butter, softened
  • 200ml/7fl oz milk
  • 2 free-range eggs, plus one egg yolk, for glazing
  • flavourless oil, for oiling
  • For the filling:
  • 75g Granulated brown sugar
  • 50g granulated white sugar.
  • 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 50g butter, melted.
Instructions
  1. Mix together the flour, salt and sugar. Stir in the dry yeast (or crumble in fresh, I personally have a store of dry in).
  2. Work the butter into the flour mix until there are no large lumps remaining. Do this with your fingers or using a mixer on a low speed. It doesn’t have to be as fine as breadcrumbs.
  3. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk and one of the eggs. Mix together using a spatula or your hands. It’s quite a sticky mix but keep on mixing and the flour in the mix will slowly absorb the excess liquid.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface (lightly floured if necessary). Knead the dough for 10 minutes. By the time you are done you should be able to cut a small piece off and stretch it out thin enough to see light through it/the shadows of your fingers.
  5. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and place somewhere warm to rise for around 80-90 minutes (until it has roughly doubled in size).
  6. Towards the end of this time, make the filling. To do this mix together the sugars and the cinnamon. Add a small amount of the melted butter and mix.
  7. Knock back the dough onto a lightly floured surface and, using a rolling pin, roll out into a rectangle about the thickness of a pound coin.
  8. Using a pastry brush coat the dough with the melted butter then spread the cinnamon mixture over the top.
  9. Roll into a log shape carefully. You don’t want to squash it too much. Divide the log into 12 equal pieces buns.
  10. Place these into a greased pan, spacing them apart for when they rise. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to proof for about 45 minutes. While they are rising, preheat the oven to 200°C(180°C fan).
  11. Before placing in the oven, beat together the remaining egg and the yolk. Brush the top of each bun with this.
  12. Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Then drop the temperature to 180°C (160°C fan assisted) and bake for a further 20 minutes.
  13. Once you have removed them from the oven, transfer to a wire rack to cool.
 
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