If there is one smell I love most, it’s the one of fresh baked cinnamon buns. I think I ‘m more addicted to the smell than eating them. In the past I tried different kind of recipes but with this recipe they always turn out beautifully fluffy and ready to be ripped into pieces.
For this recipe you will need some patience because the dough needs to rest at least 1,5-2 hours (Or you can put them in the fridge for 1 night if you want to bake them in the morning). Through this way the gluten have time to develop a strong network that creates air and makes them rise nicely in the oven.
Ready for the oven after second rise
Ingredients (for 10 big or 12 small buns):
Dough
500 g All-Purpose flour
70 g sugar
12 g dried yeast
100 g melted butter
200 g milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Filling
100 g melted butter
200 g dark brown sugar
3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
100 g toasted pecans (or hazelnuts)
pinch of salt
Finishing touch (optional)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 hand of toasted pecans
Extra materials: Food processor (e.g Kenwood) with dough hook, scale, brush, dough roller
Directions:
For the dough put the flour, sugar and yeast in the food processor. ( don’t add the salt, it deactivates the yeast, so it shouldn’t get in direct contact with it).
In a separate bowl add in the milk, salt, the vanilla-extract and the butter. Heat the mixture in the microwave until it’s warm (don’t let it cook) and the butter has melted. Whisk in the egg until completely cooperated.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and knead this (-/+ 10 min) to make a homogeneous elastic dough. When the dough is ready, take the dough out and lightly oil the bowl. Put the dough back in the bowl and again lightly cover with oil (to prevent drying out).
Cover the bowl with plastic foil, and let the dough rise for 2 hours in a warm place (e.g near a warm stove or in a warm oven at 30°C- 40°C). It needs to double in size.
At this stage you can choose to wrap the dough in plastic and let the dough rest in the fridge for 1 night. This way you can fill your buns in the morning for breakfast buns.
While the dough is rising you can make the filling: mix the melted butter with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Put this mixture in the fridge so that it’s ready for use.
If you’re ready for the buns make sure to flour your work surface! Now roll out your dough into a rectangle approximately 1 cm thick. Note: when you had chosen to let the dough rest in the fridge, let this come to room temperature (30min) before you start rolling.
Spread the filling over the dough, leaving a narrow margin around the edges uncovered. On top of the filling spread out the toasted pecans.
Starting with a long edge, gently roll up the dough. Slice the rolls 3-5 cm thick and set them in a deep baking pan lined with baking paper. Put them close to each other (but not touching!).
Cover the plate, and allow the rolls to rise until they have grown into each other and are puffed up (about 30 – 45 min).
Uncover the plate, and bake the buns for 15- 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 180°C, till they’re a deep golden brown. You can rotate the tray during baking so they can get evenly golden brown all over.
Remove the plate from the oven and place the buns on a cooling rack.
With a brush cover the buns with a layer of condensed milk and a few toasted pecans (cut into small pieces).
Now stop staring at this page –> Start baking!
Nina Beckers
