Cinnamon buns or rolls are a sweet roll served commonly In North America and Northern Europe. In N. America it is commonly eaten for breakfast with a cream cheese frosting. In Sweden & Denmark etc they have them sprinkled with sugar at their coffee break. Whichever way you prefer to eat yours they will soon become a family favourite I'm sure as they are they are sweet, sticky and so moreish; oozing with the warming fragrance of cinnamon and versatile enough that you can add other ingredients to the filling etc. I added chopped pecans and sultanas and glazed them with honey as I didnt have apricot jam and it worked really well. I also baked them in the Halogen but you can use a conventional oven also. The method is fairly straightforward but it may seem like a long prep as it calls for 2 proofing stages but it is definitely worth doing so you get a light fluffy dough. This is a great recipe for the children to try as the method is fairly simple. Why not give this a try and let us know how you got on in the comments below. We love to hear your feedback x
Prep:-
heat the milk and butter.
Whisk the egg.
Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Grate the lemon rind.
Place the pecans in a food bag and crush into crumbs.
Add the flour to a bowl
Add the yeast and salt on opposite sides of the bowl-making sure they don't touch.
Pour over the lukewarm milk and the egg
Use a Spatula to stir and mix all the ingredients together. Then use your floured hands to help form it into a dough.
Sprinkle flour over the worktop and empty the dough onto it.
Kneed the dough till it becomes elastic and less sticky to the touch.(5-10 mns)
Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a Tea towel and leave for 1-2hrs to prove.
It will have risen and doubled in size
Remove from the bowl onto a floured surface
Take your rolling pin and roll the dough out to form a rectangle about 4cm thick, but make sure you don't knock the air out of it.
Brush the melted butter over the pastry right to the edge.
Sprinkle over the brown sugar
And the cinnamon
Sprinkle over the Pecans, leaving 2 tsp for garnishing.
And the Sultanas
Take the edge of the pastry closest to you and fold it over evenly along its length.
Take that edge and roll it over making sure to keep it as even as you can
Continue rolling till you have a tight sausage shape
Cut the dough into equal slices - 5cm or 2 finger widths apart. I got 10 slices plus 2 ends
Place in the baking tray cut side up, leaving a little space between them.
Cover with a Tea towel and leave to rise for 30mns.
If using a conventional oven turn on your oven to 190°
Make up your icing by adding the icing sugar to a bowl along with the lemon zest,juice and a little of the milk(this makes the icing creamy and whiter rather than opaque)
Stir till everything is combined adding a little more milk till you have a smooth, thick consistency. You want it to slowly drop off the spoon. Set aside for now.
Heat the Halogen oven for 5mns st 180°
Once your dough has had its 2nd proving, remove the tea towel and place the baking tray into the Halogen oven
Bake for 20 mns, remove and turn them over by placing another tray on top and flipping it over. Return to the oven and continue to bake for another 5-10mns.
Conventional Oven- bake at 190°for 25-30 mns without turning over
Remove from the oven and brush the honey over the warm buns to glaze then set aside to cool on a wire rack.
When the buns are cool, trickle the icing over and sprinkle the remaining pecan crumb on top.
Leave till the icing has set.
Separate each bun by carefully pulling apart and serve to your delighted family.
Lovely with a cup of tea.
Easy swaps:-
Brown sugar for white.
Sultanas for raisins or any dried fruit.
Pecans for hazelnuts or any chopped nuts.
Honey for apricot jam.
Milk for water in the icing.
Servings 12