We’re back!! What better way to ring in the New Year than with cinnamon buns?
2012 has already started out exactly as I’d wanted – baking bread. I spent a lot of time this weekend with my bread cookbooks trying to find the perfect base for a few loaves I baked over the weekend (recipes coming). I ended up with Peter Reinhart’s Biga recipe in the Bread Baker’s Apprentice book (my favorite book I think).
The Biga recipe is simple (2.5 cups bread flour, 1/2 tsp. yeast, and 1/4-1 cup of water). I made a double batch, as I mentioned above, and took about a third for this recipe. The recipe below is just for the cinnamon buns and does not make a double batch.
Instructions for the dough are also simple: combine all ingredients, knead for 10 minutes by hand or in a stand mixer, let the dough rise in a plastic wrap covered greased bowl at room temperature for 2-4 hours, use right then or knead again for another 10 minutes and store in the fridge in a plastic wrap covered greased bowl until you’re ready to use.
Domestocrat’s Cinnamon Buns
For the dough:
1.5 cups flour (I use King Arthur’s Sir Lancelot)
1/3 tsp. yeast
3/4-1 cup water (add slowly, to ensure the dough is moist, a little sticky, but not soupy)
For the filling:
3 tbsp. butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp. Vietnamese cinnamon (I use King Arthur’s)
I picked up some Vietnamese cinnamon when we went to the King Arthur Mecca in December. I had heard great things about it and couldn’t wait to try it. Supermarket cinnamon tastes so dull and muted to me, like it’s been sitting for a long time. The King Arthur Vietnamese cinnamon is full of flavor; it tastes alive. It’s warm, spicy, and can stand on it’s own without being overpowering.
Combine the butter, cinnamon, and sugar in a bowl. Make sure everything is combined. The mixture should be just damp, not super wet or dry.
Roll out the dough into a big oval, spread the mixture on one side leaving and inch or so of room, and, rolling the mixture on the interior, curl the dough into a tube.
Cut the dough tube into slices and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Store overnight in the fridge covered with a kitchen towel.
Overnight the buns will rise slightly. Remove from the fridge at least 1 hour before you plan to bake them to bring them to room temperature and proof a little bit more.
I topped each with a very thin pat of butter before baking on 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
The mixture got a bit gooey in the oven but I just poured the excess sauce over the top of the buns.
Serve for breakfast or as a snack. These are fine in the fridge in an airtight container for a few days and reheated.
Happy New Year!
