Cinnamon Buns were revisited this weekend. I’ve been itching to make them for a little while now but I’ve been up to my eyeballs in cookie baking for all of Matt’s track & field events and teacher get-togethers that the butter was disappearing from my fridge before I had the chance to turn my attention to cinnamon buns.
To catch you up, I’ve been in search of the perfect cinnamon bun recipe. I’ve had to be a little bit flexible with my definition of “perfect” here and remember that I’m baking these for other people and not for myself. My own preference is a cinnamon bun without nuts, raisins, or glaze – something more like a breakfast bun than a decadent dessert. For this, the Finnish Cinnamon Bun recipe was very good, but the dough was not quite as soft and pillowy as I would like.
But it seems like everyone I talk to is looking for a soft, pillowy, decadent, and very sweet roll with lots of glaze so I’m adapting my recipe to please the masses.
I made it from a very buttery, very rich brioche dough. The dough recipe itself is not too sweet making it an excellent option for cinnamon buns heavy on the fondant glaze and also for their sweet caramel cousin: sticky buns.
Fact: I’ve never eaten a sticky bun before.
Fact: This recipe converted me away from the cinnamon bun camp and squarely into Sticky Bun love territory.
The dough makes 8 large buns and with it I made 5 cinnamon buns (pictured above) and 3 sticky buns (pictured below).
makes 8 large rolls
Recipe adapted from Bread Baker’s Apprentice and Joanne Chang
Give yourself 2 days to make these as the dough needs an overnight cold ferment.
Starter
2 1/4 oz (~1/2 c.) all purpose flour
2 t quick rise yeast
1/2 c. warm milk
Directions
Combine all the starter ingredients in a mixing bowl until all the flour is hydrated. Cover the starter and leave it to ferment at warm room temperature for 45 minutes
fermented starter
Dough
5 eggs
13 3/4 oz (~3 c.) all purpose flour
2 T sugar
1 t salt
1 c salted butter cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature
Directions
Whisk together the eggs and the starter once the starter has fermented.
Add the flour, sugar, and salt and mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Add in the butter one piece at a time and mix with a large spoon or with the paddle attachment of your mixer work the butter into the dough. Make sure that the piece of butter is mixed in completely before adding more butter to the dough.
Once all the butter is assimilated the dough should be smooth and soft. Place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap, flatten it out into a rectangle, and wrap the dough in plastic wrap before placing it in the fridge overnight.
Make the caramel so it is ready for you the next morning:
Caramel
- 3/4 cup salted butter
- 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/3 cup water
Directions
Melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave. Add the brown sugar and whisk until combined. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. Keep the caramel refrigerated until needed.
Final Buns
3/4 c. raisins
6 T sugar mixed with 1 T cinnamon
Directions
The next morning, take the dough out of the fridge and place it on a floured countertop. Roll it out to a rectangle about 12” x 14” and just under 1/2” thick.
Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the whole thing.
Roll the dough into a log. With the seam side down, using a serrated knife cute the dough into 8 even pieces.
Pour the caramel into a 9”x13” baking dish place and sprinkle the raisins on top. Place the cinnamon buns into the caramel, spiral side up, about 1/2” apart. Leave the cinnamon buns to rise, covered with plastic wrap for about an hour and a half or until the buns are practically touching.
Bake the sticky buns on the bottom rack of a preheated 350*F oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown.
Flip the sticky buns onto a large dish and serve.
The buns are best when eaten the same day. If you have leftovers they’re tasty after being toasted in the toaster oven for a few minutes.
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Cinnamon Buns were revisited this weekend. I’ve been itching to make them for a little while now but I’ve been up to my eyeballs in cookie baking for all of Matt’s track & field events and teacher get-togethers that the butter was disappearing from my fridge before I had the chance to turn my attention to cinnamon buns.
To catch you up, I’ve been in search of the perfect cinnamon bun recipe. I’ve had to be a little bit flexible with my definition of “perfect” here and remember that I’m baking these for other people and not for myself. My own preference is a cinnamon bun without nuts, raisins, or glaze – something more like a breakfast bun than a decadent dessert. For this, the Finnish Cinnamon Bun recipe was very good, but the dough was not quite as soft and pillowy as I would like.
But it seems like everyone I talk to is looking for a soft, pillowy, decadent, and very sweet roll with lots of glaze so I’m adapting my recipe to please the masses.
I made it from a very buttery, very rich brioche dough. The dough recipe itself is not too sweet making it an excellent option for cinnamon buns heavy on the fondant glaze and also for their sweet caramel cousin: sticky buns.
Fact: I’ve never eaten a sticky bun before.
Fact: This recipe converted me away from the cinnamon bun camp and squarely into Sticky Bun love territory.
The dough makes 8 large buns and with it I made 5 cinnamon buns (pictured above) and 3 sticky buns (pictured below).
makes 8 large rolls
Recipe adapted from Bread Baker’s Apprentice and Joanne Chang
Give yourself 2 days to make these as the dough needs an overnight cold ferment.
Starter
2 1/4 oz (~1/2 c.) all purpose flour
2 t quick rise yeast
1/2 c. warm milk
Directions
Combine all the starter ingredients in a mixing bowl until all the flour is hydrated. Cover the starter and leave it to ferment at warm room temperature for 45 minutes
fermented starter
Dough
5 eggs
13 3/4 oz (~3 c.) all purpose flour
2 T sugar
1 t salt
1 c salted butter cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature
Directions
Whisk together the eggs and the starter once the starter has fermented.
Add the flour, sugar, and salt and mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Add in the butter one piece at a time and mix with a large spoon or with the paddle attachment of your mixer work the butter into the dough. Make sure that the piece of butter is mixed in completely before adding more butter to the dough.
Once all the butter is assimilated the dough should be smooth and soft. Place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap, flatten it out into a rectangle, and wrap the dough in plastic wrap before placing it in the fridge overnight.
Make the caramel so it is ready for you the next morning:
Caramel
Directions
Melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave. Add the brown sugar and whisk until combined. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. Keep the caramel refrigerated until needed.
Final Buns
3/4 c. raisins
6 T sugar mixed with 1 T cinnamon
Directions
The next morning, take the dough out of the fridge and place it on a floured countertop. Roll it out to a rectangle about 12” x 14” and just under 1/2” thick.
Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the whole thing.
Roll the dough into a log. With the seam side down, using a serrated knife cute the dough into 8 even pieces.
Pour the caramel into a 9”x13” baking dish place and sprinkle the raisins on top. Place the cinnamon buns into the caramel, spiral side up, about 1/2” apart. Leave the cinnamon buns to rise, covered with plastic wrap for about an hour and a half or until the buns are practically touching.
Bake the sticky buns on the bottom rack of a preheated 350*F oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown.
Flip the sticky buns onto a large dish and serve.
The buns are best when eaten the same day. If you have leftovers they’re tasty after being toasted in the toaster oven for a few minutes.
This post was submitted to