Cinnamon Buns

My father-in-law loves these.

These cinnamon buns are made from a special recipe. Not the ingredients are special, but where the recipe comes from. Last year around fall I started working at a bistro and they sold cinnamon buns, cinnamon buns with raisin and lemon buns. They were made freshly every morning and were huge, like three times the size you see in the picture. The woman who made them is a professional baker and pastry chef. She also made fudge once every two weeks. At some point she asked me if I would do a morning shift or two so that she could have a day off.

That’s when I started to learn how to make those cinnamon buns. I love baking and though the situation was a bit scary I do not shy away from learning a thing or two. So we had several mornings together, first she showed me how she does it and later I made them under her supervision.

Then came that slightly scary morning, in November maybe. I had to get up at 4.30am to be in the kitchen by 6 the latest. Cinnamon buns are based on a yeast dough, which most of you probably know. As a result it takes some time for them to rise, and they are suppose to rise twice before baking. Plugging in my mp3 player and off I went, making three batches. That is quite some work, especially if you have a big amount of dough. But I managed and finished them quite nicely.

I was almost done and the main boss stepped into the kitchen. What a surprise! She knew I just immigrated to Canada and that this was my first “alone” day so she asked me how I was doing. She also inquired about me adjusting to life in Canada. It was quite nice of her to asked and when she heard that I was here without any of my family and with no mommy she gave me a hug. My husband and his family are here and they are good and kind to me, but it does make a difference if your mother is close at hand or not. My boss understood that.

It is safe to say, I have good memories of those cinnamon buns. This recipe is one of the first ones I made in Canada besides my own little bit of German baking. I adjusted the recipe for the home use. You till can make big buns by doubling the batch or more (in case you have a huge family that needs big cinnamon buns).

Ingredients:

– 2 liter flour
– 3/4 cup sugar
– 1 tsp salt
– 1/2 tbsp sugar
– 2 tbsp yeast
– 1 cup milk
– 3/4 cup butter
– 1 cup warm water
– 2 eggs
– brown sugar
– 250ml whipping cream

Preheat your oven to 300F°C or 180°C.

Mix the 1/2 tbsp sugar with the yeast and add to warm water to let rise. Warm the milk with the butter and add the 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp salt. Make sure the milk mixture is not too hot otherwise you will kill the yeast.

Sift flour into a mixing bowl, add milk mixture and yeast mixture, finally both eggs. Now knead the dough (I use my KitchenAid with the kneading hook). Make sure the dough is not over kneaded and add some more warm water if necessary (which is very likely). The dough needs to be slightly sticky, transfer to a bowl (preferable metal) and let rise, covering with plastic wrap. Place it onto your stove where it is warm so that the yeast can rise.

Now prepare your pan, preferably a deep rectangular cake pan. Line it with parchment paper and cover the bottom with a good amount of brown sugar. Now pour the whipping cream on top, make sure the brown sugar is covered but not all too much (otherwise your buns will be overly sticky or even runny). Set aside on top of your stove to warm the mixture.

Tip: If your oven is on it should produce enough heat to give the dough a good warmth and the cake pan as well. Make sure you do not burn the dough by placing it directly over the vent of the oven.

Once the dough has doubled place it on a floured surface and roll it out into a rectangular shape. The longer the more rolls you will have, the wider the thinker they will be. Now take some butter and cover the surface with it. I actually melted some and poured it out, spreading it with my hand. After this you sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon all over and if you like you can add some raisin on nuts or so. Roll up the whole thing, pulling slightly while doing so which will give you more layers. Cut as think as you like them and place them in the cake pan.

Time for you to wait now. The cake pen should go back on top of the oven so that the dough rises once again. If they have doubled their size you can put them in the oven. I am not sure about the time, I would say 30 min, but check to make sure I am not lying. Differences in altitude, oven configurations and so change the baking time.

After they are done, take a cookie sheet, line it with parchment paper and flip the pan over so that your buns are upside down. The gooey stuff should run out a bit and with a spatula you can smear it on top again. Let them cool a bit and separate them.

Now you are proud that you made cinnamon rolls. 😉