
Notes
This makes 12-16 cinnamon buns, depending on how deep you cut each slice
Tin sizes don’t need to be exact – the buns will expand outwards and/or upwards. If using a rectangular tin, use one about 20 x 30 cm and if using a circular tin, use one about 30cm in diameter
This is a wet dough so you may want to use a stand mixer instead of your hands for the kneading stage
Preparation time – 2hr 15 (about 45 minutes of this is hands-on activity)
Cooking time – 20-25 mins

Equipment
- a tin to place the buns in – rectangular or circular will do. See notes above
- pastry brush
- rolling pin
- large bowl
- sharp knife
- small ceramic bowl/cup or small saucepan
- stand mixer with dough hook (if not kneading by hand)
- clean tea towel
Ingredients – for the enriched dough
- 300g wholemeal bread flour
- 150g strong white flour
- 1 teaspoon of fast action dried yeast
- 40g caster sugar
- a pinch of fine salt
- 120ml milk (doesn’t have to be warmed but it’s better if it’s not fridge-cold)
- 70ml tepid water
- 1 medium egg (beaten)
- 25 olive oil
Ingredients for the filling
- 95g unsalted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 50g demerara sugar
- 100g chopped gale cherries
Ingredients for the glaze/topping
- 30ml golden syrup or maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons of marmalade (with or without peel – your choice)
- 30g – 40g of slivered almonds
Plus
- extra flour for dusting
- extra olive oil for resting the dough
Method
- Add all the dry ingredients into your bowl (that’s both flour types, sugar, yeast and salt) and mix them up a bit.
- Make a well in the middle and tip in the milk and water, beaten egg and olive oil and start to mix. This is a little wetter than bread and is messy so you may want to use a wooden spoon first to bring it together before you start to knead
- Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a bread hook instead of hand kneading
- If kneading by hand, tip out onto a lightly floured surface
- Knead for 8 – 10 mins (or in your stand mixer). The dough will have a smooth surface when it’s ready
- Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with your tea towel
- Leave it to rise somewhere warm. This will typically take an hour and the dough will almost double in size
- Gently roll the dough out of the bowl on to a lightly floured surface and start to press it down gently into a rectangle (around 65cm by 15 cm)
- In a small bowl, mix the ground cinnamon, vanilla seeds, caster sugar and softened butter together
- Spread the cinnamon butter all over the dough
- Scatter over the chopped glace cherries
- Roll up the dough like a roulade/Swiss roll, starting from the long edge
- Cut the roll into 12-16 slices
- Place the slices end-on into your tin. If the slices have flattened as you cut them, you can reshape them by hand
- Space the slices around 1 cm apart
- Cover again and leave to rise a second time for around 30 mins
- Heat your oven to 180C fan/200C conventional.
- When risen, place in the oven
- After 10 mins turn the oven down to 160C fan/140C conventional and bake for 10 – 15 mins more
- Let the buns cool in the tin for 10 minutes
- Melt the syrup and marmalade together with a tablespoon of water – you can do this in the microwave or in a saucepan
- Brush the glaze over the top of the buns while they are still in the tin and then sprinkle with the almonds
- Leave until fully cool
