Cinnamon buns

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

1. Add all the dry ingredients into your bowl (that’s both flour types, sugar, yeast and salt) and mix them up a bit.
2. 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
3. Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a bread hook instead of hand kneading
4. If kneading by hand, tip out onto a lightly floured surface
5. Knead for 8 – 10 mins (or in your stand mixer). The dough will have a smooth surface when it’s ready
6. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with your tea towel
7. Leave it to rise somewhere warm. This will typically take an hour and the dough will almost double in size
8. 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)
9. In a small bowl, mix the ground cinnamon, vanilla seeds, caster sugar and softened butter together
10. Spread the cinnamon butter all over the dough
11. Scatter over the chopped glace cherries
12. Roll up the dough like a roulade/Swiss roll, starting from the long edge
13. Cut the roll into 12-16 slices
14. Place the slices end-on into your tin. If the slices have flattened as you cut them, you can reshape them by hand
15. Space the slices around 1 cm apart
16. Cover again and leave to rise a second time for around 30 mins
17. Heat your oven to 180C fan/200C conventional.
18. When risen, place in the oven
19. After 10 mins turn the oven down to 160C fan/140C conventional and bake for 10 – 15 mins more
20. Let the buns cool in the tin for 10 minutes
21. Melt the syrup and marmalade together with a tablespoon of water – you can do this in the microwave or in a saucepan
22. Brush the glaze over the top of the buns while they are still in the tin and then sprinkle with the almonds
23. Leave until fully cool

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