Cinnamon Buns

Baking is always fun,  more so when you ask the children to help you out.   We made these wickedly sweet Cinnamon Buns this weekend and we had a roaring time measuring the ingredients,  grating the lemons,  waiting for the dough to rise, shaping the buns and then waiting for them to pop out of the oven so that we could glaze them.

When they were ready,  they were fast disappearing??.  I did not have any coz I believed that these buns would go straight to my buns; and I am on a slimming spree right now.

Please try making them, it is not as tedious as it appears?.. you and your family will love them,  that much I can assure you ;).

Ingredients:

6 ? tablespoons (95 grams) granulated sugar (Powder it fine in dry grinder)
1 teaspoon salt
5 ? tablespoons (80 grams) unsalted butter
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon grated zest of 1 lemon
3 ? cups (500 grams) Flour (plain maida..not self raising)
2 teaspoons yeast
3 tablespoons powdered milk
1 cup (300 ml) water.
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (80 grms sugar + 1 ? teaspoons ground cinnamon)
White fondant glaze for topping the buns  ( See recipe at the end).

Step 1 – Making the Dough

Cream together the sugar, salt, powdered milk and butter   (I use the food processor which has a kneading button, but you can also do it by hand using a large metal spoon and mixing bowl).

Whip in the egg and lemon zest until smooth.  To the cup of warm water add the yeast and wait till bubbles form..then add flour and knead till the dough forms a ball.   Knead for 12 to 15 minutes or until the dough is silky and supply, tacky but not sticky.   Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Step 2 ? Fermentation

Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours or more or until the dough doubles in size.

Step 3 –  Form the Buns

Transfer the dough to the counter and roll with a rolling pin. Roll it into a rectangle approximately about 2/3 inch thick and 18 inches wide by 9 inches long.  Do not roll the dough too thin or the finished buns will be tough and chewy rather than soft and plump.  Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the surface and roll the dough into a cigar shaped log, creating a cinnamon-sugar spiral as you roll.  With the seam side down,  cut the dough into 12 to 16 pcs each 1 -1/14? thick.

Step 4- Prepare the Buns for Proofing

Line 1 or more sheet pans with baking parchment or wax paper.  Place the buns approx. ? inch apart so that they are not touching but are close to one another.  Keep the buns at room temperature for about 2 hours till they have grown into one another and have nearly doubled in size.

Step 5 ? Bake the Buns

Preheat oven to 175 deg  C and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Step 6 ? Cool and then top the buns with glaze

Cool the buns in the pan for 10 minutes and then streak white fondant glaze across the tops while the buns are warm but not too hot.

(For white fondant glaze ? sift 2 cups of  finely powdered sugar into a bowl..add 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and 1/2 cup warm milk and briskly whisk until all the sugar is dissolved.  Add the milk slowly and only as much as is needed to make a thick, smooth paste.  Drizzle the glaze over the buns by dipping the tines of a fork into the glaze and waving the fork over the tops of the buns).

Author: Judith Serrao- UAE