HomeGBBO Cinnamon Buns
16 October, 2018

Cinnamon Buns

Posted in : GBBO, Recipes on by : rachgriff@hotmail.com

I am so excited for tonight’s episode of the Great British Bake Off!  It’s Scandinavian Baking week and I love all things Scandi, especially Cinnamon Buns!  Cinnamon Buns or Rolls exist in many forms, from the cream cheese icing topped American version, to the flaky pastry version you find in many bakeries, to my favourite….. the Scandinavian style Cinnamon Bun, flavoured with fragrant cardamom.  There are many variations of recipes for Cinnamon Buns!  Some use fresh yeast but I’ve gone for a recipe which uses fast action dried yeast.  Different bakers prefer different flours but I’ve stuck to plain flour.  There are many intricate ways of shaping the buns, but I’ve gone for a straightforward tear and share presentation.

This recipe appeared in ‘The Guardian’ newspaper on 22/05/14 and makes 7 Buns.

Ingredients:

  • 300ml whole milk
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom seeds (about 25 pods)
  • 50g butter
  • 425g plain flour
  • 7g fast action yeast
  • 60g caster sugar
  • 1/4 tsp fine salt
  • Oil, to grease

For the filling:

  • 75g butter, softened
  • 50g dark brown sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt

To finish:

  • 1 egg, beaten lightly
  • Demerara sugar, to sprinkle

Instructions:

  1. Put the milk in a small pan, add the cardamom seeds (I crushed my pods using a pestle and mortar) and bring to just below the boil.  Take off the heat, stir in the butter and leave to infuse until it is just warm.
  2. Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  When the milk is warm rather than hot, make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the egg.  Stir in, then strain in the milk and stir together to make a soft dough which comes away from the edge of the bowl.
  3. Tip onto a lightly oiled work surface and knead for 5 minutes,  It will be VERY sticky at first, but persevere.  This is where a dough scraper comes in useful!
  4. Wipe out the bowl, oil it lightly, then return the dough to the bowl.  Cover and leave somewhere draught-free and not too cold for 30 minutes.  *Baking Tip* I always collect the complimentary plastic shower caps from hotel bathrooms as these are just perfect for attaching over a bowl to cover dough!
  5. Meanwhile, make the filling by beating together the butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt until soft and easily spreadable.
  6. Grease a tall, 23cm cake tin.
  7. Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface into a rectangle of approximately 35 x 25 cm.
  8. Spread the filling over the dough.
  9. Starting from one of the long edges, roll the dough up tightly like a Swiss roll.
  10. Position the dough on it’s seam and cut into 7 slices.
  11. Arrange the slices in the tin, evenly spaced out, with the smallest in the middle.  Cover and leave to prove for 30 minutes, until the dough springs back when prodded gently.
  12. Lightly brush the beaten egg over the slices and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
  13. Bake for 25 minutes (until golden brown) in an oven that was preheated to 200°C.

These Cinnamon Buns are best enjoyed warm!