Cinnamon buns

Photographer: Adam
makes 9 good sized buns

I was trying to think what food I would like my son to be associated with on the internet and after some to-ing and fro-ing I settled on cinnamon buns. I think they match each other in cuteness and sweetness and I knew I would find it amusing watching him try to stretch his tinsy tiny mouth around an almightily sized bun.

Every Sunday morning at 6 am in my third year at uni I used to roll out a vegan version of these for my employer Modaks. I would have toiled together the mass of dough the Saturday avo beforehand and left it over night to prove. Ceaselessly they were the crowd favourite at the hippyesque café because they met two important requirements – no animal products and deliciousness.

Making them for my boy this time I decided to be kind and put in the dairy and eggs – we’ve just started letting him eat dairy again since his tummy has settled down and there isn’t really a substitute for the flavour of butter. His wee pudgy hands pushed at the rolling pin, mixed the filling and even drizzled the icing. He went back to childcare glorious, his cinna-trophy in hand declaring his prowess to the other children. It was a warming experience for both of us – and with Adam on hand there’s some beautiful photographic evidence of it, which I look forward to plastering on my walls at home.

Sadly this is my last blog post for the next wee while as I’m leaving the halls of F&P to complete my Masters in Chemistry. I will miss the food, the laughs and most importantly the people. I look forward to seeing the sumptuous posts my fellow bloggers will put forward this year and will hopefully be back in 2012. In the mean time I hope you, our readers, have a fantastic 2011 filled with all the best stuff – good food, loved ones and joy.

Ka kite ano

Susie

INGREDIENTS

Dough
1 cup warm milk
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup white sugar
4 1/2 cups bread flour
2 eggs, room temperature, beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt

Filling
1/3 cup softened butter
1 cup of brown sugar packed
2 ½ tsp cinnamon

Icing
1 egg white
1 ½ cups of icing sugar
1 tsp of vanilla essence

METHOD


1. Dissolve the yeast into the warm milk with the sugar.
2. If you’re using a bread machine to make the dough add in the flour then the remaining ingredients and leave until proved.
3. If you’re making by hand put the flour into a bowl, mix in the salt and then make a well in the centre. Add in the remaining ingredients including the milk and yeast mix. Mix with a spoon until a dough is formed then turn onto a floured bench and knead for 10-15min or until smooth. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and then leave to prove in a warm place for an hour or until doubled in size*.
4. Roll out the dough on a floured bench into a rectangle (roughly 45-50cm wide and 30cm deep). Pre-heat your oven on bake to 180°C.
5. Mix the ingredients for the filling to a paste and evenly spread over the dough right up the edges so all the buns get their share of it. Roll up the dough tightly and then cut evenly into nine.
6. Pack into an appropriately sized oven tray and bake for 15-20min or until golden.
7. Allow the buns to cool a little and in the interim mix the icing. It should make quite a thick icing good for drizzling over your buns.
*Proving in your oven actually works a treat. Try functions like defrost or warm keep your oven low ~40°C and cover with a wet tea towel. Electronic ovens will also work – the most important thing is keeping the temp low.