Culture

I adapted a pizza dough recipe from blog The Londoner to create the buns. The result is a pile of fluffy, sweet cinnamon-laden goodness. Citrus peel adds welcome bitterness, but leave it out if it ain’t your thing. Throw in a handful of slivered almonds for crunch, if you wish. Most importantly, try out the dough recipe for homemade pizzas – omit the cinnamon in the dough before rolling it out then spread it liberally with a mixture of 4 TBS tomato paste, 2 TBS olive oil, 2 tsp sugar and 2 tsp dried oregano. Top with a few handfuls of fresh baby spinach, crumbled feta and grated edam, and bake per the instructions below.

Ingredients

2 1/2 tsp dried yeast granules
1 TBS white sugar
2 TBS light oil (e.g. canola)
325ml tepid water
2+ cups white flour
2 tsp salt
3 TBS ground cinnamon

For the filling:
75g butter
5 TBS sugar (soft brown or caster)
5 or 6 TBS ground cinnamon
75g glacé mixed peel (optional)
50g slivered almonds (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C bake or 170°C fan bake.

2. Mix the yeast, sugar, oil and water in a bowl. Leave for 10 minutes at room temperature.

3. Mix 2 cups of the flour, the salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture. Mix thoroughly until you have a consistently smooth dough.

4. Flour a board and tip the dough onto it. Knead it for about 10 minutes or until springy and elastic, adding more flour if it gets sticky. You may knead in anything between 1/4 cup and 1 cup of additional flour.

5. To make the filling, soften the butter at room temperature, or for 20 seconds in the microwave. If you use the microwave, don’t melt it completely (the residual heat will soften the rest of the butter once you beat it). Add the sugar and cinnamon and beat with a whisk until thick and creamy.

6. Split the dough in half and roll each piece into a rectangle about 20cm by 8cm. Spread 1/3 of the length with half the glacé peel, roll over, then spread the next 1/3 with half the cinnamon filling (directions below). Roll up completely and repeat with the other rectangle of dough. Slice into 5 cm lengths, then press these down. Place on a greased baking tray, gooey side up. Leave for 40 minutes in a warm place, covered with a damp tea towel.

7. Bake the cinnamon buns for 20-25 minutes. They should be golden on the outside with the filling bubbling, but still a bit doughy on the inside. Dunk in strong black coffee or serve with a steaming mug of tea. These are perfect for breakfast, afternoon tea or as a late-night snack.