Cinnamon Buns

I love Cinnamon Buns. These are very sticky, light and very Cinnamony.

It's good to be generous with the cinnamon sugar filling as it gives a very distinct flavour. 

They are great for breakfast, coffee break ...... or anytime really. 

You can add crushed walnuts and/or sultanas in the filling, but I still love the simple Cinnamon flavour. 

Ingredients ( for the dough) 

•      600g (1lb 5oz) strong white flour, plus extra to dust

•      10g fast active dried yeast

•      100g (3½oz) caster sugar

•      275ml (9fl oz) milk

•      1 medium egg

•      50g (2oz) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease

Ingredients (for the filling and topping)

•      40g (1½oz) unsalted butter, very soft

•      60g (2½oz) caster sugar

•      2 tsp (or more) ground cinnamon

•      50g (2oz) pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped

•      50g (2oz) sultanas

•      125g (4oz) icing sugar

Method

1      Sift the flour into a large bowl and stir though the yeast, sugar and 1tsp salt. Heat the milk until it's just warm (too hot and it will stop the yeast from working). Whisk in the egg and melted butter, then add to the flour bowl in one go. Quickly mix to a soft but not sticky dough.

2      Scrape dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 min until elastic and smooth. Transfer to a large greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place until well risen (about 2hrs).

3      If you have time, take dough out of the bowl, knead it to burst any air bubbles, then return to the bowl. Cover and leave to rise for a further 30min (this will help develop the flavour).

4      Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Lightly dust a work surface and roll out dough to a rectangle roughly 23cm x 38cm (9in x 15in). Arrange so a long edge is in front of you, then spread butter with your finger over the rectangle (right to the edges), and scatter over sugar, cinnamon, nuts and sultanas.

5      Brush the long edge furthest away from you with water (to help it stick). Roll up the dough tightly starting from the nearest edge - keeping it as round as possible, and pressing lightly to seal on the watered edge.

6      Cut roll into 2.5cm (1in) slices and arrange swirl-side up on the baking sheet (leaving space between the rolls to allow for expansion). Loosely cover with greased clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 30min to 1 hour.

7      Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5. Remove clingfilm and bake buns for 25-30min until nicely golden and well risen. Five minutes before buns are finished baking, sift icing sugar into a bowl and mix in just enough water to make icing with a smooth, thick, spoonable consistency.

8      As soon as the buns come out of the oven, spoon over the icing and leave to set. Serve warm or at room temperature.