Below I am going to list the exact, somewhat makeshift, ingredients list and recipe to make light and airy cinnamon buns for any party, dinner or lonely, cold Christmas day  where you just need a little something sweet. Firstly, I will list the ingredients in which you will need to make these breathtaking buns:

Ingredients list:

For the dough…

• 500ml of milk

• 50g (1 packet) yeast for sweet doughs

• 100ml of granulated sugar or white baking syrup ( I used sugar here)

• 1/2 a teaspoon of salt

• (Optional) 2 teaspoons of ground cardamom

• 800g (approx. 1.4L) of fine wheat flour

For the classic cinnamon filling…

• 150g of room-temperature butter or margarine (I used butter here)

• 100ml of granulated sugar

• 2 tablespoons of cinnamon.

(*Disclaimer*, for the cinnamon filling yes the measurements are what they recommend, but for the genuine best result I usually just have a cinnamon pot, a bag of sugar and a tub of butter on hand and really just freestyle it until I’m content. It’s very much how much you yourself would like to add)

For brushing:

• 1 whole whisked egg

• Pearl sugar or chopped almonds

(*Disclaimer*, you’ll see at the end here that for my personal creation, I used neither pearl sugar or chopped almonds for that’s purely just down to preference. Once again, I reiterate, it is very much user preference)

Method:

(total time ≈ 120 minutes… supposedly)

1. Warm the milk to 37 °C (lukewarm – to the point where you can put your finger in the pan and it doesn’t burn or isn’t too cold…body temperature).

2. Crumble the yeast into a mixing bowl (I would say a substantial bowl!). Pour in the milk and stir. Add in additional components such as sugar, salt and cardamom if you choose to take that route.

3. Measure the flour: pour it loosely from the bag into a measuring cup (don’t shake it). Add most of the flour, reserving some flour for kneading later (although I found myself needing more flour as it got rather sticky!)

4. Knead the dough vigorously — about 5 minutes with a mixer, or 10 minutes by hand — until it’s smooth and elastic.

5. Let the dough rise, covered with a cloth, for about 30 minutes. Preferably in a partially warmed area.

6. Punch down the risen dough, knead lightly, then divide it into 4 portions. Roll each portion out into a rectangular sheet.

7. Once each portion is placed into a rectangular sheet, you will then want your butter (I gently melted mine so it was easier to spread), cinnamon and sugar.

8. Then spread the butter over the dough sheet (either with your hands or any utensil you seem suitable). Once equally distributed across the whole of the dough then add the cinnamon then the sugar. Again, you really can add as much or as less as you seem fit.

9. Here is where it becomes interesting. You will want to gently pick up the rectangular sheet and fold a third of it on top of itself. Then grab the remaining exposed area and fold on top of the area you just covered with the dough. To somewhat make a sheet of folded thirds where the tasty cinnamon is all stuck inside.

10. Next grab a knife and cut into appropriate singular wafer-like shapes, however thick you want. After this has been done grab the mini rectangle of sandwiched cinnamon brilliance and stretch and twist as you see fit.

11. I tend to freestyle in this segment but I will try to best describe what I actually do: I get one of the cut up dough slices and stretch it (without breaking it) then I grab one end and twist into a spiral then aim to make a bow or knot with it.

12. Once all the dough aerobics have ceased, let the shaped buns rest and rise in oven dishes lined with parchment paper before baking. I would recommend 30 minutes for the next round of rising just for the best effect. In this time I would also preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.

TIP: before preheating the oven, fill up an oven dish with water and place it on the bottom of the oven creating a ‘steam tray’. In all honesty do not know the science behind it but the moisture from the steam keeps the buns airy and light.

13. Okay you’ve made it this far, WELL DONE!, now all you have to do is coat each singular bun in that whisked egg (with a brush, by hand or fork) for that golden brown finish.

14. Then place in the oven for around 5-10 minutes it could be more. General consensus is that you want a nice golden-brown finish on your buns.

And there you have it!!!

You have now just made the talk of the party or dinner, or that little, soft delight that will just about get you through the rest of the day. Thank you for your time, patience and I do hope that this recipe has been somewhat useful overall.

Image Credits: Will Witham