Pumpkin and Spice

Lately, I've been doing a bit of baking-for-cash, with cinnamon buns being a re-occuring theme. I don't eat many cinnamon buns, partially because that is waaaaaay too much sugar for me as a breakfast food (I'm more of a salty foods for breakfast kind of girl- I prefer sweets as, say, an afternoon snack) and partially because I am really picky about how I like them. I want them to be soft- like just barely baked soft. I want a thick slop of gooey icing on top- preferably not cream cheese icing, though I'll take it in a pinch. I do not want nuts or raisins in my cinnamon bun. (Nuts are acceptable to me in sticky buns, though.) And, while most people consider them a sort of gold standard in the cinnamon roll world, I'm kind of ambivalent towards Cinnabon's cinnamon rolls- I mean, they actually meet all my above criteria, but I always feel like I need a nap after eating one. Or, maybe I shouldn't eat the whole freaking thing. Maybe if they came in a smaller size...

Anyway, I digress. What I'm getting at is- I have made a lot of cinnamon buns in the last month. They have been really good. I'm going to get fat if I keep this up.

Now, the above criteria are purely personal preferance, and actually, could be adapted to any cinnamon roll recipe by underbaking slightly, putting on lots of icing, and leaving out the nuts. You may prefer yours more baked, or with less icing, or whatever. What I do think everyone can agree on though is, and what I think the crucial pass/fail benchmark is- the bread has to taste good. Yeah, you're dolling it up with sugar and cinnamon and icing, but I think the bready portion should stand up on its own. Of course the middle of the roll tastes good- thats where all the filling and icing is. You should be able to tear off a piece of the outside- with no icing, and little to no filling, and it should be good plain. That, I think, is the true hallmark of an excellent cinnamon roll- good bread.

I make my cinnamon buns with a cinnamon brioche dough base. Brioche (bree-oh-shuh) is a rich French bread, made with milk, lots of eggs and lots of butter. I add a bit of cinnamon to the dough, so that the cinnamon permeates the whole bun. (Actually, if you shape this brioche into a loaf and bake it like that, it makes killer French toast.)

Brioche isn't hard to make (if you have a stand mixer)- all the ingredients except the butter are simply dumped in the bowl and kneaded until they form a dough. Then, the soft butter is added in chunks as the dough kneads. Adding the butter in little chunks layers the butter into the dough, making it soft, rich and flaky. Once you roll it out and spread it with cinnamon sugar... it's like heaven!

Another great thing about these- you can make them the evening before, and bake them in the morning! Just finish the recipe up to the point where you slice the buns and lay them in the pan. Cover and refidgerate them overnight. Then, in the morning, continue with the rest of the recipe. They will likely need less proofing (rise time) before baking- start with 5mins, and keep an eye on it.

Now, without further ado, the recipe!

Cinnamon Brioche
Makes 12 cinnamon buns

• 2 oz milk
• 1/4 oz instant yeast (sometimes called "bread machine yeast".)
• 5 oz bread flour
• 5 oz all purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 oz sugar
• 1/8 oz salt
• 1/2 oz cinnamon
• 7 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature

In the bowl of your stand mixer, dump all ingredients (except butter)- be sure the salt and yeast are on opposite sides of the bowl. Mix on the lowest speed until a dough starts to form. Turn up the speed to a mid speed and knead for about 3 minutes. Leaving the mixer running, start adding the butter in small chunks (about a tablespoon size). Add one chunk and wait until it's almost incorporated, then add the next chunk. (It takes a little while... Be patient!) Once all the butter is kneaded into the dough, it should be soft, but not liquidy. If it's too soft, add a tablespoon or two of flour.

Grease and flour a large bowl. Scrape the dough into the floured bowl. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour and cover. Allow dough to double in size.

Cinnamon Filling

• 1/2c brown sugar
• 1/2c sugar
• 3T cinnamon

Stir to combine all ingredients.

Assembly

Once dough has doubled in size, generously flour your work area. Dump the dough onto the floured surface, and dust the top of the dough with flour (the dough will be sticky.) Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 1/2"-3/4"in thick.
Brush the entire surface of the dough generously with melted butter and spread the cinnamon filling evenly across the dough, leaving about an inch across one long side with no filling.

Starting at the long side opposite the filling-less strip, roll the dough into a long log. Roll tightly enough that it will stay together, but loose enough to allow space for rising. Press the buttered (but filling-less) edge to seal the roll shut. With a sharp serrated knife, slice the roll into 12 equal sized rolls.

Butter a 9x13 baking dish and arrange the buns in the dish, allowing space between each bun. At this point, you can cover and refridgerate the buns overnight and continue with the process in the morning.

Now it's time to proof the buns! Place a glass dish on the bottom rack of your oven and fill it with boiling water. Put the tray of buns (uncovered) on the top rack of the oven and close the oven. Allow the buns to about double in size- probably about 15-20 minutes. Once the buns have risen, remove them and the pan of water from the oven and preheat to 375F. Bake for 25-30min.
Allow buns to cool slightly. While you wait, make the...

Cinnamon Butter Icing 

• 1 stick butter, melted
• 3-4c powdered sugar
• 1t vanilla
• 1t cinnamon
• 1T honey
• milk, as needed

Mix the butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and honey until smooth. If needed, add a bit of milk to thin the icing. Once the buns have cooled a little (they can still be a little warm), spread the icing over all the buns, and enjoy!