CINNAMON BUNS

By tradition Anne makes these buns for breakfast on Christmas Day.

2 cups scalded milk ( Mix 2/3 cup dry milk powder with boiling water to make 2 cups)

Add to hot milk:  ½ cup sugar   ½ cup butter 2 tsp salt. Stir to mix and melt butter.

Cool to lukewarm.  Mix 2 envelopes of dry yeast to ½ cup lukewarm water. When fluffy, mix into lukewarm milk with 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Gradually beat in enough flour to make a dough you can knead until smooth and supple. I usually use ½ all purpose flour and ½ bread flour. When your dough is nicely kneaded, cover and allow to rise until doubled. Punch down and divide the dough into three equal parts. You will want to roll each lump of dough out into a rectangle, and rolling will be easier if you cover them and let them rest for a few minutes. Meanwhile, for each dough rectangle have ready butter soft enough to spread and ½ cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

I usually use one of my plastic cutting sheets to roll this dough. It doesn’t stick, in general, but you may want to flour the surface lightly. Roll into roughly 12 x 14 inch rectangle. Leave about an inch of one 14 inch edge clear of butter and sugar mixture. Spread soft butter in a light coat over the remaining surface of your rolled dough and sprinkle evenly as possible with ½ cup cinnamon sugar. Roll the sugared dough toward the unsugared edge, and pinch the unsugared edge together with the back side of the roll to seal. You should have an even roll of dough, plain on the outside and full of cinnamon sugar on the inside. Repeat the process with your other two dough lumps.

Line with aluminum foil or parchment paper two rimmed cookie sheets and grease bottoms and sides. Cut each of your dough rolls into twelve slices. They will leak a certain amount of cinnamon sugar as you cut them. That’s one of the reasons I use the plastic cutting sheet. Place your dough slices in the prepared lined and greased cookie sheet pans and sprinkle the tops with the cinnamon sugar that spilled while slicing. Don’t crowd your bun slices, they will rise and spread.

Cover the dough slices with plastic wrap and refrigerate if you want to bake them the next day. Refrigerate. They are fine rising in the fridge and can wait for as much as two or three days before baking. Allow them to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and then bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

If you plan on baking the buns the same day, cover and allow to rise about 45 minutes or until the buns have expanded to touch at the ends. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

NOTE : You could make 4 dough balls and have 4 dozen smaller buns.

If you plan on frosting the buns, while they are cooking make a simple confectioners’ sugar frosting with about 2 Tablespoons soft butter, 2 cups of sifted icing sugar, 1 teaspoonful of vanilla and enough milk (1 or 2 Tablespoons) to make soft icing. Spread on warm buns.