Cinnamon Buns, Again

I jumped off the gluten free train this weekend when the fiance asked if I could make him some cinnamon buns. There are just a few gluten filled things that I can't resist. One being pizza and the second being Swedish pastries. I haven't noticed any changes in some of my symptoms which I thought could be from eating gluten but I still plan on sticking to this "diet", just with a few exceptions.

Back to the buns, I always turn to Linda Lomelino from Call Me Cupcake when I want to bake Swedish treats. She has two wonderful blogs and she always provides recipes in both Swedish and English. I have made cinnamon buns following her recipe before, but this weekend I noticed that she had a new and improved version on her blog. Of course I went for the new recipe and I can definitely say that this new recipe is so much better than the old one. The texture of the dough after I kneaded it was amazing, it felt like a soft pillow. And after baking in the oven, the buns were soft and doughy with a bit of chew. Plus these cinnamon buns are packed with cardamom, only like the best spice ever. So here we go, cinnamon buns take two!

Cinnamon Buns (from Call Me Cupcake)
Makes 30 to 40 buns, depending on the size you make them

For the Buns
150g butter, softened
100 ml sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp freshly ground cardamom
500 ml milk
50g fresh yeast
840g flour

For the Filling
175g butter, softened
100 ml sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Egg Wash
1 egg, lightly beaten
Pearl sugar, chopped almonds, or granulated sugar

To make the dough for the buns, start by creaming together the butter, sugar, salt and cardamom until smooth in a large bowl.

Heat the milk in a small saucepan over low-medium heat until it reaches about 37 degrees celsius. Crumble the fresh yeast in another bowl and pour the warm milk over it. Stir until the yeast is completely dissolved before adding it to the butter mixture.

Gradually add the flour into the wet mixture and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic feeling. Cover the bowl with a cloth or a lid and leave it to rise until it doubles in size, about 45 minutes to an hour.

While the dough is rising, mix the filling ingredients together and set aside.

When the dough is ready, divide it into two. Start by rolling out the first ball of dough into a large rectangle, about 40 x 50 cm. Spread half of the cinnamon filling over the rectangle.

To make knotted cinnamon buns, fold the rectangular dough up like a business letter so that you will get 3 layers of dough. I folded a third of the top part of the rectangle down and then folded the bottom third up.

Cut out strips of dough, about 2cm wide, and then cut each strip lengthwise leaving the top part uncut. (It should look like a pair of pants!) Twist the dough into a knot and place on a tray lined with parchment paper. Repeat these last few steps until you have used up all your dough.

Cover your cinnamon knots with a cloth towel and leave the buns to rise for another 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 250C or 480F. Brush each bun with some egg wash and sprinkle some sugar on top if you'd like. Bake for 8 minutes (or a few minutes longer if your buns are larger, but I have not had problems with 8 minutes). The cinnamon buns are best the day they are made, but you can always freeze them once they have cooled. Our freezer is stocked with frozen cinnamon buns right now!