Day 79 Cinnamon Buns, For Real!

Nothing makes yeast breads rise quite as nicely as potato water, and since I happened to save some after making supper last night, I was inspired to bake today. Once the thought entered my brain and set up shop, it didn’t really matter that I had several things to do after yoga; I began craving cinnamon buns, and that was that.

I used to bake a lot, part of my earth-mother persona, and I’m pretty good at it. It’s kind of a Mennonite thing. However, I’m what I call an extemporaneous cook, considering recipes more of… guidelines… than hard and fast rules. I’ll go off on a tangent, substituting hither and yon, cutting corners on overly complicated recipes and generally making stuff up as I go along.

The first thing my daughter asked when I told her I was baking cinnamon buns was, “real ones?”

“What do you mean, real ones?” I asked, affronted.

“No nuts or oatmeal or Splenda or-”

“Yes,” I snapped. “The real thing. All the sugar, all the butter, nothing healthy. Don’t worry.”

I didn’t tell her, but I’ve switched to a new flour, supposedly it has all the nutrition of whole wheat, but the look and taste of white flour. We’ll see.

“Don’t get me wrong, Mom,” she hastened to add, aware that as the main Food Provider, I’m also able to block access to the goods. “Your other ones were delicious too. They just weren’t… you know… cinnamon buns.”

Yes, I remember. And she’s being generous; they were horrid gummy tooth-breakers, not in the same class of baked item. As evidenced by the Canned Kale Pasta Debacle, not all my experiments are successful.

Well, I’m happy to say that, despite my lack of practice, today’s effort was worthwhile – and nobody even noticed that they’re not quite as white as usual.

If anyone’s interested, here’s the recipe. (I use skim milk, and cut the recipe so I can use my Bosch mixer. I also put brown sugar and raisins in the filling, but other than that, it’s the Real UBC Cinnamon Bun.)

UBC CINNAMON BUNS (TRADITIONAL METHOD)

These legendary cinnamon buns were first introduced to the University of British Columbia’s students in the early 1950s. The recipe has been printed numerous times in The Vancouver Sun and every year they still get requests for these light-textured buns. Although large, they’re not as rich and gooey as some cinnamon buns.

Dough

3 cups (750 mL) milk (2 per cent M.F.)

6 tablespoons (90 mL) butter

6 tablespoons (90 mL) granulated sugar

1 tablespoon (15 mL) salt

1 teaspoon (5 mL) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (125 mL) lukewarm water

2 (8 g) packages traditional active dry yeast

2 large eggs

9 cups (2.25 L) all-purpose flour, about

Filling

11/4 cups (300 mL) granulated sugar

2 tablespoons (30 mL) ground cinnamon

3/4 cup (175 mL) melted butter, divided

Dough: Scald milk. Stir in butter, 6 tablespoons (90 mL) sugar and salt. Cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve the 1 teaspoon (5 mL) sugar in lukewarm water. Sprinkle yeast over water mixture. Let stand in warm place for 10 minutes; stir.

In large bowl, combine lukewarm milk mixture and eggs. Stir in dissolved yeast. Add 4 to 5 cups (1 to 1.25 L) flour and beat well for 10 minutes. With wooden spoon, gradually add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Turn dough out on to lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour as needed. (This is a soft dough.) Place in well greased bowl and roll dough over to grease the top. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in warm place for 1 hour or until double in size.

Meanwhile prepare filling: In small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

Punch down dough and turn out on to lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half.

Roll out each piece of dough into 18×9-inch (46×23 cm) rectangle. Brush each rectangle generously with melted butter. Place remaining melted butter in bottom of 161/2 x111/2 x21/2-inch (42x29x6 cm) pan.

Sprinkle an equal portion of sugar-cinnamon mixture evenly over each rectangle. Roll each dough rectangle up tightly like a jelly roll, starting from the long side; pinch seam to seal. With sharp knife, cut into 2-inch (5 cm) slices. Arrange slices, cut-side down, in prepared pan and cover loosely with greased wax paper. Let rise in warm place for 45 to 60 minutes or until doubled in size.

Bake at 350 F (180 C) for 35 to 45 minutes or until baked. Remove from oven and immediately invert on to serving tray.

Makes 18 large cinnamon buns.

Approximate nutritional analysis for each serving: 433 cal, 9 g pro, 14 g fat, 69 g carb.