Who doesn’t love them: cinnamon buns can be found almost everywhere in the world. And especially now in the dark season in Berlin, the fluffy pastries can be a real mood lifter. Between Christmas markets and quiet hours in cafés, we can now make ourselves even more comfortable at home. In Sweden and Denmark, there’ s no day without a cinnamon bun. This should also apply in Berlin – especially with this simple recipe.
Ingredients (for approx. 12-16 snails)
For the yeast dough:
- 500 g flour
- 250 ml cold milk
- 90 g butter
- 50 g sugar
- 21 g fresh yeast
- 1 sachet of vanilla sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 egg yolk
For the filling:
- 100 g butter
- 100 g brown sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- Optional: powdered sugar & water for the icing
Homemade cinnamon buns: the instructions
1. the yeast dough
First you start with the yeast dough. This is the “most complicated step” in the preparation of the cinnamon buns. Crumble the fresh yeast into the cold milk and allow it to dissolve while stirring. Then add the flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, salt and egg yolk to a large bowl. Add the yeast milk.
Knead the dough well. Gradually add the cold butter until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Then it’s time to wait: the longer, the better. Cover the dough and leave it to rise in a warm place for 60 minutes until it has roughly doubled in size.
2. the cinnamon filling
Of course, we can bridge the waiting time by taking care of the filling. To do this, put the very soft butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix everything together. The brown sugar caramelizes later in the oven and provides a great aroma.
3. shaping and baking
Once the dough has risen sufficiently, roll it out into a rectangle on a well-floured work surface. Spread the cinnamon-sugar-butter filling evenly over it. Then roll it tightly and firmly from the long side to form a long roll.
Then cut this roll into slices about 3 cm thick with a sharp knife. But don’t put it straight into the oven just yet. Place the snails a little apart on a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover and leave to rise for another 30 minutes.
Then you can bake them. At 200 °C top/bottom heat, the cinnamon buns need about 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown. And now you have your perfect and delicious cinnamon buns!
4. glazing (optional)
You can either simply enjoy your baked result as it is, or you can glaze it. To do this, mix the powdered sugar with just a teaspoon of water until the icing is smooth, shiny and thick and flows off the spoon. Coat the cinnamon buns with it – and your fall treat is ready!