Bread Experiments Chapter 4: Cinnamon Swirl Buns

While we don't experience any seasons other than summer in Singapore, the recent increase in rainfall after the sweltering July-August indicates that fall is on its way. And while the temperate countries are looking forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving, the cafes are bring out things like Pumpkin Spiced Latte.

Besides, with the recent discussions on Hyggeligt and Fika, it's only right to try out these Danish / Swedish sweet rolls or "Vienna bread":

Cinnamon Buns

Sweden even celebrates National Cinnamon Bun day every 4th October. And of course, what can be more authentic than using Danish / Swedish recipes for this sweet, buttery treat. Below, I'm comparing 2 recipes from Fika and Hygge (Bronte Aurell) and food bloggers Anne au Chocolat and Frederikke Waerens.

Starting off with the recipe from Fika and Hygge

Dough

7g dried / instant yeast

100ml milk

30g butter

15g sugar

200 g bread / plain flour

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 egg (don't worry about the other half, can use it to brush the buns)

Filling

40g softened butter

1-2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

40g sugar

1. Mix the dough ingredients in a bowl before tipping out onto a clean surface to knead for 10-15 minutes. The dough will be soft.

Note: This is an enriched dough, with butter, milk and egg. Egg will help to improve the rise while butter and milk contain fats that may inhibit the rising of the dough. It also helps that more yeast is added (7g to 200g flour). You can read more about the effect of ingredients on bread dough here.

2. After kneading, leave the dough to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour. While waiting for the dough to rise, mix the ingredients for the filling until homogeneous.

3. When the dough has risen, punch out the air and roll it out to about 3-5 mm thick. It is better to use a rolling pin here to have an even surface to spread the filling.

4. Then spread the filling onto the dough evenly. Fold over and make swirls or twists as you like.

5A. For Cinnamon twists, cut the dough into long strips and make an incision in the middle of each strip and twist the 2 strips together, rolling as you go along.

5B. For Cinnamon rolls / swirls, roll the dough into a long roll and then cut the pieces and arrange them in a pan.

6. Leave the twists / rolls to proof for another 45 minutes to 1 hour, until doubled in size. Then brush with milk or leftover egg and bake at 200 degrees C for 10-12 minutes.

7. Leave to cool completely before storing. Or eat them warm!

The second recipe is slightly richer in terms of using more egg and butter, which I adapted from Frederikke Waerens' and Anne au Chocolat's blogs. 

Dough
7g dried / instant yeast
80ml milk
40g butter
1 tsp sugar
200 g bread / plain flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg

Filling
40g softened butter
1-2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
40g sugar

1. Mix the ingredients for the dough. For this case, I measured out about 90ml of milk and mixed all the ingredients except the milk first. Then I added in the milk until the dough came together. I was left with about 10-15ml milk, which can be set aside for later.

2. Knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes and leave to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour until doubled in size. While waiting for the dough to rise, mix the ingredients for the filling until homogeneous.

3. When the dough has risen, roll it out to 3-5mm thick with a rolling pin. Then spread the filling evenly. Here I also added some leftover Nutella.

4. As described in Points 5A and 5B above, you can make twists or rolls. I chose to go with rolls for this recipe. I used a baking tin lined with paper so that it is easier to lift out the rolls after baking.

5. Leave the rolls to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour until doubled in size. Then brush with the left over milk and bake at 180 degrees C for 30 minutes.

6. Leave to cool completely before storing. Or eat them warm!

So the verdict...

The cinnamon twists (Fika and Hygge)

These cinnamon buns were crisp and fragrant and somewhat on the drier side, but delicious nonetheless. Also if you prefer drier buns, it is better to go for the twists style. This is because the spacing out allows the milk and butter to dry out during the baking process.

The cinnamon rolls (Anne au chocolat / Frederikke Waerens)

The cinnamon buns were crispy on the outside and not overly sweet. Inside the bun was a soft buttery dough but not too overpowering, it does not taste sweet even though sugar was added in the dough. The swirl / roll style also helps to maintain the moisture of the buns. 

For both versions, the sweetness comes from the filling, balanced out by the buttery flavour in the buns. 

Brushing with eggs give a shiny sheen to the baked buns, but be careful to end up with a congealed dried yolk if it is not brushed thinly. Brushing with milk gives a crispier top to the buns. 

During the baking process, the house is filled with the fragrant smell of baked cinnamon. In my opinion, it brings me closer to feeling Hygge and of course it is a fitting treat for Fika! Even though we are not in the cool temperate climate, this is still a treat that is hard to resist.

Useful links

How to make cinnamon bun (includes demo for rolls and twists)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-7rBilf9zI