Braided Cinnamon Buns Recipes

CINNAMON BUN TWISTS

Steps:

• Place all ingredients except for the butter into a medium bowl. Bring together into a rough dough, then turn out onto a work surface (do not add more flour).
• Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes. It will start off as very rough, then will come together and become smooth and elastic, and when pressed lightly with a finger, the dough should spring back slightly.
• Flatten the dough out into a rough rectangle and add the butter to the surface of the dough. This part will get sloppy, so make sure that you have a bench scraper nearby. Incorporate the butter into the dough by squeezing it and kneading it in. Keep scraping any excess butter back onto the dough and kneading it in. Don't freak out. It will all work together.
• Once the butter has incorporated into the dough, knead for a further 2-3 minutes.
• Shape the dough into a ball and then transfer to a lightly buttered bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Leave to sit on the counter for about 20 minutes to kick start the rising process, then transfer to the fridge to rise for at least two hours, and up to overnight.
• Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl and mix until well incorporated.
• Grease a muffin pan with melted butter and a brush - you need 8 holes of the pan filled. If you are worried about the buns sticking, you can place a small piece of parchment paper into the cup of each pan to help with removal. I like to leave a gap between rolls where I can - with 8 holes in a 12 cup muffin pan there will be some with rolls next to each other.
• Turn the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a rectangle by patting down and squaring off the edges with a bench scraper. Starting with the dough in a rectangle means you are more likely to get a nice even rectangle of dough when you roll it out.
• Roll the dough to a rectangle that is 32x36cm (12.5 x 14 inches).
• Spread the dough evenly with the filling using an offset spatula. Take it right to the edges.
• Holding one of the SHORT ends of the dough, fold the dough into thirds like you would a business letter. To do this, take one end and fold it to 2/3 of the way across, then fold the other third over it. (see video at top of post for demonstration).
• You should now have a rectangle of dough that is 12cm (4.7 inches) wide and 32 cm long.
• Pat the rectangle of dough out gently just to make sure there are no air bubbles.
• Arrange the dough so one of the short sides is facing you. Cut the dough into 8 strips, each 4cm (1.5") wide (so you will be left with 8 strips each measuring 4x12cm / 1.5x4.7"
• Place the strip of dough onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes. This helps firm up the dough and set the filling, and makes the next step a little cleaner.
• Remove the dough from the fridge. Working with one piece of dough at a time, cut the strip of dough into 3 pieces, leaving an end intact (see images). Braid the strips of dough together to form a single braid.
• Starting with the clean joined end, roll the whole braid up into a ball. Place into one of the cavities of the muffin pan.
• Repeat the process with the remaining strips of dough until you have 8 buns.
• Cover the pan lightly with plastic wrap, and leave in a warm spot until the buns are puffy and when pressed lightly with a finger, the dough an indentation is left that slowly springs back.
• Toward the end of the rising period for the buns, preheat the oven to 375°f / 190°c.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the risen buns, and brush the tops with egg wash, being careful not to drip too much down the sides or brush too much of the filling onto the dough.
• Bake the buns for 15-20 minutes, until they are golden brown. If you like, you can measure the temperature of the buns with a probe thermometer inserted into the dough. Fully baked dough reads at about 190°f / 90°c.
• Remove the buns from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack soon after removing them, so that they do not stick to the pan.
• Leave to cool on the wire rack.
• Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

BEST EVER CINNAMON BUNS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water, and let stand for 3 minutes. Add cake mix, 1 cup flour, eggs, oil, and salt; beat well. Stir in remaining flour until a soft dough forms.
• Knead on well floured surface for about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, and turn to coat the dough surface. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Punch down, and divide into two equal parts. Roll out each section on a lightly floured surface. Spread each with softened butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
• Roll up like jelly rolls and cut buns 1 1/2 inches thick with a piece of dental floss or a dull knife. Place in greased baking pans, and allow to rise until doubled.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, combine confectioners sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, vanilla, and milk. Remove baked buns from oven and drizzle with frosting.

BRAIDED CINNAMON BUNS

Steps:

• First things first, mix the dough. Pull out the bowl of your stand mixer and add the milk, eggs, vanilla and salt. Mix briefly then add the butter and flour. Transfer to your mixer and with the dough hook attachment, mix the dough till it starts to pull from the sides of the bowl. This can take up to 10 minutes. If you are mixing the dough by hand, transfer the dough to a clean surface and knead for up to 10 minutes. The dough will become shiny, smooth and elastic.
• Form the kneaded dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean cloth and leave or 1 hr till it doubles in size.
• Add the cinnamon filling ingredients into a bowl and mix till well combined. Set aside.
• After 1 hr, the dough should have risen and doubled in size. Transfer the dough to a clean surface lightly dusted with flour. Push out the air gently. Roll the dough to roughly the size of an A3 paper. that is approximately 16.5inch by 11.7inch. Make sure the dough is not sticking to your surface. Spread a thin layer of the filling onto the dough and fold the dough in half lengthwise to enclose the filling "like a letter".
• Make individual slices lengthwise till you end up with 12 strips of dough. Take a strip of dough and cut down lengthwise to make 3 strands. Plait the three strands together and roll the plait to create a knot. Repeat this for the remaining dough strips.
• Place the rolled dough into your greased muffin pan.
• Cover with a clean cloth and set aside to proof for 30-1hr.
• Glaze the dough with egg wash and bake in a 200-degree Celsius oven till golden brown.
• Transfer the baked buns to a cooling rack to cool for a few minutes. Dust with icing sugar or glaze with a cream cheese glaze and serve. Enjoy.

BRAIDED CINNAMON ROLL KNOTS

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, yeast and 1 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
• Combine the milk and 4 tablespoons of the butter in a small saucepan and heat over medium until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and let cool until the milk mixture is about 120 degrees F. Beat in the eggs.
• Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix on medium speed until all the flour is incorporated, about 3 minutes. Increase the speed to high and mix until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. Grease a medium bowl with butter and add the ball of dough, flipping to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, whisk the brown sugar, cinnamon and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the remaining 6 tablespoons butter until well combined and spreadable; set aside.
• Generously flour a work surface and roll the dough out into a 12-by-15-inch rectangle with one of the shorter ends closest to you. Spread the brown sugar mixture evenly over the dough all the way to the edges. Fold the edge closest to you up and over a third of the way, then fold the top edge down to cover it like a letter. Pinch the edges closed to seal in the filling. Flip it over the dough so the seam is on the bottom and roll again into an 8-by-12-inch rectangle.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into twelve 1-inch-wide strips. Working one at a time and starting 1/2 inch in from one end, cut each strip of dough lengthwise into 3 smaller strips so they remained attached at the top. Braid the three strips together, lightly pinch the ends and gently roll the braid into a spiral. Tuck the rolled dough into a nonstick muffin tin with the uncut end at the bottom of the cup and the braided side up. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cover the tin with plastic wrap and put in a warm place until puffy, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bake the cinnamon rolls, rotating the pan halfway through, until golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a wire cooling rack.
• Whisk the confectioners' sugar, cream and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth and spread on the rolls while they are still warm.

CINNAMON PECAN BRAIDS

Steps:

• In a bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add eggs and remaining water; mix well. In another bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Beat into yeast mixture (do not knead). Cover and refrigerate overnight., For filling, in a small bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Stir in pecans and cinnamon; set aside., Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide into four portions. Roll each into a 12-in. x 9-in. x rectangle on a greased baking sheet. Spread filling lengthwise down center third of each rectangle., One each long side, cut 3/4-in.-wide strips to the center to within 1/2 in. of the filling. Starting at one end, fold alternately strips at an angle across filling. Pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour (dough will not double)., Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before removing from pans to wire racks. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over cooled braids.

SOFT, MOIST AND GOOEY CINNAMON BUNS

Steps:

• In a bread machine pan, place the milk, beaten egg, melted butter, water, vanilla pudding mix, bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select the Dough cycle.
• When cycle is finished, remove the dough, and knead for 3 to 5 minutes. Roll out to a large rectangle.
• Mix together the softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread over dough. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and raisins, if desired. Starting with the widest end, roll the dough into a log. Pinch to seal seams. Cut into 1/2 inch to 1 inch slices, and place in a greased 9x13 inch pan. Place in a draft-free space, and allow to rise until doubled.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. To make frosting, mix the milk, confectioners sugar, softened butter and vanilla in a small bowl. Spread over warm cinnamon rolls.

CINNAMON-GLAZED BRAID

Steps:

• Place egg in a measuring cup; add enough water (70°-80°) to measure 1 cup. In bread machine pan, place egg mixture, butter, bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed). , When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into thirds. Roll each portion into a 13-in. rope. Place ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch seams firmly to seal and tuck ends under. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. , Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack. Cool for 10 minutes. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over bread.