Cinnamon Iced Buns

I think we're all going to need a government subsidised gym membership after this lockdown, because no matter how many puzzles I do/shows I watch, I will always resort to baking when I'm bored. Today I was inspired by an old rerun of Great British Bake Off, where contestants had to produce flavoured iced buns for the first challenge. One of my all time favourite treats is a finger bun from Baker's Delight, so I knew I had to give these babies a go. These are soft, fluffy, and made my entire house smell like a bakery when I pulled them out of the oven.

I used to be incredibly limited in my baking because I was so scared of baking with yeast. Now that I've made my focaccia recipe a few times, and mastered a few other simple recipes with yeast, the sky is the limit! My best advice for a budding yeast baker is to try recipes that use yeast in different ways, so you can get a better understanding of how it works. In my bread recipes throughout this blog, you'll notice I leave the yeast in warm water for a minute before adding the rest of the ingredients. This allows the yeast to 'wake up' and become active straight away. This particular recipe involves the yeast being added to the rest of the ingredients without activation, as the warm milk and extended proofing times are what wake up the yeast.

I topped these buns with a quick cinnamon icing, but you could really use whatever flavour you like. I can't wait to bake these for my nieces and nephews and use the classic bright pink icing with sprinkles. The bun recipe is based on one of my all time favourite baker's, Paul Hollywood, which can be found here: https://thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk/recipes/all/paul-hollywood-iced-buns/ I decided to make these into round buns rather than the traditional finger shapes. For what reason you ask? Because I felt like it, so go nuts and make these in whatever shape you like. As long as the dough is divided into 6, the baking times should not change. Paul's recipe is also made using an electric mixer; if you've been following this blog for a while now you'll know I prefer to knead with my hands, so this recipe has been adjusted to a machine-free process.

Ingredients:

• 250g Plain Flour

• 1 Tbs Caster Sugar

• 20g Softened Butter

• 1 Egg

• 1 Sachet Yeast (7g)

• 80ml Warm Milk

• 50ml Water

• Pinch of Salt

For the Icing:

• 1/2 Cup Icing Sugar, Sifted

• 25g Softened Butter

• 2-4 Tbs Milk

• 1 Tsp Cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling on top

• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Let's Bake These Buns:

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients for the dough and stir to mix. Add the egg, milk, and gradually add the water while stirring with a metal spoon.

2. Once the dough has come together (dough will be quite sticky), turn out on to a floured kitchen bench and knead for 10 minutes. Dough will become soft and be very elastic.

3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Allow to rest of 45 minutes, or until dough has doubled in size.

4. Once rested, punch the dough down to knock out the air, and turn out on to a lightly floured bench. Knead for 2 minutes, allowing the dough to soften again.

5. Divide the dough into 6 - I like to split the dough in half, then cut each half in thirds.

6. Roll the dough into balls and place on an oiled baking pan, about 10cm apart. Cover in cling film, not too tight to allow the dough to rise again.

7. Proof dough for a second time for 30 minutes. At this stage pre heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, fan forced.

8. Bake buns for 10 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top.

9. Allow buns to cool before icing.

To Make The Icing:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk or stir thoroughly with a fork.

2. Once buns are cool, dip the tops into the icing and place on a wire rack for any excess to drip off the edges. Sprinkle the tops of the buns with extra cinnamon.