Cinnamon Buns

It's Monday morning, so if like me your struggling to be in any way enthusiastic, here's something to get you through the day. This is a recipe that has been on a 'must do' list since I started E-D Does It. As you may know I absolutely love cinnamon and these buns are the ultimate cinnamon treat. A delicious sticky, cinnamon mass, they are perfect with morning coffee or for the 3 O'Clock slump. They look impressive, and believe me they don't disappoint in the taste department either. To my surprise  making these buns is quite straightforward, I really don't know why I didn't make these sooner.

Cinnamon Buns

Ingredients
275g warm water
5g active dried yeast
5 tbsp sugar
600g strong white flour
1/2 tsp salt
175g warm milk
75g butter
2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tbsp apricot jam (mixed with 2tbsp water)

For the Filling
125g butter
250g dark brown sugar
4 tbsp of ground cinnamon

Method
1. Mix the water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, remaining sugar, salt and 2 tsp cinnamon. 
3. Next add in the butter and mix well. Then mix in the milk, and yeast mix, and bring the mixture 
    together until it forms a sticky dough. 
4. Turn the dough out onto a well floured board and knead for 4-5 minutes until elastic and 
    smooth in appearance. Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.
5. Roll the dough out on a smoothed surface in a rectangular shape (60 x 40cm). 
6. Smear the butter all over the rolled out dough, followed by the sugar and 4tbsp of cinnamon 
    (as pictured). Then roll the dough inwards from the top down, and seal the final edge with
     water.
7. Cut the roll into 4cm lengths and place on a greased baking tray. Place in a warm area and 
    allow to leave to rise for approximately 30 minutes. Then place in the oven at 180C for 20 
    minutes. 
8. Remove from the oven and brush with the apricot jam mix to glaze. Serve warm. 

E-D's Notes
- This recipe might seem a bit tricky, but once you have all your ingredients out and ready to go 
   it's actually very straight forward. I know people can often see 'yeast' and think, ugh not worth 
   the effort, but really there is nothing to it, just mix it up and your ready to go.
-  Don't worry if your buns don't look much different after the 30 minutes in your hotpress or 
   warm area. The change may be so slight you didn't notice, so just carry.
- These buns are best served warm but can be wrapped up and kept for up to two days.