Swedish Cinnamon Buns
By Sugar Down Bakery

Makes about a dozen

Ingredients

Dough

80g unsalted butter
600ml milk
150g caster sugar
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
1 egg
650g plain flour
350g strong flour
20g easy blend dried yeast (2 tablespoons / 3 sachets)

Filling

100g unsalted butter, at soft room temperature
100g light brown soft sugar
100g caster sugar
3 tbs ground cinnamon

Glaze

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon milk
5-6 tablespoons caster sugar to sprinkle

Method

1. Melt the butter in a pan. Once melted, add the milk and cardamom, and heat gently for another minute or so, just until the mixture is warm.  If it's too hot, you'll kill the yeast in the next step.
2. In a mixing bowls, quickly mix the milk and sugar, then add the milk mixture.  Mix to incorporate.
3. Add the flours and yeast to the wet mix.  Mix to incorporate. The dough doesn't need to be smooth at this stage, and doesn't need any kneading.
4. Cover your bowl with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for about 2 hours.
5. Once about doubled in size, take the dough out and give it a very quick knead on a floured work surface.
6. Work the dough into a rectangle, then roll out to about 30x40cm. If the dough is tough to roll, then just let it rest for a minute or two, then continue.  Slide your hand underneath the dough from time to time as you're rolling, to make sure it doesn't stick to the work surface; this also gives the dough a chance to relax, so that it won't shrink back too much when it comes to cutting the buns.
    

The filling

1. Starting from the centre, and working to the outside, spread your soft butter evenly over the rectangle of dough (your butter needs to be very soft for this)
2. Mix together the sugars and cinnamon, then sprinkle this mix over the dough.
3. Roll your rectangle up along the long side (ie, your roll should be 40cm long)
4. With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 buns.
5. Place the buns cut side down onto a baking lined sheet (or into two greased springform cake tins if you prefer).
6. Heat your oven to 200C, placing a shallow tray in the bottom of the oven
7. Leave the buns to rest for 20 mins, then brush with the beaten egg, mixed with 1 tablespoon of milk, and sprinkle with a few tablespoons of caster sugar
8. Place your buns in the oven and fill the shallow tray with boiling water – this will help the buns rise nicely.
9. Reduce the heat to about 180C, and bake for 18-20 mins, until they're nicely golden.
10. When you take the buns out of the oven, sprinkle them with another few tablespoons of caster sugar.