My favourite cinnamon bun recipe has always been from our tattered copy of the More with Less cookbook, and i’ve never had reason to make many changes with it. The genius of adding mashed potatoes (yes, potatoes!) to the dough is hard to improve on, but I have a hard time getting out a mixing bowl and wooden spoon and leaving the oats all alone in the pantry. They really would get lonely. So I had to experiment. The mournful sobs of lonely oats would be too pitiful to ignore. So I added rolled oats to the dough itself, allowing them to soak up milk and fully incorporate into the mixture, adding some extra moisture and flavour. I was further inspired by the food blog “Kate From Scratch” and added a sprinkling of oats to the top of the butter/sugar topping before rolling them together. She recommends using condensed milk to bind the filling together, but i’m not a real fan of milk in a can so thought i’d try using a drizzle of maple syrup for some extra stickiness. As if brown sugar and melted butter isn’t decadent enough. So this recipe is true to the spirit of the “More With Less” version, but i’m pretty pleased with how these modifications added some extra specialness to the end result.
Ingredients:
Dough
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 cups milk
1 cup potatoes
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup rolled oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 eggs
1 tsp salt
4-5 cups white flour
Topping:
3/4 cup butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1 cup rolled oats
Directions:
Prepare 1 cup of boiled potatoes and mash without milk or butter (you can use some of the cooking water to mash if you wish). Let cool until lukewarm (all liquids used for yeast should be wrist-temperature, or 110 degrees). Or plan ahead and use leftover mashies from the day before. A bit of extra butter is not going to ruin a cinnamon bun!
Heat up 2 cups of milk until scalded (small bubbles forming on the edge of the saucepan). Let cool until lukewarm.
Dissolve together:
1 1/2 Tbsp dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
When the milk is cooled, combine the mashed potatoes, milk, and yeast mixture. Add 1 cup of rolled oats and 2 cups whole wheat flour. Let sit for about 20 minutes, or until the mixture starts to foam and rise.
Add 1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
4-5 cups white flour
Flour should be mixed into the dough bit by bit as you are kneading – continue adding flour until the dough is soft and no longer sticky. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes adding extra flour if necessary – this is where much of the magic in bread making occurs, and the longer you knead the better (better for the dough and for your upper body strength!)
Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a clean towel, and let rise in a warm place until double in size (probably about an hour, depending on the temperature).
When dough is finished rising, punch it down and let it rest for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, melt in a saucepan on low heat:
3/4 cup butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
Combine in a small bowl:
1 1/2 cups white sugar + 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (these amounts are approximate, please feel free to adapt as desired. Do you want an extra sweet treat, or a somewhat more moderate breakfast?)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
Divide the dough into thirds, and roll each piece into a large rectangle.
Spread dough with a third of the butter/syrup (stir thoroughly before spreading, as these will separate in the saucepan as they cool), a third of the sugar/spices, and a sprinkling of rolled oats (about 1/3 cup).
Roll up the dough starting on the long edge, and pinch the final edge to seal it closed. Then use a sharp knife to cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces, and place them in greased pans.
Cover pans with a towel and let rise in a warm place for about 20-30 minutes.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are starting to turn golden brown. Turn out of the pans right away, or the sugar will harden and stick.
Note: Cinnamon buns can be frozen after they are cooked by letting them cool thoroughly and then wrapping in plastic.
They can also be frozen before they are baked for a result that has not even a hint of frozen-food-ness, but which requires a bit more foresight. After slicing the cinnamon buns and placing them in their pans, but before letting them rise, wrap them in plastic wrap and place in the freezer. They will last for a month or more if they are well sealed. About 8-12 hours before you want to eat them, remove the cinnamon buns from the freezer and let them warm up slowly on the counter. When they are warmed up enough they will continue rising. When they have risen to almost double in bulk they can be baked as usual.
.
.
.
.