Monday, October 01, 2007

Daring Bakers September Challenge - Cinnamon Buns

With every new month comes a new and exciting Daring Baker challenge. Alas, I am a few days late in posting about September's treat-of-the-month so it is no surprise that Cinnamon Buns and/or Sticky Buns were the order of the day.

Let me start by saying that I love making cinnamon buns. Once the apprehension of using yeast evaporated, making these yummy swirls of cinnamony goodness were a breeze. I especially liked the recipe that Marce from Pip in the City had us use. It produced a fabulous dough that was both soft and airy. I have made buns in the past with a different recipe and noticed that sometimes the dough ended up cakey and hard, but not this time. I was really quite impressed with the final result.

One thing I though made these buns more special was the addition of lemon rind into the dough. It gives the buns an extra flavour dimension but not so much that the lemon is overpowering. I also liked the simple cinnamon sugar filling. It was light and didn't overpower the bun. I suppose if you like, brown sugar mixed with cinnamon would give you a more substantial filling - it all depends on what your tastebuds like.

Overall I can't say enough good things about these buns. The dough was a dream (though I had to add extra flour) and they came out perfect even though I was pressed for time and had to reduce the proofing times somewhat. One little thing I tweaked was to warm up the milk before adding it to the mix. I just thought this would help the yeast do its magic and I'm just so used to doing it anyways. This was my favourite DB challenge by far and and I am officially adopting Marce's recipe as my own. It's great. Period.

To see the other gorgeous buns made by my fellow Daring Bakers, check out our growing blogroll. To see the complete recipe, please visit Marce.

23 comments:

breadchick said...

YEA! Great job this month. That dough for the rolls was some of the best dough I've ever worked with! Your buns (he-he) look great!!

Jenny said...

Wow! Those look like buns you would buy from a professional! Amazing!

Brilynn said...

Those are so pretty, very swirled!

Deborah said...

Your buns look delicious! I agree - this recipe was a good one!

Anonymous said...

Lovely looking buns!

slush said...

I agree you buns look like a pros! Absolutely perfect.

Karen Baking Soda said...

How did you get your glaze to behave so nicely?
Love to hear that almost everyone had to add lots of flour...(my secret joy, yay, it wasn't me alone nor my Dutch flour). Enough of that, your buns look mighty fine!

Anh said...

Your buns are really beautiful!

April said...

Those buns look perfect! yum!

Amy said...

Great job! I really can't stop raving about these buns too.

Anonymous said...

Nice buns! And I agree the lemon in the dough made such a difference!

Anne said...

Wow! those are stunning and gorgeous buns! You're a pro!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Well, hey I'm later reading that you posting, so I say we're both super.
I loved the lemon also.
Warming the milk would tend to give it a little lift and speed, good idea.
I always love to use the brown over white sugar!
Neat that you like the dough and it did so well for you - that's part of why I love this group, we can all learn even when we think we done it!
Your buns are really beautiful!

Simona Carini said...

I particularly like the way you did your glazing: the result is quite elegant.

Aoife said...

I'm glad you liked the buns so much. I too was a fan of the lemon zest. Great job!

Helene said...

Lovely buns my dear! Glad you were able to join in! I totally agree about the lemon addy, it really made a difference.

Peabody said...

The dough was a dream, I definietly agree!
Great looking buns.

cupcaketastic said...

I agree this recipe was fabulous and your results reflect that. Great job, and onto new month.

BC said...

I loved working with this dough too. This was a really satisfying challenge.

Julie said...

I love the color of your cinnamon buns! I've been seeing a lot of darker ones, and I tend to like paler buns like these. They look fabulous!

Dolores said...

You'd think a week later, I'd be tired of looking at pictures of cinnamon buns...

You'd be wrong.

Congratulations Jen, beautiful bakery-worthy buns!

Anonymous said...

Hey, Canadian Baker. I made the cinnamon buns this past Friday and they were amazing. I warmed the milk beforehand to give the yeast a boost and used one part unbleached bread flour to two parts all purpose flour. I also added grated tangerine zest as well as lemon to the dough which gave it a nice citrusy aroma. I wouldn't even bother with store bought ones anymore now that I have made them from scratch. Yeast rocks! Thanks, Mark in Toronto

Anonymous said...

Those look excellent! I made some recently and they were good, but thicker and more like sticky buns. This recipe looks more like the type I wanted.