Saturday cinnamon buns, twelve at a time

The secret to a soft cinnamon bun is a cold dough. Rich doughs full of butter and egg are sticky and hard to roll when warm; a night in the fridge firms the butter and slows the yeast, and you get a dough that rolls out thin and bakes up tender.

You will need

Dough

• 500 g strong white bread flour
• 7 g instant yeast
• 60 g caster sugar
• 8 g fine salt
• 1 egg
• 240 ml whole milk, lukewarm
• 80 g soft butter

Filling

• 100 g soft butter
• 120 g light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• A pinch of salt

To finish: 3 tbsp sugar boiled with 3 tbsp water for one minute.

Friday night

1. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the egg and milk and knead for 8 minutes until smooth.
2. Add the soft butter a little at a time and knead for another 5 minutes, until the dough is glossy and stretches without tearing.
3. Cover and refrigerate overnight, 10 to 14 hours.

Saturday morning

1. Beat the filling ingredients together until spreadable.
2. Roll the cold dough to a rectangle about 45 × 30 cm. Spread the filling right to the edges.
3. Roll up tightly from a long side and cut into 12 slices with a sharp knife or a length of cotton thread.
4. Set each in a paper muffin case on a tray, or close together in a lined roasting tin. Cover and leave somewhere warm for 60 to 90 minutes, until puffy and nearly doubled.
5. Bake at 200 °C (180 °C fan) for 16 to 18 minutes, until deep golden.
6. Brush with the syrup the moment they come out. Wait five minutes. It is the hardest part.