Is there anything yummier than sweet cinnamon swirl buns for breakfast?
The warm scent of cinnamon and slightly caramelized top when you take the swirls out of the oven is just amazing. Actually I wanted to dust the baked swirls with some icing sugar on top but I couldn't. I skipped the icing sugar and I found myself eating the warm cakes right away just like that.
They now definitely belong to my all-time favorite recipes, I can't wait to bake them again. So please, do me a favor and bake those swirls right now. You'll love them.
Sweet Yeasted Cinnamon Swirls
recipe adapted from Solodke (in Russian), recipe slightly changed
for one medium size round baking pan
500gm white flour
1 tsp salt
20gm fresh yeast in very small pieces or crumbles
100gm sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
300ml luke warm milk
100gm butter or margarine, melted
about 2 Tabsp ground cinnamon (or more if desired)
about 2 Tabsp white sugar (normally I increase the amount of cinnamon and reduce the sugar as I prefer the swirls or buns to have a very strong cinnamon flavour)
Combine the fresh yeast, milk and sugar in a small glass bowl and let sit for a few minutes until the mixture starts to become light and foamy.
Using a large glass bowl sift together flour and salt, form a mould in the middle of the flour mixture. Add the yeast mixture, the eggs and the melted butter. Stir carefully using a wooden spatula and adding more and more flour from the sides of the bowl until everything is incorporated. Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until it becomes very smooth and elastic. (You might need to add a little bit more flour to the dough if it's too sticky.)
Place the dough in the glass bowl again and let rise at a very warm place (25° - 35°C) for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
Line the bottom of a medium size baking pan with baking paper. Combine ground cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.
Remove the dough from the glass bowl and devide into 3 equal parts. Roll out the first one into a round shape. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture on top. Cut the rolled out dough into triangular segments. Roll in each piece of dough starting from the outside and moving inwards. Place the swirls in the lined baking pan.
Continue with the 2 remaining parts of the dogh and put everything in the baking pan. It doesn't have to be perfect, the messier you prepare the buns the cuter they will look afterwards. Sprinkle the top of the swirls with some more cinnamon and sugar if desired.
Let rise again at a very warm place for another 30 minutes until the yeasted dough has risen notably. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Bake for about 30 minutes until done and nicely browned. Remove from the oven. Take a deep breath and enjoy the amazing scent in your whole apartment. Eat.
