Orange-Cinnamon Buns
So it's been a while since I posted a recipe for you all and I'm so sorry it's taken this long! As you all know and if you didn't well now you know! My life has been so busy as I've taken on a more active role in pursuing my acting career. Y'all let me tell you, this is a full time job on its own. I have been searching, submitting tapes, memorizing lines and going to auditions on top of working a full time job, honestly I don't know how I do it. So because I've been so busy sadly I've been slacking getting in the kitchen to cook up some gourmet meals. I know, I know, I should not let things detract me from my passions but if acting is also my passion then I guess it's a good trade off right?
The other day I got home and I was craving a cinnamon bun. I've been dieting trying to get this body ripe for summer but I was having a moment of weakness and I NEEDED a cinnamon bun. I thought about being bad and driving to Cinnabon but then I was feeling lazy and antisocial so I thought, why don't I just make them? Handmade cinnamon buns sounds like the opposite of lazy but it made sense in my head! Anyway, so I'm gathering my ingredients from my pantry and I realize I had a single orange left. I love citrus so I try to keep it around the house but Chase apparently thinks it's a weird old person thing to just sit down and eat an orange. He says it reminds him of his grandpa who would just sit and peel oranges when he was a kid. Whatever.
Then the thought came across my head. Orange Cinnamon Buns, Pilsbury sells them in their fear inducing death pop tubes but I didn't want all those preservatives or again to drive to the store. Now y'all know how I love to put orange zest on everything but this one at least is more commonplace than orange zested mashed potatoes. So off I go making my buns. I started by blooming my yeast packet (2 1/4 tsp) with some warm water, a little orange juice, and some sugar (about 1tsp) in the bowl of my KitchenAid mixer. I used about 1/4cup each, water and juice.This yeast was hungry and I needed to feed it. It bloomed ever so nicely. It got all foamy and frothy. This took about 10 minutes. In a separate bowl I combined 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup melted butter and orange zest.
I then sifted in 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 3/4 tsp salt. Attached my dough hook and gave it a little spin on low medium. As my dough hook was turning I slowly started pouring my milk, butter concoction. Then you turn that bad boy up to medium and let it keep on spinning until it comes together to a nice ball. This should take a couple of minutes, maybe 3 to 5. After it comes together wipe down your counter top or a rolling surface and lightly sprinkle it with some flour. I am notorious for making messes in my kitchen when it comes to baking so I guess don't be afraid to get a little dirty.
Go ahead and start giving your dough some rough love and don't be afraid to man handle it. Knead it until it looks fairly smooth which should take you about 5 minutes or so. You shouldn't need any more flour but I guess if it's too sticky add a little more flour until you get that glossy spongy consistency.
Lightly coat your bowl with some vegetable oil and add your dough back in. Cover it with plastic wrap or a warm damp towel. Here's a neat trick I found that helps speed up my rising process. Boil some water while that's doing it's thing turn your oven on to the lowest temperature. 120-180. Whatever your oven can do. When it reaches that temperature turn it off and leave the oven open for 2-3 minutes so it has time to cool off. In a large bowl pour the boiling water and place it in the bottom rack of the oven. Then place your dough in the oven and shut it. At this point after cooling down your oven the internal temperature of it should be warm, if you have a thermometer maybe check to see if it's under like 90 degrees. Preferably like 80 is good so not super hot but warm enough and then by adding the boiling water you got some steam flowing in there. So if you know anything about yeast or any bacteria really is that they love warm moist places. By doing this you're giving your yeast an optimal place to thrive. Now let that ball of love rise until it doubles in size. Should be about 30-40 minutes.
While that's doing it's thing go ahead and start making your filling and glaze. For the filling I like to use about 2tbsp of softened unsalted butter. Then I add about 1/4tsp of salt, 3/4cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp of vanilla and 1tbsp ground cinnamon. Whip until it's all well incorporated.
For the glaze, I used 1/4 cup of softened cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and 2tbsp of fresh squeezed orange juice. Either using a mixer or a whisk and hand give a good whip till you get a nice creamy consistency. Set it aside.
The dough should be ready by now so take it out and start rolling it out to large rectangle. I didn't take measurements but it guess it doesn't just depends on how THICC you want your buns. Who doesn't like some thicc buns, am I right?
Spread out your filling on the dough leaving a small sliver of space on the top or bottom side of the rectangle. Just leave it on whatever side you are going to roll into so that the edge without filling is on the outside. This is what will help hold your buns together.
Roll it up and cut your buns to 1 inch thickness. Then in a cast iron or a large baking pan rub it down with some butter or spray it with cooking spray. Lay your buns in neat rows in a way that they're close to each other but not touching. You want to give them enough space to expand. Cover them back up with a warm damp towel and let them rise for another 20 to 30 minutes. This time at room temp.
While your buns are rising preheat your oven to 350.
When they look nice and fluffy pop them into your oven for 25-30 minutes or until they are a light golden brown. Try to resist eating them straight out of the oven because the sugar will be like lava, sweet delicious lava, and your mouth will not be happy. Let them cool for about 10 minutes and then drizzle them with the glaze. That's it! I will say though they took longer than I anticipated they were well worth it and much better than a trip to Cinnabon.
Bon Appetit!
Orange-Cinnamon Buns
Makes 8 to 12 buns
Ingredients:
Dough:
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
Zest of one orange
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil, for the bowl
Softened butter or nonstick cooking spray, for the baking dish
Filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Glaze:
1/4 cup softened cream cheese
1 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
In mixing bowl combine 1/4 cup warm water, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 cup orange juice and 1 package of active dry yeast. Let bloom for about 10 minutes.
Sift in 1/4 cup sugar, 3 1/2 cups flour and 3/4 tsp salt.
In separate bowl combine orange zest, 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/2 cup milk. Pour into flour and yeast mixture.
Using an electric mixer with a dough hook beat at medium speed until mixture comes together into a ball. About 3 to 5 minutes.
Lightly flour a rolling surface. Knead dough for about 5 minutes until it reaches a glossy, spongy consistency. Add more flour if necessary.
Oil the inside of a large bowl and place dough inside. Cover with a warm damp cloth. Let rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
Combine ingredients for filling in a medium bowl.
On a floured surface roll out dough into a large rectangle.
Spread filling on dough leaving a small area on the opposite side you will start rolling.
Roll dough and cut into 1 inch pieces.
Butter or use cooking spray on a cast iron skillet or a baking pan. Lay out rolls about 1 inch apart. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350.
In a small bowl combine ingredients for glaze and whisk until smooth.
Bake orange cinnamon buns for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow to cool before drizzling.
