Saturday Morning Ritual

I was listening to a podcast recently where the folks were discussing their perfect morning routines. Their discussion was centered around how to start your day productively, but it made me think about those perfect mornings where you really aren't "productive" at all -- but rather you spend the time doing things just to enjoy the act of doing them.

This month's challenge provided a perfect opportunity for one of those perfect mornings. Last Saturday, I woke up to start preparing some of the most delicious dough I've made in a while -- springy, sweet and tangy, with perfect notes of orange and cardamom. I left the dough to rise, and headed out the door to meet Erica at one of my favorite yoga studios in SF. Now if I describe this class to most people, it sounds ridiculous (there's a disco ball, club music, lots of chanting, and about 200 people), but it's a great workout and a great space.

We got back to my apartment, whipped up some smoothies and lattes to tide us over, and started in on the cinnamon rolls. Erica rolled out the dough into a large rectangle, and I spread some truly terrible filling on top -- all full of brown sugar and cinnamon and spices. :-)

We rolled it up into a log and sliced, neatly tucking the rounds into two spring form pans (who knew I had two of those lying around?)

And then we popped it into the oven. We were pretty hungry at this point, and it was super hard to wait for them to be finished. But our patience was rewarded, because these were spectacular - great texture, great flavor.

This month the Daring Bakers kept our creativity rolling with cinnamon bun inspired treats. Shelley from C Mom Cook dared us to create our own dough and fill it with any filling we wanted to craft tasty rolled treats, cinnamon not required!

 

Orange Cardamom Cinnamon Buns

 

Author: Jennifer Farley

Serves: 12-16 buns

 

Buns:

• ½ cup whole milk, warm (110-115 degrees)
• 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
• 3 large eggs
• 20 ounces (4 cups) all purpose flour (+1/4 cup if needed)
• 3¼ ounces (3/4 cup) cornstarch
• 3½ ounces (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
• zest of 1 orange (approximately ½ tablespoon)
• ¼ cup fresh squeezed orange juice (approximately 1 orange)
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, chopped and at room temperature

Filling:

• 10½ ounces (1½ cups) packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Glaze:

• 1½ cups confectioners' sugar
• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• ¼ cup fresh squeezed orange juice (approximately 1 orange)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the whole milk and instant yeast, followed by the eggs.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, sugar, salt, cardamom and orange zest. Break apart any clumps of zest if necessary. Attach the dough hook, turn the mixer on low speed and add the warm milk mixture followed by the orange juice. Allow the ingredients to combine for one minute. Increase the speed to medium and add the butter in pieces until it's all incorporated. The dough will be very wet. Allow it to continue mixing for 10 minutes. If the dough is still looking wet, add up to another ¼ cup of flour in 2 tablespoon increments. The dough should be very soft and delicate but not too sticky to handle. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased large bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to double in size, up to 2 hours. To speed things up, place the bowl inside the oven next to a small bowl of boiling water and close the door.
3. While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and salt in a bowl. Grease 2 8-inch cake pans thoroughly and set aside.
4. Remove the dough from the oven and place on a lightly floured countertop. Roll the dough into a large, thin rectangle. Using clean hands, spread the butter across the dough, leaving a small border around the edges, and then top evenly with the sugar mixture. Roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Cut into 12 or 16 even pieces and place in the reserved cake pans, cut side up. Cover and allow to double in size, approximately 1 hour.
5. Bake the buns at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Top each pan with ¼ cup of the glaze and allow the buns to cool completely. Top with the remaining glaze before serving.