Cinnamon Buns : Great Aunt Erva's Way

I got together with some friends to show them how to make cinnamon buns. Now while I called this "Cooking with Mary" to them, it could have been "Cooking with Wyora", or Cooking with Aunt Erva", or cooking with any one of my maternal aunts.

But if you haven't had the chance to do any of that ... then here is the basic method.

Start with Master Bread Dough.  Any bread dough recipe will do.  My mother uses water for the liquid and oil for the butter.

Ingredients

6 to 6-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 T sugar
2 envelopes active dry yeast
2 t salt
1 ½ cups water
½ cup milk
2 T butter

How to make the dough:

Combine water, milk and butter; heat until warm (100℉ to 110℉). Add sugar and yeast; let stand 5 minutes. Add 2 ½ cups flour and salt; beat 2 minutes at medium speed of a bread mixer, scraping bowl occasionally.

Beat in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead for 5 minutes in your bread mixer.

Place kneaded dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover, let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.  You can punch the dough down once if you like.

Here is the cinnamon bun wrapping method from my childhood:

Cut off a chunk of dough.

Stretch it so it is long.

Dip in melted margarine or butter.  Butter tastes better.  Margarine is cheaper and if you are going t make pan, after pan, you might usually use the margarine.  But for a more divine taste?  Butter.

Drop in bowl of yellow sugar and cinnamon.  You choose how much sugar to cinnamon.  We like lots.

Coat dough.

Tie it in a knot.

Drop it an 8 x 14 pan.

The buns should lightly touch but not be too squished together.

Let rise until double.

Bake at 375 for about  27  minutes.

Dump out of pan immediately and upside down.

Enjoy hot on the end of a fork.

Variation: sprinkle maraschino cherries in the pan before you put the buns on top. When you dump out the pan, it looks beautiful and tastes great too.

Mary