Perfect Cinnamon Buns

I absolutely love cinnamon buns and have tried many different recipes, including Swedish ones. All of them turned out very tasty but not quite perfect. Moreover, they tended to go stale rather quickly—yes, even the most delicious cinnamon buns can’t be eaten in just one day! About three years ago, I finally found the recipe, and now, a couple of times a year, I treat myself to baking these perfect, downright divine cinnamon buns. Sometimes, I even replace the cinnamon filling with a poppy seed one, and it’s equally wonderful. The dough contains no eggs, and the process is a bit different from the usual yeast dough technique—perhaps this is the secret to the buns' incredible softness and fluffiness.

DOUGH
480 ml (2 cups) milk;
100 g (½ cup) sugar;
110 g (½ cup) melted butter or baking margarine;
2 heaped tsp instant dry yeast;
625 g (5 cups) all-purpose flour;
1 tsp baking powder;
1 heaped tsp salt.

FILLING
165 g (¾ cup) brown sugar;
165 g (¾ cup) room-temperature butter;
3–4 tbsp ground cinnamon.

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE
175 g (6 oz) cream cheese;
175 ml (¾ cup) heavy cream (30–36%);
80–100 g (¾ cup) powdered sugar;
1 tsp citric acid (optional).

Combine lukewarm milk (no more than 40°C / 104°F), sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the yeast and let it sit in a warm place for 10 minutes.
Add 500 g (4 cups) of flour and mix well using a mixer or by hand. You’ll get a fairly thick batter-like dough. Cover tightly and let it rise in a warm place for 1½ hours. The dough should double in size.
Add the remaining 125 g (1 cup) of flour, baking powder and salt to the risen dough. Knead thoroughly until the dough is no longer sticky — 5–7 minutes in a mixer or 10–15 minutes by hand. Try to avoid adding extra flour if kneading by hand.
Roll out the dough into a neat rectangle, approximately 50 × 60 cm / 20 × 24 inches. Spread the filling evenly over the dough and carefully roll it up lengthwise.
Use a string (not a knife) to cut the roll into 10 equal pieces to avoid deforming the rolls. Place the buns into a greased or parchment-lined baking dish (mine is 25 × 37 cm / 10 × 15 inches). The dough is delicate, and the buns are quite large, so handle them gently. Don’t worry if they look uneven — they’ll rise and bake beautifully!
Cover the baking dish tightly and let the buns proof for 1 hour. Preheat your oven to 180°C / 356°F and bake the buns for 25–30 minutes.

While the buns are baking, prepare the cream cheese glaze. Whip the cream to stiff peaks, then add the cream cheese, powdered sugar and citric acid (if desired). Beat again until smooth.

Spread the glaze over the hot buns. The glaze will have a tangy taste that perfectly complements the sweet buns, but you can skip the citric acid for a classic cream cheese frosting. Enjoy your perfect cinnamon buns!