THE BEST GINGERBREAD BUNS.

In these quiet days towards the end of the year I end up wanting to bake a lot so today I decided to try some gingerbread cinnamon buns. I’ve named this post the ‘best’ gingerbread buns because I feel like they’re one of the best things I’ve ever made if I say so myself and this recipe is just the perfect thing for a cold winters day and the buns go great with a cup of coffee. Here’s the recipe for you guys, if you end up making them I’d love to know!

I N G R E D I E N T S

For the bun dough:

13 g dried yeast (I used dried yeast for my recipe but you can also use fresh yeast)

250 ml milk, warmed

80 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

40 g caster sugar

400g white strong/plain flour

2 teaspoons ground mixed spice

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

For the filling:

120g soft unsalted butter

50g white caster sugar

50g light brown sugar

1-2 tbsp gingerbread spice mix depending on how spiced you like it (see below for the mix)

For the gingerbread spice mix:

yield; approx 2 tbsp

1.5 tsp ground cinnamon

1.5 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

R E C I P E

First pour the warm milk into a mixing bowl, sprinkle in the yeast and whisk together. Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes until it’s bubbly. Add the cooled, melted butter and mix until combined, then do the same with the sugar.

In a separate bowl, add the flour, the mixed spice and salt and mix together. Start adding the flour and spices into the milk mixture, bit by bit & add half the beaten egg. Keep kneading for 5 minutes.

You may need to add more flour – you want the mixture to end up a bit sticky, but not so much that it sticks to your finger if you poke it. It is better not to add too much flour at this point as it might result in dry buns. You can always add more later.

Once mixed, leave the dough in a bowl and cover with clingfilm. Allow to rise for around 30 minutes or until it has doubled in size. Dust a table top with flour and turn out the dough. Using your hands, knead the dough and work in more flour if needed. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to an approximate 40 x 50 cm rectangle.

Combine the ingredients for the filling in a bowl and then spread the filling across the dough in an event, thin layer.

Now you can make your buns, I decided to try making twists instead of the traditional rolls and I used the YouTube video linked here as a tutorial… I thought it would be difficult to do but it was actually pretty simple and they turned out better than I thought they would!

When you’ve made your twists, leave on a lined baking tray for 20 minutes to rise again.

Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius (fan). Brush the buns lightly with the other half of the beaten egg, then bake for 6-9 minutes or until golden. Mine took about 10 mins but I’d definitely recommend keeping an eye on them because they can catch quickly!

When the buns were cooled I decided to cover them in a simple icing mix (icing sugar and milk) but feel free to decorate however you wish. Enjoy!

Recipe inspired by this one I found on Pinterest.

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