Cooking with Mary

Mary made me laugh, for in an email she told me she got together with some friends to show them how to make cinnamon buns. Now while I have called this cooking with Mary, it could read cooking with Wyora, or cooking with Aunt Erva, or cooking with any one of the maternal aunts.  But if you haven't done that ... then here is the basic method ... as told by Mary to her friends when they got together one Saturday.

Start with Master Bread Dough

Ingredients

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

How to make it

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• 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 electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add ½ cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed, scraping bowl occasionally.
• With spoon, stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• 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.
• Punch dough down. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Knead lightly a few times.
• Roll each half into a 12 x 7-inch rectangle. Beginning at short end, roll up tightly as for jelly roll. Pinch seam and ends to seal. Place, seam side down in greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch loaf pan.
• Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
• Bake at 400℉ for 30 minutes or until thermometer registers 190℉ to 200℉ in center of bread. If a thermometer is not available, bread is done when well browned and sounds hollow when top of loaf is tapped lightly with finger tip.

Cinnamon buns method from my childhood

Cut off a chunk of dough.  Stretch it so it is long.  Dip in melted butter.  Drop in bowl of brown sugar and cinnamon.  Coat dough.  Tie it in a knot.  Drop it in pan.  They should touch but not be too squished together. Let rise until double.  Bake at 375 for about 22 minutes.  Dump out of pan immediately.  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 pan, it looks beautiful and tastes great too.