Cinnamon Rolls ( Buns )

Ingredients for dough :
All purpose flour - 4 1/2 - 5  cups or 590 - 660 gms ,
Active dry yeast - 2 tsp or 1/4 ounce ,
Butter - 75 gms ,
White sugar - 1/3 cup or 66 gms ,
Milk - 1 cup or 240 ml ,
Egg - 3 .

Ingredients for filling :
Light brown sugar - 3/4 cup or 160 gms ,
All purpose flour - 1/4 cup or 35 gms ,
Ground cinnamon - 1 tbsp ,
Chilled butter - 1/2 cup or 100 gms ( cut into small chunks ),

Raisin - 1/4 cup ( you can add  almonds or walnuts too ) .

Method :
 Combine 2 1/4 cup flour and yeast  in a bowl in which you will run your mixer .
Put a saucepan in low heat and  pour 1 cup of milk, butter  and 1/3 cup sugar . Stir constantly till the butter  almost melts and the milk is slightly warm .

Close gas .
Gradually pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture with the mixer on low speed .

Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition .
Scrape down the sides of the bowl .

Then beat this  mixture on high speed for 3 minutes .
Spread  some flour on your work station and knead the flour  by hand with the remaining flour  ( 2 1/2  cup .

Knead the flour for 3 to 5 minutes till you have a soft dough that is smooth and elastic but not sticky .

Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl turning once so that both sides are oiled .

Cover  with a plastic wrap and let it  rise in a warm place  ( oven ) until almost  doubled ( 1 and  1/2 to 2 hours ).

Gently punch the dough to release the air and let it rest for 10 minutes .

Meanwhile make the filling .
In a bowl mix together brown sugar ,flour  ,cinnamon pwd  and cold butter .

Cut the butter  with a pastry blender or  a fork  until the mixture is crumbly .

Roll the dough into a 12 inch square .

Sprinkle the filling evenly over the rolled out dough and top with raisins .

Lightly brush one end of the dough with little milk or light cream to seal the edges .
Roll the dough to form a log starting at the end opposite the edge you brushed with cream .

( do not roll the dough too tightly or the center of the dough will pop up during baking ) .
Slice the log into eight equal sized pieces .
Since  the log is 12 inch , make a cut in the center .You will have two logs now 6 inch each .Then again make a cut in the center of each logs .
You will now have 4 logs 3 inch each .

Make a cut again in each pieces and you will have eight evenly cut rolls .
Arrange each roll in a greased tray  13 x 9 x 2 inch with 1 inch space in between.
I have baked in a small tray lined with wax paper and could  only bake  6 buns at a time .

Cover the rolls with a lightly greased plastic wrap ,leaving  room for rolls to rise at room temperature until almost doubled ( about 1 hour )

( At this point you can refrigerate the cinnamon rolls overnight - next morning remove the rolls from the fridge and take off the plastic wrap and let it stand for 30 minutes )
Lightly brush rolls with milk .
Bake    in  190 C or  375 F for 25 to 30 minutes or till lightly brown .
Insert a toothpick into the inner side of the bun .

If neccessary cover lightly to prevent the buns  from over browning .
Cover losely with a foil the last 5 to 10 minutes .

Take out from oven and brush lightly again with light cream or milk .
Leave it to cool for  5 minutes along with the wax paper and then transfer to a tray .

Enjoy the cinnamon rolls with hot cup of tea or coffee .
Makes 8 buns.