Swedish Cinnnamon Buns

I've made cinnamon buns many times but they were always the regular buns in which the filled dough is rolled, sliced & baked in a deep baking pan like these. This time, I wanted to try something different, so I did the Swedish way of forming their buns. They are definitely more attractive than the regular buns. Compared to the regular rolls, most part of each Swedish bun is exposed to the direct oven heat. As a result, the bun has more crusty surface & less white, soft & fluffy part. So if you prefer softer & fluffier buns, then the regular rolls would be a better choice.

Here, I used the Kopitiam Milk Bun dough recipe shared by Sonia. This recipe uses quite a bit of full cream milk, so I'm not surprised the buns turned out very flavourful. Besides, it also uses the overnight-dough method, that too adds on to the flavour. Since the buns already taste so good, I ate mind without any frosting. But if you still want your cinnamon buns with cream cheese frosting just like my cinnamon-bun monsters, please refer to my other cinnamon bun posts for the recipe.

I apologise for spamming this post with so many photos. I just love looking at the buns. Besides, I took so many pictures & many of them turned out well. So hope they are enough to motivate you, especially the cinnamon-bun monsters out there, to bake them!

Swedish Cinnnamon Buns

OVERNIGHT SPONGE DOUGH

215g high protein flour
125g full cream milk (cold) - I used 135g.
2g instant yeast (1/2 tsp)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl till a rough dough is formed. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and store in the fridge overnight.

BASIC DOUGH

1 quantity of above overnight sponge dough
90g high protein flour

12g milk powder (Sonia didn't use.)
30g egg (1/2 large egg)
4g instant yeast (1tsp)
3g fine salt (1/2 tsp)
60g sugar
45g butter (room temperature) - I used only 30g.
1tbsp milk (cold)

Method:

1. Tear the overnight sponge dough into pieces into a mixing bowl. Add in the rest of ingredients, except butter, & knead till a smooth dough is formed. 
2. Add in butter and knead until dough is smooth, shiny and elastic. (I mixed mine using the electric mixer [dough hook] for about 10 minutes in all.)
3. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside to proof till double in size for 45-60 minutes. (I poured the dough onto a floured working surface & mould it into a smooth round. Then I covered it with the unwashed bowl that I used for mixing.)

Source:  Sonia @ Nasi Lemak Lover.

FILLING
butter, softened
cinnamon powder
brown sugar
1 egg - lightly beaten (for egg wash)

TO ASSEMBLE THE CINNAMON BUNS: 

1. Place the proofed dough onto a floured working surface. Deflate it by punching it down & then shaping the dough into a smooth ball. Leave to rest for 15 minutes.
2. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle. You want the long sides over twice as long as the short sides. Spread butter over the entire rectangle. Then sprinkle cinnamon powder followed by dark brown sugar.
3. Fold it into thirds lengthwise. It should measure about 16x8 inch. At this point, you may want to roll out the dough to flatten it a little bit. Cut the roll widthwise  with a sharp knife into 8-10 slices. 
4. Take a slice of dough & cut it into two almost all the way. Twist the ends of each slice in opposite directions a few times. Lift up the twists in a crisscross manner. Tuck the ends under & seal with a little water if needed. Place the slices onto a  baking sheet which has been lined with silicone paper. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 190 deg C. Brush the proofed buns with the beaten egg. This will give the buns a beautiful golden colour when baked. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Place the baked rolls on a cooling rack. Serve warm.

Note:

1. I made the buns twice (& each time 2 recipes!) within a week. The first time,  a recipe produced 8 big pieces as seen in my pictures above. Yesterday, I made 10 buns for each recipe. I like the smaller pieces better.
2. Please refer to the following pictures & video to better understand the assembly process. The pictures below are taken yesterday when I made 10 buns with 1 recipe.

Moroccan Grilled Chicken

My family had Moroccan Grilled Chicken with steam rice & spicy Tom Yum Soup a couple of weekends ago. That was a rare occasion where the preparation of our meals at home does not involve sautéing of spices. The chicken just needed marinating before grilling. The soup was even easier to prepare.... I just dumped a tom yum cube, some fresh prawns & other accompanying ingredients into the pot of water & in just 20 minutes, it's done!

Moroccan Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:
1 (2 kg) chicken, halved
salt
lettuce, torn into large pieces
cucumber, sliced
tomato, sliced
potato, boiled, peeled & sliced
lemon, cut into wedges
mint leaves

Chermoula Spice (finely ground):
3 red chillies
1 tbsp  chilli powder
1 tbsp paprika powder
1 tsp  cumin powder
1  onion
4 cloves garlic
30 g (1/2 cup) coriander leaves / cilantro / Chinese parsley
60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon

Method:

1. Rub the chicken with salt & chermoula spice & marinate for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator & let it come to room temperature
3. Roast the chicken in a 180-deg C preheated oven for 45 minutes, turning it after 20 minutes.
4. Serve with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, potato, lemon & mint leaves. (We had the chicken with rice instead of potato.)

Recipe by Chef Wan from Simply Sedap!

I'm linking this post to the Cook-Your-Books event no. 17 hosted by Kitchen Flavours.

Pumpkin Kuih Koci

I love Kuih Koci but rarely make it myself. Last Saturday, I made Pumpkin Kuih Koci, a version that's less commonly sold. Although I could not really taste the pumpkin, this Kuih Koci certainly tastes better than the regular ones. The coconut milk sauce added to the dough gives this delighful kuih its rich flavour. The dough needed no added water at all as the moisture from the cooked pumpkin was enough to bind the dough to a soft & addictive kuih. I love the colour too!

Pumpkin Kuih Koci
(Kuih Koci Labu)

DOUGH

150g (1&1/4 cup) glutinous rice flour

280g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) cooked pumpkin – mashed (Original recipe uses only 1 cup.)
salt to taste
banana leaves for wrapping - soften & cut into about 4x4 - inch squares (see note no. 1)
     Combine the flour, pumpkin & salt & mix thoroughly. The dough  is quite sticky. You may add more flour, but don't add too much or the kuih will be hard.

COCONUT MILK SAUCE (DADIH)

1 cup thick coconut milk

1 tsp rice flour

a pinch of salt
Combine & cook on low fire, stirring continuously,  until it starts to boil.

FILLING (my own measurement)
75g (1small piece) gula Melaka
1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
50ml (about 2 tbsp) water
125g (1 cup) freshly-grated coconut

1/2 tbsp rice flour (Chah uses plain flour.)
a pinch of salt

2 pandan leaves (torn)

     Combine gula Melaka, granulated sugar & water in a saucepan & cook until it boils. Remove from fire & strain the syrup. Rinse the saucepan & pour back the gula Melaka syrup. Add in the coconut, rice flour, salt & pandan leaves. Cook over medium fire until mixture is almost dry. Set aside.

ASSEMBLY

1. To prepare the banana leaves, wash & dry the leaves. Then run one leave at a time on hot electric or gas stove. This will soften the leaves & prevent tearing when wrapping the kuih koci. Then cut the leaves into 4-inch squares.
2. Take a piece of leave & place some dough onto it. Place some filling & top it with some more dough. Wrap & place it on a steamer. Continue with the rest of dough & filling.
3. Steam over medium fire for about 20 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Bila Chah Ke Dapur.

Notes:

1. I steamed 480g raw pumpkin. After removing the seeds & peeling the skin, I was left with 280g of cooked pumpkin.
2. The dough was quite sticky but I didn't want to add too much flour as I wanted my kuih koci to be soft. Instead of forming the kuih into a ball shape, I found it easier to just spoon the dough onto the leave. You may also oil you palm a little when shaping the dough.

I'm linking this post to the event Little Thumbs Up (Oct 2014 Event: PUMPKIN), organised by Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids) and Mui Mui (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by Eileen (Eileen's Diary).