Cinnamon buns are a sweet treat in our house. In the past I have used a 50/50 mix of white and whole wheat flour to make them somewhat more healthy, but now I don’t have to do that. I can get buns that rise as well as white flour, that are as tender and moist as white flour, but have the nutty deliciousness and health benefits of whole grains. The 2 secrets are: using freshly milled flour, and soaking half of the flour in water to help release the gluten first.
My kids have always loved to eat dough, and this dough is no exception. I have always found dough to be somewhat bitter until I began using freshly-milled flour. The bitterness is no longer there, leaving me to believe that the bitterness was caused by a mild rancidity in the flour. Now that I have tasted the difference between freshly-milled flour and regular I won’t be going back.
- 8 c. freshly milled whole wheat flour, divided into 3 cup and 5 cup portions.
- 2 c. warm water
- ⅓ c. plus 1 tbsp. honey, divided.
- ⅓ c. butter
- 1 tbsp. yeast
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 egg
- To make sponge add yeast to ¼ c. warm water with 1 tbsp. honey in a 2 cup glass measuring cup. Mix well and set aside.
- Add 3 cups flour to 2 cups water. Mix well and set aside. This is your flour soaking, releasing the gluten.
- Melt butter and ⅓ c. honey together and set aside until room temperature.
- In half an hour, add yeast mixture to flour mixture and mix well.
- Add butter and honey mixture and mix well.
- Add salt, egg and remaining flour (one cup at a time) and mix well.
- Once dough is of the right consistency (neither wet nor dry but tacky) kneed dough for 10 minutes.
- Set dough aside in a large bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and allow to double in size. (1-2 hours).
- When dough is doubled, kneed it briefly, divide into two, then roll out onto floured counter top.
- 2 tbsp. butter, softened
- 2½ tsp. cinnamon
- ¾ c. demerarra sugar or other dark cane sugar
- For cinnamon bun filling: spread butter over the dough with your fingers or a pastry brush.
- Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar evenly over the dough. Roll dough up and pinch closed. Slice into evenly sized buns
- Place buns in greased baking dish with a small bit of space around each bun. Cover with a damp tea towel.
- Allow to rise until doubled in size: 1 hour or so.
- Once buns have doubled in size, bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
- ½ c. maple syrup
- ½ c. butter, melted
- 1 c. toasted pecans (optional)
- Melt butter and maple syrup together.
- Toast pecans in oven on broil for a few minutes, until lightly toasted. WATCH CAREFULLY! It is really easy to burn them on broil!
- Add toasted pecans to butter and syrup.
- Drizzle liberally over the cinnamon buns.
- Serve warm!
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