Christmas Spiced Morning Buns

Christmas Spiced Morning Buns

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Perfect for Christmas Day breakfast, these Christmas Spiced Morning Buns are caramelised and chewy on the outside. And tender and fluffy on the inside!

christmas spiced morning buns

With Christmas exactly a week away, its time to get confirming the menu for the day. And I’ve got a brilliant contender for breakfast/brunch, in the form of Christmas Spiced Morning Buns!

If you’re an avid reader of the blog (and if not why not ;)!) then you’ll be familiar with my Earl Grey Citrus Morning Buns. But if not, here’s a quick recap:

Chewy and caramelised on the outside, soft and tender on the inside. Bursting with flavour and buttery goodness. They’re a sort of croissant/cinnamon bun/muffin hybrid and they’re one of my absolute favourite things I’ve made and eaten! They originated in San Francisco’s bakery Tartine, and I am absolutely planning a pilgrimage to try them one day!!

morning buns

Christmas morning bakes

Now for the last 6 or so years I’ve made croissants for Christmas day morning. I’m not entirely sure why I started this tradition, and there’s definitely been mixed results over the years! But now I’ve started it, I couldn’t imagine Christmas morning without the smell of freshly baked goods!

This year though I thought Id try my hand at something new for Christmas morning. And combining my beloved morning buns with christmas spices seemed like the only way to do it!

We’re talking cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, orange and lemon zest. And even ground coriander – definitely not the fresh herb kind!!

christmas spiced morning buns

How do you make a Christmas spiced morning bun??

So, first up let me tell you straight away. These beauties freeze really well! So if you want to make them in the days beforehand, you totally can! And they’ll still taste absolutely delicious. My top tip is to pop them in the oven for 10 minutes to warm them up, and that way they’ll taste freshly baked anddd you’ll still get a gorgeous bakery smell coming out of your kitchen! So here’s the actual process:

  • Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, milk and egg in a large bowl with your hands. And knead gently until you have a smooth but sticky dough. Then pop in the fridge for 1 hour.
  • Meanwhile, make an envelope out of baking paper and spread softened butter into it. This will make your life soooo much easier when you begin laminating the dough!
  • Then you’ll need to start the rolling and folding process. Which doesn’t take much hands on time, but will take some chilling time in the fridge. Then you can leave it overnight – hooray!
  • In the morning, you’ll need to mix your spice mix together and melt some butter. Then roll out your chilled dough.
  • The next part is definitely the fun bit! Spreading over the butter, scattering the spice mix and then rolling the whole thing up into a big sausage roll!
  • Once you’ve cut them into swirls, these are then left to prove for a couple of hours.
  • Finally, you can then bake! And ENJOY!

I’m seriously so happy with how these turned out, and I think they’re suchh a delicious alternative breakfast for Christmas day! Or any day over the festive period to be honest!

morning buns

On with the recipe:

christmas spiced morning buns

Christmas Spiced Morning Buns

Aimee Field
Perfect for breakfast, these Christmas Spiced Morning Buns are caramelised and chewy on the outside. And tender and fluffy on the inside!
Prep Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Chilling/Proving Time 12 hours
Total Time 14 hours 10 minutes
Course Pastries
Cuisine American
Servings 12 Buns

Ingredients
  

Dough

  • 250 g plain flour
  • 250 g strong white bread flour
  • 7 g active dry yeast
  • 50 g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 250 ml full fat milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 250 g unsalted butter room temperature (President butter if possible)

Filling

  • 120 g butter melted, at room temperature
  • 250 g soft light brown sugar
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • zest of 1 orange
  • zest of 1 lemon

Glaze

  • 1 large egg

Instructions
 

  • For the dough: Place the flours into a large bowl. In a large jug, whisk together the yeast, sugar, salt, milk and egg. Then in a steady stream while mixing with your hand, pour the liquid mixture into the flours. Continue mixing/kneading until you have a smooth but sticky dough. Cover the bowl and rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
  • Meanwhile, using baking paper, fold to create an ‘envelope’ approx. 35x20cm. Then spread the softened butter on in a thin layer. Wrap the envelope and place into the fridge to chill.
  • Roll the chilled pastry, on a lightly floured work surface, into a large rectangle (approx. 55x30cm), with the short edge facing you. Then place the chilled butter over the bottom two thirds of the dough. Fold the top third of the dough (without any butter) down onto the middle third. Then fold the bottom third up on top of this. Roll the pastry out again into a large rectangle (again, short end facing you) and fold like before. This is your first turn. Wrap the dough, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Repeat the turning process another two times, then leave in the fridge overnight to rest.
  • For the filling: The next morning, melt the butter. Then in a small bowl, mix the sugar, salt, spices and zest together. Using a pastry brush spread a thin layer of butter in 2 6-hole muffin tins, and a sprinkling of the sugar mix (approx. 1tsp across 4 muffin tin holes). Then set aside.
  • Roll the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, to approx. 60x40cm. Neaten up the edges with a knife to ensure your rectangle has straight edges. Then using a pastry brush, spread over the melted butter. Then scatter the sugar mix (leaving 50g to the side) over the butter, ensuring its an even layer and gently pressing into the dough so it sticks.
  • From the long edge, start rolling the dough up tightly until you have one long roll. Cut this into 12 even sections and place each into a muffin tin hole. Cover loosely, and leave to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.
  • Preheat the oven to 200C. Then beat the egg in a small bowl, and using a pastry brush, glaze the tops of each bun. Place in the oven for 35 minutes, turning the tins round half way through, until they are fairly dark golden brown (you may need to cover with foil to stop them from burning). Tip the buns out onto a wire rack immediately (run a blunt knife around the edges if they get stuck) and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
  • Place the remaining sugar mix into a baking tray, then roll the hot buns in the sugar mix to coat.

Notes

Buns are best served same day, warm from the oven.
They can be kept in an air-tight container for 2-3 days, and refreshed in the oven at 175C for 10 minutes. Buns can also be frozen (once completely cooled), defrost on the counter and then refresh in the oven at 175C for 10 minutes.
Keyword breakfast, brunch, christmas, christmas spiced, morning bun


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