adapted from The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook
~from Savoring Time in the Kitchen
Cinnamon Roll Dough:
1 pkg active dry yeast equally 2-1/2 tsp (make sure your yeast is fresh before starting)
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup warm water (105° to 110° F)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup toasted and chopped pecans (optional)
Vegetable oil for the bowl
Flour for the work surface
Bundt cake pan
*See my notes below for making with a bread machine
Filling:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (reserve 1 T for brushing bundt pan)
2/3 cup (plus more for dusting bundt pan)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Penseys Baking Spice (which is a combination of ground cinnamon, anise seed, mace, allspice and cardamom - or simply use 1 teaspoon of plain cinnamon)
1/8 teaspoon salt
For the cake dough:
In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar in the warm water. Let stand 5 minutes, or until foamy.
Meanwhile, in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1/4 cup granulated sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg yolks, buttermilk and salt until well combined.
Beat in the yeast mixture. Beat in 3 1/2 cups of the flour until combined.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, adding more flour if necessary.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll to a 12 by 18 inch rectangle. Brush with 3 tablespoons of the melted butter.
In a small bowl, combine the 2/3 cup brown sugar, the cinnamon and salt and sprinkle over the dough. Starting at one short end, roll into a cylinder. With a serrated knife, cut the roll in half crosswise, and then cut each half into six pieces so that you have 12 pieces.
Brush a 10 to 12 cup Bundt pan with melted butter and coat with the 3 tablespoons brown sugar. Place the pieces of dough, seam side down, around the pan. I placed a layer of pieces all facing the outside of the pan first and then filled the pan with the remaining pieces so that the swirl pattern would show up all around the cake. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until light and puffed, about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until the buns are golden brown and well risen. Remove from the oven and let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a cake plate or parchment-paper-covered cutting board.
*My notes for making with a bread machine:
First, I melted the 6 tablespoons of butter in a bowl. I stirred in the buttermilk and added the ¼ cup warm water. Then, I added a little of the buttermilk mixture to the egg yolks and stirred to temper the eggs, then added the egg yolks to the buttermilk mixture and stirred quickly so that the egg yolks would not cook even slightly when added to the warm mixture.
In a separate bowl, I combined the flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
For my bread machine, I need to add all the ‘wet’ ingredients to the machine first, then add the dry ingredients over that. I set the machine to ‘dough’ cycle.
Proceed with the rest of the rest of the recipe as written after the dough has risen in the bread machine.