Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls with Buttermilk Glaze Recipe

Servings: 8
Prep time: 25 minutes
Total time: 6 hours

for the dough:
4 large eggs
⅓ cup|80 ml whole milk
2 cups|240 grams all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups|158 grams whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup|63 grams granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground cardamom
16 tablespoons|227 grams|2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature

for the filling:
1 cups|200 grams dark brown sugar
8 tablespoons|113 grams|1 stick unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
pinch fine sea salt

for the glaze:
3 ⅓ cups|400 grams confectioner’s sugar
½ cup|125 ml buttermilk, well-shaken
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt

1. Make the dough: Place the all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and cardamom in a large bowl and stir to combine. Place the eggs and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the dry ingredients, fit the mixer with the dough hook, and mix on low speed for about 3 minutes to combine. Increase the speed to medium-low and mix for 5 minutes to develop the gluten. Reduce the speed to low, add the butter, and mix until the butter is incorporated into the dough (this will take 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how soft the butter is), stopping to scrape down the dough hook and the sides of the bowl once or twice with a wet hand during that time. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a wet hand to scrape the dough off the hook. Place a clean kitchen towel over the bowl and set the bowl aside to ferment for 2 hours, turning the dough halfway through the fermentation with wet hands.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray.Use a plastic scraper to scoop the dough out of the bowl onto the prepared baking sheet. Gently pat and form the dough into a roughly 8-inch square. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, and as long as overnight. (If you are leaving the dough overnight, after 2 hours, wrap the pan in plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the dough and return it to the refrigerator.)
3. Prepare the filling: Just before rolling out the dough, combine the brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed to combine the ingredients. Set the filling aside at room temperature while you roll out the dough so it stays soft and spreadable.
4. Roll out the dough and form the rolls: Spray the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
5. Lightly flour a large flat work surface. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it if it is wrapped, and peel it from the parchment paper using a plastic scraper. Place the dough on the floured surface. Lightly dust your rolling pin and the dough with flour and, starting in the center of the dough and working outward, roll the dough out to a 12- x 16-inch rectangle with the long edge parallel to you. Lift the dough and dust underneath lightly with flour. Use a small offset spatula to spread the filling evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving ½-inch border at the top edge of the dough with no filling. Gently roll the dough away from you to form a log.
6. With the seam face-down on the countertop, trim the sides of the log with a serrated knife and cut the log into 8 equal-sized spiral rounds; each will be about 2 inches wide. Put one segment cut-side up in the center of the prepared pan and arrange the remaining segments in a circle around the center segment. If you are baking the cinnamon rolls the same day, cover the cinnamon rolls with plastic wrap or a damp, lightweight kitchen towel and set them aside to proof for 2 hours, until the dough looks swollen. If you plan to bake the rolls the following morning, spray a sheet of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray and place it sprayed side down to cover the pan. Set the rolls aside to proof for 1½ hours. Refrigerate the cinnamon rolls overnight.
7. Bake the cinnamon rolls: Adjust the oven racks so one is in the center position and heat the oven to 350°F.
8. If the rolls are in the refrigerator, remove the rolls from the refrigerator. In either case, uncover them. Place the pan of cinnamon rolls on the center rack of the oven to bake for 45 minutes to 50 minutes for freshly proofed rolls; 50 to 55 minutes if the rolls were refrigerated, until the tops of the cinnamon rolls are deep golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Carefully remove the side of the springform pan. Allow the buns to cool slightly while you prepare the glaze.
9. To prepare the glaze, whisk the confectioner’s sugar, buttermilk, and a generous pinch of salt together in a medium bowl. Spoon glaze over the top of each bun. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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