These cinnamon raisin buns aren’t really Asian, but they had them at many of the bakeries I’d go to in China. If you’re a fan of cinnamon raisin bread (toasted with a little butter…perfection), you will LOVE these.
And their fancy schmancy swirly look? Way easier to accomplish than you think. Scroll down to see how we did it.
Cinnamon Raisin Buns: Recipe Instructions
Start by making the bread dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt (in that order). Using the dough hook attachment, turn on the mixer to “stir.” Let it go for 15 minutes, occasionally stopping the mixer to push the dough together.
After 15 minutes, the dough is ready for proofing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough will grow to 1.5X its original size.
After the bread dough has proofed for an hour, put the dough back in the mixer and stir for another 5 minutes to get rid of air bubbles. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal pieces.
Roll out each piece into a rough 8×4 inch rectangle. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and dot with a few raisins.
Roll into a cigar, and cut the cigar in half lengthwise, leaving one end attached (it’ll look like a pair of pants).
Twist the two pieces together, and then roll the whole thing into a snail shape, tucking the ends underneath the bun.
Lay on a baking sheet, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and allow to rise for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the risen buns with egg wash and bake for 13-15 minutes. Right after they’re baked, transfer to a cooling rack and brush with simple syrup.
Cinnamon Raisin Buns
Ingredients
For the bread dough:
- 2/3 cup heavy cream (160 ml, at room temperature)
- 1 cup milk (plus 1 tablespoon, at room temperature; total 250 ml)
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- 1/3 cup sugar (75g)
- 1/2 cup cake flour (70g)
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour (500g)
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast (11g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (7g)
To finish the buns:
- 2 tablespoons sugar (25g)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2-2/3 cup raisins (75-100g)
- 1 large egg (beaten with 1 tablespoon water to form an egg wash)
- 1 tablespoon sugar (12g, dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water to make a simple syrup)
Instructions
- Start by making the bread dough. In the bowl of a mixer, add the heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt (in that order). Using the dough hook attachment, turn on the mixer to “stir.” Let it go for 15 minutes, occasionally stopping the mixer to push the dough together.
- After 15 minutes, the dough is ready for proofing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough will grow to 1.5X its original size.
- After the bread dough has proofed for an hour, put the dough back in the mixer and stir for another 5 minutes to get rid of air bubbles. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal pieces.
- Roll out each piece into a rough 8x4 inch rectangle. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and dot with a few raisins. Roll into a cigar, and cut the cigar in half lengthwise, leaving one end attached (it'll look like a pair of pants). Twist the two pieces together, and then roll the whole thing into a snail shape, tucking the ends underneath the bun. Lay on a baking sheet, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and allow to rise for another hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the risen buns with egg wash and bake for 13-15 minutes. Right after they're baked, brush with simple syrup.
Notes
Nutrition
Darlene says
I just made a batch of the cinnamon raisin buns and they are really soft and taste great. Even though I only proofed dough for 1 hour, i noticed that my buns were bigger than the ones in your photos. I used 1 tablespoon of instant yeast. I also let the dough rest 10 min before making the cigars and rolling the snails then proof another hour. Because the buns were larger I had to bake for an additional 5-7 min. I will be making this recipe again but wanted to know where i can improve for the next time. Also can I prepare the buns up to making the buns but before proofing 2nd time and put them in the fridge overnight. the next morning, how would I bake them – do I need to bring the buns to room temp before putting in a preheated oven? Thanks.
Sarah says
Hi Darlene, if you’d like to do this recipe in advance, I would prepare the dough and then refrigerate it overnight for a long “cold proof” (just make sure to cover it tightly). The next day, you’d have to give the dough a few hours to come up to room temperature, and then proceed with assembly, proofing, and baking. I have tried this method (and it usually works well), but have not tried the method of refrigerating after the second proof. If you were to try that, I would definitely let the buns come back up to room temp before baking.
Britt says
Any ideas on why my buns aren’t light and fluffy? I followed the recipe exactly and the dough felt good after proofing. Not sure why they are dense!
Sarah says
Hi Britt, it may be that they didn’t proof long enough? It may have also been overproof. There are so many small factors than can affect bread rise. Wish I could’ve been there to see what happened!