Cinnamon Buns

...or as I like to call them in Chinese, 肉桂屁股 rou4 gui4 pi4gu3. Haha, just kidding. 肉櫃捲 rou4 gui4 juan3 is a better name, literally Cinnamon Rolls. I made them this morning for class. Chapter 2 is about food so our assignment for the week is to bring in some food and present it (describe the ingredients, how to make it, etc). I made a couple batches over Chinese New Year break as well but forgot to take pictures.

I like to use the Sweet Dough recipe from the Good Housekeeping Illustrated cookbook (which is handily not in my possession, but in storage at Angie's house). It's a large batch of dough (8 cups of flour, I think) that you end up splitting to make multiple recipes. Since I don't have it with me, I found the dough recipe on the internet, cut it in half and then just winged the rest of it.

Cinnamon Buns
Lots of people like a glazed bun, but I find the extra sugar makes it too sweet. The filling is to taste - I put a healthy dose of cinnamon, a sprinkling of sugar, and lots of raisins. If my consumers aren't against walnuts I put them in. I think they're better with but some people are allergic or just aren't a fan.

Dough

• 2 1/4 t yeast - 酵母 xiao4mu3
  
• <4 c flour - 麵粉 mian4fen3
  
• 1 t salt - 鹽 yan2
  
• 1/4 c sugar - 糖 tang2
  
• 1 egg - 蛋 dan4
  
• 1/8 c butter, melted - 奶油 nai3you2
  
• 1/4 c water - 水 shui3
  
• 3/4 c milk - 牛奶 niu2nai3
  

Filling

• butter - 奶油 nai3you2
  
• cinnamon - 肉桂粉 rou4gui4 fen3
• optional: pinch of cloves (to enhance cinnamon), nutmeg (to complement), cardamom (for different flavor)
• brown sugar - 黑糖 hei1 tang2
  
• raisins - 葡萄乾 pu2tao2gan1
  
• optional: chopped walnuts - 核桃 he2tao2
  

1. Place dough ingredients in bread machine and set to dough cycle.
   Note: The following steps take up to 2 hours, depending on your rising time.
   
2. Punch dough down. Flatten/roll out to rectangular shape. 12"x20" or 16"x21" would do.
3. Spread melted butter on surface followed by the rest of the ingredients. A healthy spread of raisins will do.
4. Start rolling the dough (from the long side). Be sure to roll tightly so as not to have any air pockets.
5. Cut the log into 9-12 pieces (depending on the size of your baking dish).
   
6. Place in greased pan. Cover and let rise in warm, moist environment until nearly doubled (30 min - 1 hour).
7. Bake at 180C for 20-25 min or until golden brown.
8. Serve warm for breakfast or cooled down for a snack!

I brought the dish into class, still warm from the oven. With only 9 pieces in the square dish I used, we had to cut them in half to have enough for everyone (11 people incl the teacher). I think I could have eaten half the dish but held back and ended up with half a roll.

My class continues to be wildly entertaining and I am so grateful for having this teacher and these classmates. Class change period is over, and my class has settled its roster. There was an older American man from Los Angeles trying to get in, but in the end, the school said 10 was the limit for a class. A few others also just peeked their heads in to see if there was room. It's quite a popular class. I feel some concern about the next quarter when I plan to take a month off. The school has changed their policy...instead of letting teachers go at their own pace (with a guideline of 5 days per chapter, 3 days for intensive), they are required to reach and not surpass a certain chapter. I think this will make it more difficult for students in the end and possibly limit our class. So far, I've always been in a class that has gone faster than others -- it's a shame the school is slowing us down.