Tips on working with Yeast
You can find yeast at many stores but I buy mine at Bulk Barn Foods where I can purchase as little or as much as I like. Yeast can be purchased in packages but I prefer to buy it loose and store it in a dark jar in the fridge. This saves on packaging as well which I’m a big fan of!
- Always check if the yeast is still active. Yeast does have an expiry date. If the yeast doesn’t froth or bubble then it is most likely dead. The more bubbles and froth produced the more active the yeast.
- Make sure you are using the right type of yeast in the recipe. There are different types of yeast: instant, active, or fresh, so read the recipe before buying yeast. I strictly use active dry yeast in all my recipes, as I prefer to work with this yeast and it’s easily accessible at many stores.
- Store yeast in the fridge for best results.
- When soaking active dry yeast in liquid, make sure the water isn’t too hot. If the water is too hot you can kill the yeast.
- When salt comes into direct contact with yeast it will also kill it. Make sure salt is the last step when mixing together.
- Sugar will help activate yeast. You will normally see recipes add a little sugar or honey to the soaking (blooming) stage. This is to help your yeast activate.
- One package of yeast is 2 1/4 teaspoons.
I hope you love these cinnamon sugar brioche buns as much as I do! And I promise they are worth the work! You’ll have every guest and family member raving about how wonderful they are! Happy Baking.
How To Make Cinnamon Sugar Brioche Buns
- Let dough rest for approx. 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch dough down and release all the air.
- On a lightly floured work surface roll dough out into a rectangle approx. 12 x 16 inches. Spread butter over the entire surface and cover in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Fold the dough in half. The cinnamon sugar side should be in the centre. Gently re-roll the rectangle again to approx. 10 x 16 inches. Add butter and cinnamon sugar mixture. Fold, and re-roll one more time.
- Add butter and cinnamon sugar mixture. Now starting at the long side of the rectangle, tightly roll into a log.
- Add rolls to a buttered and sugared muffin pan.
- Cover and let buns rest for 20-30 minutes.
Cinnamon Sugar Brioche Buns
These brioche buns are super soft, addictive and are filled with loads of cinnamon and sugar layers. They make the perfect treat to enjoy for a special brunch. You can make them the day ahead and bake fresh in the morning to enjoy hot out of the oven. They are best enjoyed the day of!
- Prep Time: 2 hours 30 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 2 hours 55 mins
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup milk, warmed
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (Bulk Barn Foods)
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Filling
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer add warmed milk, yeast and sugar together. Let rest for 10 minutes or until mixture is frothy.
- In a small bowl whisk eggs together. Add eggs to yeast mixture. Then add 3 cups of the flour (reserving 1 cup) and the salt.
- Using the dough hook, mix ingredients on low to medium speed until the dough comes together. Slowly add chunks of the butter, letting the butter incorporate before adding more butter. Use the reserved flour as needed to help the butter mix into the dough (don’t worry if the dough looks a little messy, it will come together).
- Once the butter and flour are incorporated, turn the speed to medium – high and beat for approx. 8 minutes (you may add a little more flour if needed) or until the dough is smooth and once pressed, bounces back a little.
- Turn the dough out and shape into a ball.
- Grease a large bowl with oil, add the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rest for approx. 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Meanwhile make your filling. Add brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon together. Mix well.
- Grease a muffin tin with butter and set aside.
- Punch dough down and release all the air.
- On a lightly floured work surface roll dough out into a rectangle approx. 12 x 16 inches. Spread butter over the entire surface and cover in the cinnamon sugar mixture (you will be doing this 3 times so reserve some of the butter and sugar). Using your hands, gently press the sugar into the butter.
- Now fold the dough lengthwise in half. The cinnamon sugar side should be in the centre. Gently re-roll the rectangle again to approx. 10 x 16 inches. Add butter and cinnamon sugar mixture. Fold one more time and re-roll dough.
- This should now be the third time you are rolling out your dough. Again, spread butter over the entire surface and cover in the cinnamon sugar mixture, pressing sugar into the butter.
- Starting at the long side of the rectangle, tightly roll into a log.
- Using a serrated knife, cut rolls approximately 1 inch thick.
- Add the leftover cinnamon sugar mixture to the bottoms of the muffin cups.
- Gently place rolls into each muffin cup. Cover in plastic and let rest for approx. 20-30 minutes.
- At this stage you can either place the rolls into the fridge overnight to bake fresh in the morning or bake right away.
- While the buns rest, preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Bake in the bottom third of the oven for 20-25 minutes.
- Let buns cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing.
- Enjoy warm.
Notes
If baking cinnamon sugar brioche buns the next day, take buns out of the fridge while the oven preheats and bake as directed.
Best enjoyed the day of.
Store in an airtight container.
Keywords: Brioche Buns, Cinnamon Buns, Holiday Baking, Christmas Baking, Breakfast, Brunch, Cinnamon
FAQ’s
One package of yeast is 2 1/4 teaspoons.
– Always check if the yeast is still active. Yeast does have an expiry date. If the yeast doesn’t froth or bubble then it is most likely dead. The more bubbles and froth produced the more active the yeast.
– Make sure you are using the right type of yeast in the recipe. There are different types of yeast: instant, active, or fresh, so read the recipe before buying yeast. I strictly use active dry yeast in all my recipes, as I prefer to work with this yeast and it’s easily accessible at many stores.
– Store yeast in the fridge for best results.
– When soaking active dry yeast in liquid, make sure the water isn’t too hot. If the water is too hot you can kill the yeast.
– When salt comes into direct contact with yeast it will also kill it. Make sure salt is the last step when mixing together.
– Sugar will help activate yeast. You will normally see recipes add a little sugar or honey to the soaking (blooming) stage. This is to help your yeast activate.
Yes, you can make these (and any cinnamon buns) the night before and bake them fresh in the morning. Simply stop at the step just before baking, cover in plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight (this will slow down the proofing of the bread). In the morning take out the buns, preheat the oven and let the buns sit at room temperature for approx. 20 minutes. Place the buns in the oven and continue the instructions in the recipe.
Active dry yeast has a coating that protects the yeast. It needs to be dissolved before adding into the dough. It’s first dissolved in lukewarm liquid (water, milk) and sometimes has sugar added to help the yeast activate. Instant yeast is directly added to dough and does not need to be dissolved first.
This blog post has been sponsored by Bulk Barn Canada where you can find all your bread making needs! All opinions are my own and I’m so happy to work with brands I love so I can continue to share these recipes with all of you! I hope you guys get to a Bulk Barn soon and try out this recipe!
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Thanks foe the step by step photos! Really helpful. Such a yummy recipe.
★★★★★
Haven’t actually made these yet.. but it’s definitely going to have to happen!
★★★★★
Hi there. How much butter is needed? 1/2 stick or 1/2 cup? Recipe is missing that…thank you
Cmjohn, it’s 1/2 cup (113 grams) of butter. Thank you and I hope you like the recipe 🙂
I hadn’t baked in many years, but these looked so beautiful that I had to try. The instructions were easy to follow, especially with the step by step photos. They turned out amazing and are incredibly delicious! I will definitely be making them again.
★★★★★
Arianne, this is currently one of my favourite recipes and I’m so happy to hear you like them too! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Can’t wait for you to try them Jackie, you’ll love them!
So great to hear Denise, thanks for sharing 🙂
I just made these and I have to stop eating them!!!!!!!!!!! They look exactly like the photo and were super easy to make. The brioche bun is just darned perfect and so much cinnamon! I used it all when spreading it out. I will make a bit more to add in the muffin pan…more gooey! Yum. Look forward to checking out more of your recipes. btw…5 stars just aren’t enough. 🙂
★★★★★
This is a p.s. to my first post. I don’t have a stand mixer, so I used a wooden spoon and then my hands and kneaded everything together. It all worked out just fine.
★★★★★
Anne this message made my day, thank you for sharing! I love these brioche buns too… it’s so nice to hear you do too! Happy Baking 🙂
Was given this recipe in the Bulk Barn email. So for the filling, you divide the butter into 3 parts and the cinnamon sugar mix into 4 parts? 3 for the rolling & re-rolling, and then the 4th part of the sugar for the tins before adding the rolls? Not quite sure how much of the cinnamon sugar mix would be “leftover”?
Hi Elna, thanks for visiting the site. The amount of cinnamon sugar mixture should spread out evenly 4 times on a 10 x 16 rectangle dough. Then whatever cinnamon sugar mixture you have left you add to the muffin cups at the end. You can always make a little extra and add more if you find you don’t have enough at the end. I find it’s plenty (but if you roll out the dough larger than the 10 x 16 rectangle you may find you need more). Hope that helps, happy baking and I hope you love them!
These are really good. I usually make morning buns when I make a batch of homemade croissants, but this is a nice recipe without the painstaking lamination. I made some as New Years gifts for my neighbors and added a spritz of gold glitter spray on top, and that made them extra magnificent.
Hi Tim, I love the idea of adding gold glitter, what a great gift for your neighbours too. Thanks for taking the time to write a review. Happy New Year.