Typically Dutch Sticky Cinnamon Buns

I've always wanted to make these, but never bothered to look up the original recipe to make them or to check how difficult it would be. Well, as it turns out, these typically Dutch sticky cinnamon buns, also known as cinnamon turds in my house thanks to my dear husband, are really easy to make. And also very easy to make gluten free. So it goes to show you should never assume things. 

They may not look like much, but I'm so proud of these!!

So here's the recipe that will make about 12 buns. 

Ingredients:

• 250 grams (9 oz) of gluten free rice flour
• 250 grams (9 oz) of gluten free basic bread flour (I used Le Poole's Twello's wit)
• 15 grams (0.5 oz) of granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum
• half a teaspoon of iodized salt
• 1 egg
• 50 ml (2 fl oz) of milk
• 215 ml (7.25 fl oz) of water
• 30 grams (1.05 oz) of dry yeast
• 30 grams (1.05 oz) of butter

For the cinnamon-sugar coating of the buns:

• 250 grams (9 oz) of dark caster sugar
• 4 tablespoons of cinnamon

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 50 degrees centigrade/ 122 degrees fahrenheit en put a bowl of water on the bottom of the oven. This will help the dough proof. 
• Mix all the ingredients for the the bun in a big bowl, except for the butter. Mix it with an electric mixer until all is well combined and you have a firm dough. 
• Then add the butter, mix it in and when it is all combined make tiny balls of about 80 grams (about 3 oz). 
• Now here is where the recipe differs from making the normal gluten versions of the cinnamon buns. Normally you would let the dough proof before rolling them out, but that is not effective with gluten free dough. Since it lacks the gluten the dough lacks flexibility and when you roll it out after proofing, the dough will not bounce back. You will end up with dense, tough buns instead of fluffy buns. So... you now take the balls and roll them out as sausages of about 30 cms (about 12 inches). 
• You brush them with some water and then roll them through a mixture of dark caster sugar and cinnamon which you have put in a large oven tray like this:

Make sure you mix the cinnamon & sugar well before rolling the dough in it

• Then you roll them up like this and place them on a baking tray lined with baking parchment:

Roll them up form and 'glue' them together with a bit of extra water

• Place the baking tray in the oven for 20 minutes to let the buns proof. They will come out the oven almost doubled in size, looking  like this. 

They proof really well, so make sure you don't put them too close together on the tray

• Heat the oven to 225 degrees centigrade or 425 degrees fahrenheit. When the oven is ready, put the buns in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.  Take them out of the oven, and immediately put them upside down on a clean baking tray to let them cool, like this:

I have to admit seeing this picture, that my husband sort of has a point...

When they are cooled, they will look like the picture on top of the blog. Serve them with a cup of tea and enjoy!

Ps. If you try out my recipes, please let me know how you get on. That way I can improve my recipes and help more people. If answering here is a bit daunting, you can always let me know on my Twitter account or tumbler linked to this blog.