Cinnamon and cardamom yeast knots

These cinnamon and cardamom yeast knots are perfect for anyone who loves soft, buttery buns packed with warming spices. The delicate yeast dough is filled with brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom, and the distinctive plaiting and knotting gives each bun a beautiful, eye-catching shape. Once baked, they’re soft and fluffy in the centre, lightly crisp around the edges and wonderfully fragrant with cinnamon and cardamom. They’re a slightly different take on the classic cinnamon bun :). Shaping them might seem a little tricky at first, but with the step-by-step instructions, they’re surprisingly easy to make. You can bake them on a regular baking tray or in a muffin tin – the latter helps the knots keep their neat, compact shape. And, of course, they’re best enjoyed while still slightly warm!

Makes 12 buns.

Ingredients for the yeast dough:

• 540 g strong white bread flour
• 80 g caster sugar
• ¾ tsp salt
• 10 g dried yeast or 20 g fresh yeast
• 80 g butter, melted
• 250 ml milk
• 2 large eggs

Mix the flour with the dried yeast (if using fresh yeast, first make a yeast starter). Add the remaining ingredients and knead, adding the melted butter towards the end. Knead the dough until it is soft and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly floured bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1½ hours).

Once risen, roll the dough out into a large rectangle measuring approximately 50 × 36 cm, lightly dusting the work surface and rolling pin with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Spread the cinnamon and cardamom filling (recipe below) over the rectangle, covering two-thirds of the rolled-out dough. Fold the dough into thirds, like a letter, dividing the longer side (50 cm) into three. You should end up with a rectangle measuring approximately 36 × 17 cm. Position the dough so that the longer side (36 cm) is closest to you. Gently roll the dough out again, increasing the length of the shorter side to approximately 23 cm. Using a sharp knife, cut across the longer side into strips approximately 3 cm wide (you should have 12 equal strips). Then gently roll or stretch each strip to make it longer, and cut it lengthways into 3 strands, leaving one end uncut. Plait the strands, then twist each plait into a knot, wrapping it around itself and starting from the uncut end.

Place the prepared buns on two baking trays lined with baking paper. Cover with a tea towel or cling film and leave to rise again for approximately 40 minutes (or until doubled in size). Just before baking, brush with beaten egg.

Place the risen buns in an oven preheated to 180°C and bake for approximately 23–25 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly. This isn’t essential, but you can also drizzle the baked buns with icing.

AI-generated graphic ↓

Ingredients for the cinnamon and cardamom filling:

• 75 g very soft butter
• 125 g light muscovado sugar
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground cardamom

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat together. Alternatively, mix with a spoon or spatula.

Additionally:

• 1 beaten egg, for brushing

Method for bread machine users:

Place all the yeast dough ingredients into the bread machine in the following order: liquid ingredients first, then dry ingredients, and finally the yeast. Select the ‘dough’ programme (kneading and first rise). Once the programme has finished, remove the dough, knead it lightly, and continue according to the main recipe above.

Enjoy!