Enjoy delicious layers of bread filled with citrus, jam and cinnamon sugar. These Early Morning Breakfast Buns can be prepared and assembled the night before for easy baking the next morning.
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My daughter gave me the cutest Mother’s day card yesterday. And it says ” She is a great baker and a great blogger” among other things.
Then she says “I like to cook with her and bake with her and I love her so much”  Oh I died.
Never mind if I don’t get the classic breakfast in bed. Never mind if I don’t get the bouquet of chocolate or flowers. Just those words and I am one happy girl. Oh 7 years, olds!
Besides I can always treat myself to these Early Morning Breakfast Buns. Mother’s day or not, or whenever I choose to. This age is the mother’s day card stage, and I am loving it.
These morning buns can be the first wonderful aroma to grace the house.
They can be enjoyed for breakfast, warm and fresh from the oven without me slaving myself in the morning. Just make and assemble the dough the night before, then let it rise and bake first thing the following day.
Early Morning Breakfast Buns: The Process
Making the bread dough is basically the same process as with any dough. The difference is that it involves a series of folds or turns, like when you make croissant dough.
Those turns or folds is what will provide that flaky, layer-y feel to these morning buns. In here we will employ the business letter- style fold, as shown below.
So, after making and kneading the dough, let it rest for ten minutes, then roll it out to a 12×8 inch rectangle.
Drop dollops of softened butter all over the rectangle. Then we will enclose the butter by folding the dough. Upper third towards the center, then the lower third up to make it look like a business letter.
Chill the dough in the freezer, wrapped in plastic, for ten minutes. After chilling, roll it out again to a 12×8 inch rectangle. Again, do the business letter style fold. Chill again in the freezer for ten minutes.
After the chill, roll the dough to an 8×14 inch rectangle. Spread the filling all over the dough.
Starting on the long side of the rectangle, roll it out to form a tight log.
Using a sharp knife, slice the log into 1-inch sections. You will be able to make 12 or so. Place each roll on a greased 12-cup muffin pan.
Cover the muffin pan with plastic, and here is where your hard work comes to an end. Chill the assembled dough in the fridge overnight.
Wash your face, brush your teeth and call it a day! Sweet dreams.
When you wake up the next morning, fresh and alert, take the muffin pan out from the fridge. Let the rolls rise in a warm place or at room temperature for about 45 minutes. They will be puffed and soft.
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Bake the buns on the preheated oven for 18-18 minutes, or until lightly golden.
Smell the wonderful aroma of the bread baking in the oven. And that is just the start of your reward.
Once done, let the rolls cool down a bit until they are manageable. Roll each one into a plate of sugar. And step back, there is your real reward.
In fantasy, my family may come to the kitchen one by one, enticed by the wonderful smell. In reality, I may be eating half the batch of the breakfast buns before the rest of them wakes up.
This is a real morning treat, Mother’s day or not. And I can make them any day  I want. That is until my daughter is old enough to make them for me. Now that is gonna be a next-level reward.
p.s. I am keeping the card forever.
You can also skip the overnight chill and go on with the process the same day. After placing the rolls in the pan, cover them with a clean kitchen towel. Let them rise at room temperature for 45 minutes, then bake.
More Bread Recipes to Love:
- Tartine’s Morning Buns
- Sweet Beehive Buns
- Chelsea Buns
- Finnish Blueberry Buns
- Soft and Buttery Sugar Buns
- Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls with Easy Caramel Glaze
- Sticky Buns with Pecans and Rum Raisins
- Milk Bread
- Japanese Milk Buns
- Sweet Cheese Rolls
- Brioche Bread Ring
- Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
Early Morning Breakfast Buns
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2 and 3/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup warm milk 105-115 F
- 2 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp (85 grams) butter softened
For the Filling
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tbsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp grated orange zest
- 4 tbsp (57 grams) butter softened
- 1/4 cup fruit jam
- more sugar for coating the baked buns
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar and yeast in warm milk. Let the mixture stand for about 5 minutes, until foamy.
- Combine flour and salt. Add the mixture gradually to the yeast mixture while stirring. Continue to stir until a dough forms and gathers at the center of the bowl.
- Turn the dough over on a lightly floured board. Knead it until smooth for about 5 minutes or so. This dough is moderately stiff and not as elastic, a little bit drier than a regular bread dough. Shape it into a ball and place it in a bowl. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Roll the dough into a 12x8 inch rectangle. Dot dollops of softened butter in a single layer all over the dough. Fold the upper third of the dough over to the center, then fold the lower third up to create a business letter style fold. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the freezer and unwrap. With the short edge close to you, roll it once more to a 12x8 inch rectangle. Fold it again business letter style. Wrap it in plastic and chill in the freezer for another ten minutes.
- Finally, remove the dough from the freezer and unwrap it. With the short edge close to you, roll the dough into an 8x14 inch rectangle. Mix together fruit jam and butter and spread over the dough. In a small bowl mix together the cardamon, cinnamon, sugar and orange zest. Sprinkle all over the dough and press them lightly against the dough with a rolling pin o your hands.
- Roll the long side of the dough towards the center to form a tight log up to the other side. Slice the dough into 12 equal portions. Place each portion on a greased 12-cup muffin pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill the dough overnight in the fridge.
- In the morning, take the pan out from the fridge, let it rise for 45 minutes, or until puffy. Preheat oven to 375 F. Bake the buns at 375 F for 15-18 minutes or until lightly golden. Let cool slightly until easy to handle. Toss in sugar to coat. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Thanks so much… These were brilliant and destroyed in seconds by the family. The smell of the cardamon, cinnamon, and orange zest drove me mad before they even made it into the oven! Made a magnificent mid-winter breakfast. Thank you!
Tip: I found the melted jam and butter pooled in the bottom of the muffin tin so after they had cooled a little, I gave the buns a twist to soak up some of the mix as I took them out.
Great tip, Jonathan. Thank you! I a so glad you liked them 🙂
Hi! Thank you for all your wonderful recipes.
For this recipe, did you forget the egg in the dough mixture?
Hello there Alma! There is no egg in this recipe to give it more of that flaky feel. I hope you enjoy this!