Outdoor Cooking & Charcoal Oven Recipes / Bake

Cinnamon buns baking in a cast iron pan inside a Charlie Oven

Milk Bread Cinnamon Buns

Soft, pillowy milk bread wrapped around a swirl of cinnamon and brown sugar, finished with a drizzle of icing. These are the buns to put on the table while the coffee is brewing. A little milk powder is the secret to the soft crumb. Also known as cinnamon rolls, they bake beautifully in the top third of Charlie at 180°C (355°F). Make 12 big ones or 18 to 24 smaller buns, and allow about 3 to 3¾ hours from start to finish, most of it proving. There will be no shortage of volunteers to try them.

Tara QuickCo-founder, Charlie Oven
Bake
Prep30 minutes
Cook25 to 35 minutes
Serves12 large or 18 to 24 small
DifficultyMedium

Charlie Oven — https://charlieoven.com/en-gg/blogs/charcoal-recipes/milk-bread-cinnamon-buns

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Ingredients

Makes 12 large or 18 to 24 smaller buns

Dough

Filling

Icing

Method

  1. Mix and knead

    Mix the flour, milk powder, yeast, caster sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the lukewarm milk and eggs and mix to form a dough. Knead in the softened butter a little at a time, then keep kneading until smooth and stretchy. Allow about 10 to 15 minutes with a dough hook, or a little longer by hand. The dough should feel soft and slightly tacky.

  2. First rise

    Put the dough in a bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for 1 to 1½ hours, until doubled in size.

  3. Add the cinnamon filling

    Mix the softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon into a spreadable paste. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a rectangle about 30 × 40 cm. Spread half the filling over each rectangle, leaving a small strip clear along the edge you will finish rolling towards.

  4. Roll and cut

    Roll each rectangle up from a short edge into a 30 cm log. Cut each log into 6 pieces for 12 large buns, 9 for 18 smaller buns or 12 for 24 small buns. Arrange cut side up in two greased, lined baking tins or two greased cast iron pans, leaving a little room between them.
    Roll and cut

  5. Final rise

    Cover the tins and leave for 45 to 60 minutes, until the buns are puffy and just touching. Light Charlie during this rise, allowing about 30 minutes to heat and settle before baking.
    Final rise

  6. Set up Charlie

    Place a cooking rack in the top third of Charlie, well above the charcoal. Light about half a football’s worth of lumpwood charcoal with one natural firelighter. Open both vents fully for lighting. When the oven is about 10°C short of 180°C (355°F), set both vents to about a knuckle’s width open (2.5 cm or 1 in) to hold the temperature. Bake in the tins or pans on the rack. No pizza stones or steam are needed.
    Set up Charlie

  7. Bake

    Bake at 180°C (355°F) for 25 to 35 minutes for large buns, or 18 to 25 minutes for smaller buns. Start checking at the shorter time. The tops should be golden and the dough in the centre bun baked through. If the tops colour before the centres are ready, cover loosely with foil and continue baking.
    Bake

  8. Cool

    Leave the buns to cool for 10 minutes.
    10 min timer Cool

  9. Ice and serve

    Mix the icing sugar with 2 tablespoons of milk, adding a little more if needed to make a thick drizzle. Spoon over the warm buns and serve.
    Ice and serve

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The cook

Tara Quick

Co-founder, Charlie Oven

Tara Quick is co-founder of Charlie Oven, a lifelong foodie who loves to cook and bring people together around the table. Her approach is simple: start with great ingredients, let the oven do the hard work and cook with love. Food made with love just tastes better.

More recipes by Tara Quick

Frequently asked questions

  • Can I make smaller cinnamon buns?

    Yes. Use the same dough and filling. Cut each of the two logs into 9 pieces for 18 buns or 12 pieces for 24 buns. Bake for 18 to 25 minutes at 180°C (355°F), checking from 18 minutes.

  • Why add milk powder to cinnamon buns?

    The milk powder adds milk solids without extra liquid, giving the dough a richer flavour and a soft crumb.

  • When should I light Charlie?

    Light Charlie during the final rise, about 30 minutes before you expect to bake. Let the oven settle at 180°C (355°F) before putting the tins in.

  • Do I need pizza stones or steam?

    No. Bake the buns in greased, lined baking tins or greased cast iron pans on a rack in the top third of Charlie, well above the charcoal.

  • How do I know when cinnamon buns are baked through?

    The tops should be deep golden and the centre bun should spring back when you press it gently. If you have a probe thermometer, the middle of the centre bun should read about 90°C (195°F).

  • Is this a Japanese milk bread recipe?

    Not quite. Japanese milk bread usually uses tangzhong, a cooked paste of flour and liquid. This dough gets its softness from milk powder instead, which gives a similar soft crumb with less fuss.

  • Why bake cinnamon buns on the top rack?

    The top of Charlie gives gentle, indirect heat, so the buns bake through before the sugary filling and the bases catch. Lower racks are hotter and more direct, which suits steaks rather than enriched dough.