The smell of yeast filled the air. It was released when a warm liquid awakened it after a long, dry rest. The aroma was enhanced with an earthy note. Spices mixed in and intertwined with newly forming dough. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom gave warmth to an ordinary bread. The heat of the oven gave one final spring rise and soon after Spiced Buns were ready for breakfast.
Spices add so much more than flavor. They ignite hunger with their scent. They alter the color with varying hues from all points on the spectrum. They are the theme for November's Twelve Loaves Challenge. It's one I've been looking forward to for a long time. The real challenge was deciding on which bread to bake. I finally went with a bun filled with four of my favorite spices along with another fave of mine, dried currants.
Spiced buns could be considered a yeast biscuit. However, it is very different from any standard biscuit found here in the south. Southern biscuits are quick breads made with flour, leavening, fat, and liquid. I use self-rising flour, shortening, and milk when I make biscuits. So to me, Spiced Buns are more like a roll. They have a distinct bread texture and a moderate level of spice. Serve them warm along with butter and jam.
What is your favorite spice? Do you bake bread with it? You should because it's fun and tasty too! If you need recipes or inspiration, here is a list for you to get started:
- Cinnamon-Cardamom Buns by Heather at girlichef
- Cinnamon Crusted Pumpkin Bread by Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins by Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
- Cinnamon, Orange and Chocolate Chip Bread by Deepti at Bakingyummies
- Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Rolls by Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Cocoa Clove Pumpkin Bread by Renee at Kudos Kitchen by Renee
- Ginger Pull-Apart Bread by Lora at Cake Duchess
- Honey Spice Bread by Holly at A Baker's House
- Persimmon Gingerbread Muffins with Caramel Drizzle by Krista at A Handful of Everything
- Pumpkin Cardamom Bread by Dionne at Try Anything Once Culinary
- Spiced Buns by Renee at Magnolia Days
- Sumac Spicy Crackers by Rossella at Ma che ti sei mangiato
- Sweet Potato Spice Swirl Bread by Paula at Vintage Kitchen Notes
Spiced Buns
Ingredients
- 3 ½ to 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 packages active dry yeast ¼ ounce each
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ⅔ cup water
- ½ cup butter at room temperature
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup dried currants or raisins
- 1 egg white slightly beaten
Instructions
- Grease a large bowl and set aside. Grease 2 baking sheets or line them with parchment or non-stick liners.
- Whisk together 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Heat water and butter in a small saucepan until warm, 120-130 degrees F (butter does not need to melt). Add to flour mixture.
- Lightly beat eggs and add to flour mixture.
- Blend at low speed using the flat beater until moistened.
- Change flat beater to dough hook and turn mixer to recommended setting for the dough hook.
- Gradually add currants and enough flour to make a soft dough (it should "clean" the side of the bowl). Knead with mixer/dough hook for 5 minutes.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and hand knead a few times.
- Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 hour.
- Punch dough down and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Roll dough to ½-inch thickness.
- Cut out buns with a 2- to 2 ½-inch round cutter.
- Place cut-out rounds 1 ½-inches apart on baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees while buns are on the second rise.
- Gently brush tops with egg white. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove buns from cookie sheets. Serve warm.
Notes
Recipe adapted from one in The Red Star Centennial Bread Sampler cookbook (no longer in print).
#TwelveLoaves November - Spices. October #TwelveLoaves was about baking with Root Vegetables. It was quite a delicious month! Temperatures are dropping and it is the right moment to explore bread and SPICE! Share your November Spice Bread (yeast or quick bread). Let's get baking!
Want to add your bread to the collection with the Linky tool this month? Here's what you need to do!
- When you post your Twelve Loaves bread on your blog, make sure that you mention the Twelve Loaves challenge in your blog post; this helps us to get more members as well as share everyone's posts. Please make sure that your bread is inspired by the theme!
- Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of my blog. It must be bread baked to the Twelve Loaves theme.
- Have your Twelve Loaves bread that you baked this November, 2013, and posted on your blog by November 30, 2013.
#TwelveLoaves is a monthly bread baking party. It was created by Lora from Cake Duchess and runs so smoothly thanks to the help of the lovely Paula from Vintage Kitchen Notes and Renee from Magnolia Days.
So lovely, Renee. Your buns are so perfectly round and tempting. I would take a couple of your Southern biscuits and a couple of your spice buns this morning very happily with my coffee. Love them for #TwelveLoaves Spice!
It's the first time I've used a cookie/biscuit cutter for rolls. I do like the way they came out so nicely round. I'm thinking about trying it with different dough to see if it works with others too.
If they are like biscuits with yeast I can just imagine the amazing flavor Renee! Currants and spices always remind me of my grandmother. They have become hard to find sometimes, the currants, but very much worth it. Such a lovely recipe!
I have to go to Whole Foods or other specialty stores to get dried currants. I buy a big pack so they last a while.
Your buns look fantastic Renee (something every woman likes to hear)!! I could almost smell them baking from the way you described them!
Yes, hearing your buns look fantastic does make many women smile and something we would never tire of hearing.
Renee!
love these! These are like hot cross buns, right? Love all the spices. . Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom . . some of my favorites!! And dried currants? yum!! delicious! After seeing all of your wonderful recipes, I so want to get into the kitchen and start baking!! Beautiful!
Yes, they are very similar to hot cross buns and honestly I didn't even think about that until you mentioned it.
I really adore currants in spice breads, too...and these look like perfection; something that should be at a Christmas or Easter table! And I love that you used a cutter to form them...the edges are nice. 🙂
Thanks Heather and I agree they would be great for Christmas or Easter.
My favourite spices are the one associated with Xmas and you're using all of them. Perfect choice for this month of Twelve Loaves.
Thanks Rossella and I adore what I call "winter spices" too. Their aroma warms up the air on a chilly day.
I love the combination of spices you used, Renee! And can only imagine the incredible aroma coming from your oven while these were baking!
Thanks Liz and the whole house smelled incredible when they were baking.
I love the combination of spices you used. And they look perfectly shaped worthy enough for a magazine shoot!
Thank you very much Norma!
They look so pretty and fluffy, great choice of spices!
Thanks! They do have an airy quality to them.
Your photo is stunning. It caught my eye on foodgawker a short while ago and somehow I knew it was yours without looking at the details. You have such a way of capturing the light to make your food stand out. Great #TwelveLoaves baking this month!
Thank you so much for your kind words on my photography. You totally made my day.
Breakfast was a long time ago but I'm "hankering" for just a bite or two or three! of the spiced buns =)
Love your description of yeast rising. The aroma of baking bread (or buns) certainly does seem to fill a home with love.
So true Kim on how baking bread seems to fill a home with love. It's such a lovely smell and better than any air freshener on the market.
Those look so perfect! How interesting to cut them with a biscuit cutter. No need to shape! Beautiful and tasty sounding.
Thanks Karen. It was my first time shaping buns by using a cutter. I do like they way they turned out.
ohhhhhhhhhh love these buns!!! Love bread in general, mmmm
Thanks Kayle
Look at the spices! I see my new favorite (cardamom) and all its friends! These buns smell divine, I am sure. I also kind of have a thing for currants. 🙂 I can't wait to have these on my own table.
Thanks Dionne and I feel the same about cardamom. I'm using it a lot more these days.
Look at all these wonderful breads that I've found ... I'm new here, and am so happy to have found Twelve Loaves!
Thanks so much Susan and I'm glad you found my blog.
You've got some spicy buns! Buuuaaaahhha ha ha!
Too funny Dorothy!
Hmm. I don't think I've ever had any buns quite like this but they look delicious and I can just imagine the smell. I've got a big pot of soup on the stove now and I'm thinking these would go great with it.
I think they would be lovely with soup. I ate them for breakfast and now I'm thinking how nice they would be for lunch and dinner too.
Hello Renee,
The rotundity of your buns motivate me to bake a batch soon. I can imagine the lovely aroma of the spices wafting through your kitchen and igniting hunger.
Thanks Namita and they do have a most lovely aroma when they are baking.
Just imagining the aroma and flavor of these buns ignites my appetite! They do look airy enough to float.
They are nice and airy. The yeast rise helps it instead of being dense like a traditional southern biscuit.