Cinnamon Braid in a skillet

If you've been lucky enough to get to try – not to mention make – that wonderful invention called cinnamon rolls (or cinnamon buns), you'll easily sense that what's coming next will create an irresistible need to run check your pantry and get into the flour as soon as possible. Or am I wrong?

It's hard not to fall for that almost inexplicable tenderness and that scent of cinnamon and butter that will remain not only in the braid but suspended indefinitely in the air of your whole house. Although it's true that, even though I'm urging you not to lose a second, we'll need to apply a necessary dose of patience (minimal) and lots of care (maximum) if we want our cinnamon roll braid to be a complete success and worth the wait and time invested (which I can tell you in advance is not too long). You can either start in the morning to have it ready for tea time or let it proof cold in the fridge overnight and finish in time for breakfast the next morning (in this latter case, the dough's texture and flavor will be incredibly rewarded).

Although you can use many types of molds or oven dishes when making this recipe, I find it especially fitting to use the Le Creuset cast iron skillet*; cast iron distributes heat evenly throughout the batter, helping it cook perfectly inside (retaining its tenderness) as well as at the base. In addition, thanks to its impeccable design, you can serve it straight from the oven to the table without unmolding.

Le Creuset skillet, De Buyer serving spatula and Le Creuset cast iron trivet

Ingredients (for 8-10 people)

All ingredients should be at room temperature unless otherwise stated.

For the dough:

• 60 g unsalted butter, melted and warmed
• 55 g white sugar
• 50 g mascarpone cheese
• 1 egg (M)
• 200 ml warm milk (43-45ºC), never hot (+ extra milk for brushing)
• 15 g fresh baker's yeast
• 450-475 g all-purpose wheat flour (+ extra flour for kneading)
• ¾ teaspoon salt

For the filling:

• 90 g unsalted butter, softened to a spreadable consistency
• 100 g white sugar
• 6 g (3 teaspoons) ground cinnamon (I use the Ceylon or Sri Lanka variety, which is milder and has a slightly sweet note)

Sophie Conran T&G wooden rolling pin

Preparation:

For the dough:

1. In the bowl of our stand mixer (or in a large bowl if working by hand), combine the melted (and warmed) butter, the sugar, the mascarpone and the egg using the whisk until you get a smooth, lump-free mixture.
2. In a separate medium bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk.
3. Next, add about half of the flour to the initial mixture, as well as the milk with the yeast, and mix with the paddle attachment (or a silicone spatula or wooden spoon if not using a mixer) until everything is more or less combined.
4. Then add almost all of the remaining flour (reserve about 30-40 g of flour in case it's needed later) and the salt, and continue mixing just enough to incorporate.
5. Now fit the dough hook attachment (or transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface to knead by hand) and start kneading at low-medium speed until the dough easily pulls away from the bowl or work surface (about 8-10 minutes with the mixer; a bit longer if kneading by hand) and has acquired a very soft, elastic texture. Although this dough is somewhat greasy, it should not stick to your hands at the end of kneading. If it seems excessively sticky, you can gradually add some or all of the reserved flour.
6. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a large bowl lightly greased with a thin film of mild oil, cover with plastic wrap and, if continuing immediately with the recipe, let it rise in a warm place (about 20-23ºC) away from drafts until it doubles in volume (between 1 – 1 ½ hours). If, on the other hand, you're letting it rise cold, place the bowl with the dough in the refrigerator overnight; in the morning, remove it and let the dough come to room temperature before continuing to the next step.

For the filling:

7. Once the dough is ready, deflate it by pressing your knuckles into it a couple of times, cover again with plastic wrap and let rest for another 10 minutes.
8. Once relaxed, transfer the dough to a large, lightly floured work surface, and with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll it out (always working from the center outwards) into a rectangle about 45 x 25 cm.
9. Spread the butter over the surface of the rectangle with a small spatula, leaving a 1 cm margin unspread along one of the longer sides.
10. Then sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon evenly over the butter.
11. Next, start rolling the dough over itself, beginning from the long side covered with the filling. When you reach the unfilled edge, brush it with a little water so it seals well and finish rolling.

Assembly and baking:

12. Place the rolled dough on a flat surface so it doesn't deform, cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes so it can be handled more easily.
13. Meanwhile, grease the inside of our 23 cm Ø cast iron skillet* with non-stick release spray and set aside.
14. Remove the dough roll from the freezer, place it on the countertop with the seam facing down and cut it lengthwise into two with a large, very sharp knife.
15. Place both cut faces up (so the cut layers are visible), pinch one of the ends and begin braiding them, making sure the cut side of both pieces stays upward.
16. When we reach the other end, we pinch there as well and place our braid in the prepared skillet, forming a spiral.
17. Cover again loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for another 30-45 minutes in a warm, draft-free place until our cinnamon roll braid has visibly grown and looks fluffy (it does not need to double in size).
18. Preheat the oven (conventional, no fan) to 180ºC with top and bottom heat for about 15 minutes and place the oven rack in the middle position.
19. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 50–55 minutes (if we see that after half an hour the surface is browning too much, cover with aluminum foil, making sure it sits loosely).
20. As soon as we’ve checked that our braid is fully baked (if we insert a skewer into the center, it should come out dry and free of crumbs), we remove the skillet from the oven, taking great care not to burn ourselves, and let it rest in the skillet on a cooling rack for at least 20 minutes. After this time, we can unmold it if we’re going to serve it on a different platter, but I usually leave it in the skillet and serve it directly in it; it seems simply perfect to bring it to the table just like that.
21. Sometimes, as I do with cinnamon rolls, I finish it with a cream cheese glaze whipped with a little milk on top or simply sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon if I don't want to complicate things. A good scoop of ice cream is often a perfect accompaniment, especially when it's still slightly warm; the contrast is spectacular.

Le Creuset skillet, De Buyer serving spatula, T&G pastry brush, Pallarès carbon steel knife with boxwood handle and Sophie Conran T&G wooden rolling pin

It's best to consume these types of yeasted recipes on the first day, freshly made, when they retain all their tenderness. Still, once cooled, keep them at room temperature and well protected from the air. If another morning comes and they've dried out a bit, a few seconds in the microwave at medium power will bring back much of that lost tenderness, though I recommend eating them as soon as possible.

NOTES:

• As I mentioned above, we can also bake this recipe in another type of pan or dish (as long as it keeps the same dimensions as the recipe's skillet and is oven-safe). However, when using a vessel made from another material (ceramic, aluminum, etc.) or a different color, the baking times will vary (increase) slightly and the exterior texture may as well; the cast iron and the black color of the skillet used in this recipe retain much more heat than other materials or colors, which inevitably influences the final result in some way.
• Dry baker's yeast is also a perfectly valid option instead of fresh yeast; it should never be confused with chemical baking powder like Royal (typically used for cake-type preparations). One part dry yeast equals three parts fresh yeast. So, in this recipe specifically, the 15 g of fresh yeast could be replaced with 5 g of dry baker's yeast.
• Occasionally, instead of mascarpone I use sour cream – whatever I find first at the supermarket. The result is an incredibly fluffy crumb.
• 1 tablespoon = 15 ml / 1 teaspoon = 5 ml