Cinnamon Buns & Air Buns

So, this is another AMAZING Devynn recipe! I had these for the first time at playgroup at Devynn's house (she's actually the one who introduced me to the fabulous group)! Anyways, HERE's her original post with the recipe. I'm going to modify it just a bit (only the way it's worded).

AIR BUNS (MODERATE)

1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 package dry active yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup lard
1 tbsp salt
1-1/2 tbsp vinegar
4 cups scalded milk (how to scald the milk is in the directions below)
6-10 cups of flour
Mix 1/2 cup warm water (I turn the hot water on the tap on and when I can let it run hot on my wrist and not take my wrist away, but it's fairly warm, then I know it's the right temperature), 1 tsp. sugar, and one package of yeast in a small bowl (if you use the quick-rise yeast you can skip the first rising stage later on). Let stand 10 minutes (or until yeast is dissolved).

Meanwhile, scald 4 cups of milk over medium-low heat in a small pan on the stove. [My mom always used powdered milk but I use regular whole milk. To scald your milk, put it in a pot on the stove on low-medium heat. Watch it and stir constantly. When the milk starts to steam, then it is scalded. Don't burn it!]


Move the yeast mixture to a LARGE mixing bowl and add milk to the yeast mixture, as well as: sugar, lard, salt, and vinegar.
Use your mixer (I only have a hand mixer that has dough hooks, but Devynn uses a Kitchen Aid mixer) to add 6-10 cups flour one cup at a time. Dough should be sticky to the touch, but should come off of the sides of the mixing bowl when you are running the mixer through it.

Knead well.

Place in a large greased bowl, turn once to coat the bottom. Raise 2 hours. Punch down.

Raise 1 more hour.

***Set in buns. To do this stir the dough down first. Then melt some lard and use that on your hands so you can work with the dough (I did not need to use lard on my hands, but it may make it easier). Take a small palm full of dough and knead the dough into a small bun shape. Then put this into a greased sheetpan and continue until you are done with the dough.

Raise again.

Bake 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned on top and sound hollow when you tap them.

***If you want to make these into cinnamon buns take a small amount of dough in your hands and knead the dough and then make it into a 'snake' shape. Dip that into butter and then a cinnamon/sugar mixture and then tie your snake into a knot. Place these into greased muffin tins so they keep their shape. **I don't really know the exact amount of cinnamon and sugar, I pretty much just poured sugar in a bowl, and topped it with cinnamon, mixed them together and went for it. When I ran out, I added more.**

These are soooooo good!

I then made cream cheese frosting to put on the cinnamon buns:

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat all ingredients together until you achieve a smooth, spreadable consistency (you may have to SLOWLY add a little more milk).

I made these on Saturday, and we are still eating them today. I ended up making half regular air buns, and half cinnamon buns. For the cinnamon buns, I made 12 large buns, and then used 2 mini-cupcake sheets to make mini-buns! They are all sooooo good!

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah