CINNAMON buns are one of my favourite things to make.

The lengthy knead and slow rise are the perfect antidote to my tendency to rush, stress and fuss over things, being a baker.

I'm convinced that if everyone indulged in a few hours of enforced calm each weekend, there would be more than a few therapists out of business!

All buns have in common a simple enriched dough – what happens next is up to you! You can make anything from sticky Chelsea buns to cream Devon splits, doughnuts and brioche rolls; you can fill them with nuts, fruit, zest or spices swimming in a sticky glaze.

I've stuck to the classic, sweet cinnamon bun which I made loads of in my early career.

When cinnamon, sugar and butter are mixed together, the result is something many people enjoy.

The cinnamon buns are a sweet pastry commonly eaten at breakfast time, but may be consumed any time of day. Some of the ingredients making these buns taste irresistible are bread, cinnamon, sugar and butter. Yeast bread dates back to around 1,000 BC in Ancient Egypt. And cinnamon dates back to 2,000 BC, when it was imported from Egypt to China and was so highly prized that it was regarded as a gift fit for monarchs. Butter also dates back to 2,000 BC and is written about in the Bible. Farmers' wives gave way to machines when butter began mass production in around 1860. Sugarcane originates from what is now New Guinea.

The first cinnamon bun was allegedly baked in Sweden, in the 1920s. But ask any Nordic country and they'll tell you the sweet bun was actually their invention! Regardless of its exact birthplace, the bun is a staple of Scandinavian baking and commonly enjoyed during Fika, a get-together with friends. In Sweden, the dough contains a hint of cardamom and is always baked in a muffin wrapper known as Kanelbulle. This word literally means cinnamon bun or whirl, and they are also known as sticky rolls or sticky buns. In Denmark they are called 'snails' and in Finland 'slapped ears', but whatever its name it does have a day named after it – on October 4 – because it's as comforting and warming as a hug from your best friend, a stranger or your dog!

RECIPE

CINNAMON BUNS

Ingredients:

The dough:

500g/1lb 2oz strong bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons caster sugar

100g/3.5oz butter

200ml/7fl oz milk

2 eggs

1 x 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast

Filling and topping:

75g/3.5oz butter, softened

100g/3.5oz caster sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 egg, beaten

Water

Method:

1. In a saucepan heat the butter, milk and salt until the butter is melted. Allow to cool until lukewarm.

2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, yeast and sugar and crack in the eggs and milk mixture and form a sticky dough.

3. On a floured work surface, knead the dough vigorously for 8 minutes, shape into a ball and return back to the bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave till double in size.

4. Meanwhile, for the filling and topping, mix the butter in a bowl with half the sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon in a separate bowl.

5. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle and spread over the cinnamon-sugar-butter evenly, roll up the dough tightly and cut into 12 even slices.

6. Place each slice onto flattened-out cupcake cases on a baking tray, and set aside for 30-40 minutes to prove again.

7. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas Mark 6, brush the tops with beaten egg and liberally with cinnamon sugar, and bake for 12 minutes till dark golden brown.