How to Make and Shape Our Glazed Cinnamon-Cardamom Buns
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova1/9To start shaping, have your filling made and your dough chilled and rolled into a 1/4"-thick rectangle, about 16"x12". (Find the recipe for both filling and dough here). Spread the filling onto two-thirds of the dough.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova2/9Fold the naked side of the rectangle over the middle. Repeat with the opposite (filled) side. You should have a rectangle of dough that's folded like a letter.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova3/9Turn the rectangle so that the long side is facing you, then toll the dough out into a 12"x8" rectangle about 1/2" thick.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova4/9Using a large knife or a pizza cutter, slice the dough lengthwise into eight 1"-thick strips.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova5/9Working one at a time, lay each strip on a clean work surface with the long side facing you. Using your palms, gently roll each end in opposite directions until the entire strip is spiraled.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova6/9Grab the spiraled strip by the ends and gently lift it off the work surface. Tightly (but gently!) wrap the strip once around your hand. Now wrap the dough around once again, crossing over the first loop at the top and bottom of your palm.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova7/9Now you'll tie the dough into a knot. To do this, lay the tail end of the strip diagonally across the bun and tuck the tail end into the center. (The center is where your hand is—you'll need to remove your hand as you stuff the dough through.) You want to twist these tightly so that they rise while baking. If you’re having trouble, twist them into any kind of knot that you can—just make sure it is wrapped tightly.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova8/9Divide the twists between two rimmed baking sheets, spacing them evenly apart. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap and let them sit at room temperature until doubled in size, 45–60 minutes. Then preheat an oven to 325°F and bake the buns, rotating pans from top to bottom halfway through, until deeply golden brown, 25–30 minutes.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova9/9When the buns are out of the oven but still warm, generously brush each one with brown sugar syrup. If you like a sweeter pastry, wait five minutes, then brush again.
