Cinnamon Buns

Ingredients

Cinnamon Buns:

• Nonstick oil spray
• 1 cup yeast starter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cups vegetable oil (recommended: Mazola)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups hot tap water
• 1 (1 tablespoon) package dry active yeast
• 6 cups all-purpose flour (recommended: Pillsbury)

Filling:

• 2 sticks butter
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, plus more if needed
• 1/2 cup ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup raisins

Glaze/Icing:

• 4 cups 10x powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup half-and-half

Directions

Buns: When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 170 degrees F. Prepare 2 (9 by 12-inch) rectangular baking dishes by spraying with nonstick oil spray.

In a mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix together starter, granulated sugar, vegetable oil, salt, water, yeast and flour.

After mixing the dough for about 2 minutes, remove the dough to a bowl sprayed with nonstick oil.

Cook's Note: If the dough mix is too loose, add more flour.

Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in size. The rising process will take 1 to 4 hours, depending on the altitude and weather at the time and place you are making the buns.

When doubled, dump the whole pile of dough onto a well-floured surface and with a rolling pin manipulate the dough to make a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.

Filling: Melt 2 sticks of butter to where it is creamy and spreadable. Spread the butter onto the dough triangle making sure you spread thoroughly to all corners. Sprinkle brown sugar and then cinnamon over the butter making sure that the whole triangle is covered, corner to corner. Top with chopped pecans and raisins.

Roll the dough into a tight roll. Cut with a serrated knife into 2-inch long rolls and place into the baking dishes.

Cook's Note: If using the rectangle baking dish, snuggle the buns together as if they were trying to keep each other very warm. You might want to manipulate the size of the pan to make sure that the buns are very snug in the pan.

You do not have to cover the rolls, but you need to let them rise in an oven set at 170 degrees F to proof until you see that they are almost but not quite doubled in size, about 40 to 50 minutes. When you see that they are at that point, turn the oven up to 350 degrees F. Bake for 25 minutes until you see that they are truly golden on the top.

Cook's Note: A good test is when you take them out of the oven and push on the very center of a bun; if it sinks inward easily and feels doughy, they will need 5 to 10 minutes more cooking time.

Glaze/Icing: In a mixer beat powdered sugar and half-and-half until smooth and without lumps. Take the buns out of the oven and put them on a wire rack. Immediately glaze them with a pastry brush. After glazing all of the buns, go back over and glaze once again.

Cook's Note: If you desire, you can melt more butter on the top before serving. If warming buns after they are cool, 20 seconds in the microwave revives that incredible hot-out-of-the-oven taste. However, even cold, they are awesome.

A viewer, who may not be a professional cook, provided this recipe. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe and therefore, we cannot make representation as to the results.