Old-Fashioned Buns Recipe
You are going to love this old-fashioned buns recipe. This recipe produces the most soft and buttery buns. It’s a 2-in-1 recipe so whether you want dinner buns, cinnamon buns or both, this recipe has got you covered!
This is a family favourite recipe and has been in our family for years. My Grandma baked them all the time, then my mom learned how to bake them with her mom, and now I’m making them with my mom. This recipe makes a large batch so we like to make half dinner buns and half cinnamon buns.
It is such a nostalgic recipe. I remember when I was a kid visiting my grandparents on the farm. My mom and grandma would sit at the table together forming little dinner buns or rolling up cinnamon buns out of the dough.
The dinner buns are the perfect accompaniment to dinner, but we would also spread peanut butter and honey on them for dessert!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- 2-in-1 recipe- make dinner buns, cinnamon buns or both from one recipe!
- Uses instant yeast for easy-to-make big, soft and fluffy yeast rolls.
- They taste way better than the grocery bakery.
- Only 6 ingredients are needed for the dough
- The cinnamon buns have a sweet and gooey glaze on top made with heavy cream!
- The dinner buns make the perfect side to any meal, and the cinnamon buns make a sweet dessert!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Dough
- Granulated Sugar: feeds the yeast.
- Oil: produces a soft dinner bun.
- Salt: adds flavour!
- Warm water: activates the yeast.
- All-purpose flour: all-purpose flour is all that is needed for this recipe which can be found in most pantries.
- Instant Yeast: for a faster rise time.
If Making Cinnamon Buns:
- Butter: room temperature for soft and spreadable.
- Brown Sugar: gives a wonderfully rich flavour.
- Cinnamon: it’s essential for making perfect cinnamon rolls!
Tools You Will Need:
- Hand mixer or immersion blender– optional but makes mixing way easier
- Cookie sheets, 9×9 or 9×13 baking dishes
- Wooden Spoon
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Large bowl with lid preferably- like this one
- Towel for warming-optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl(a very large bowl as this makes a big batch), mix 7 tablespoons of granulated sugar, 6 tablespoons oil, and 1/2 tablespoons of salt. A wooden spoon works fine to mix this part. Add in 4 cups of warm water and mix.
- Next, add 4 cups of flour with 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of instant yeast. At this step, you can use a hand mixer or my favourite- an immersion blender. You want it to be well-blended and bubbly, a couple minutes of blending should do it.
- Add the remaining 6 cups of flour one at a time until a soft dough forms. Knead dough for 2 minutes and place a lid on the bowl or plastic wrap. To get a good rise you’ll want to place it in a warm place, a trick we like to do is warming up a towel and placing it over the bowl. Tidbit: warm the towel by placing it in a dryer for a few minutes or in the oven at a very low setting 300°F for 5-10 minutes. Let rise for 15 minutes.
- With oiled hands, punch down the dough to release the air, I like to also flip the dough over so the pretty round side is face up but is not necessary. Also, be sure to grease the bowl. Repeat this step 3 times for a total of 4 in 15-minute increments. When you see the dough rising to the top of the bowl you may want to grease the lid or plastic wrap so the dough doesn’t stick.
If making dinner buns:
After the dough has risen for the last round grab golf ball-sized pieces of dough with greased hands and shape them into rolls. To shape them stretch the top of the dough while pinching and sealing the bottom. Place on greased cookie sheets or baking dishes. Cover with a warm towel and let rise until doubled in size-about 30 minutes.
Bake for 20 minutes at 325°F for nonstick pans or 350°F for glass dishes. Optional: brush melted butter on top after baking for extra flavour.
These dinner buns would make the perfect accompaniment for Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas Dinner 🙂 You can also use them as slider buns for leftover ham or turkey sandwiches!
If making cinnamon buns:
On a lightly oiled surface, roll the dough into a rectangle or square that is about 1 cm thick. Spread room temperature butter all over in a thin layer. (The amounts will vary depending on whether you make dinner buns out of the dough or use all the dough for cinnamon buns. If you used all the dough you may want to divide the dough before rolling because it will be too much if you roll out all the dough at once.)
Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon all over the dough until evenly covered. Roll up the long side of the dough tightly. Pinch in the ends.
For reference: I used 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon to fill half a batch of dough, so double it for a full batch. Or measure with your heart!
Using a sharp knife* cut into slices about 1 inch apart. Place rounds into a lightly greased baking dish. I prefer glass baking dishes such as pie dishes, 8×8, 9×9, and 9×13 inch dishes will all work. Just be sure not to overcrowd. Cover with a warm towel or place in a warm spot to let rise for 30 minutes or double in size.
*Tidbit: Or you can try using the floss method. Simply loop the floss around the dough, cross the ends, and pull tight to make a clean cut.
To make the glaze for the cinnamon buns whisk together 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 tbsp of cinnamon and 2/3 cup of heavy cream. Double if making a full batch. Set aside.
Bake for 10 minutes at 325°F for nonstick pans or 350°F for glass dishes. Pour glaze all over the cinnamon buns and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
These buns are out of this world and super soft and fluffy! Waaay better than canned cinnamon rolls. Devour for brunch or a delicious dessert!
Old-Fashioned Buns
This recipe produces the most soft and buttery buns. It's a 2-in-1 recipe so whether you want dinner buns, cinnamon buns or both, this recipe has got you covered!
Ingredients
Dough
- 7 tbsp sugar granulated
- 6 tbsp oil cooking
- ½ tbsp salt table
- 4 cups water warm
- 10 cups all-purpose flour divided
- 2 ½ tbsp yeast instant
Cinnamon Bun Filling
- ¼* cup butter room temperature
- 1* cup brown sugar light
- 1* tbsp cinnamon ground
Cinnamon Bun Glaze
- ½* cup brown sugar light
- ½* tbsp cinnamon ground
- ⅔* cup cream heavy
Instructions
Prep the Dough
-
In a large bowl (a very large bowl as this makes a big batch), mix 7 tablespoons of granulated sugar, 6 tablespoons oil, and ½ tablespoons of salt. A wooden spoon works fine to mix this part. Add in 4 cups of warm water and mix.
-
Next, add 4 cups of flour with 2 and ½ tablespoons of instant yeast. At this step, you can use a hand mixer or my favourite- an immersion blender. You want it to be well-blended and bubbly, a couple minutes of blending should do it.
-
Add the remaining 6 cups of flour one at a time until a soft dough forms. Knead dough for 2 minutes and place a lid on the bowl or plastic wrap. To get a good rise you'll want to place it in a warm place, or a trick we like to do is warming up a towel and placing it over the bowl.* Let rise for 15 minutes.
-
With oiled hands, punch down the dough to release the air, I like to also flip the dough over so the pretty round side is face up but is not necessary. Also, be sure to grease the bowl. Repeat this step 3 times for a total of 4 in 15-minute increments. When you see the dough rising to the top of the bowl you may want to grease the lid or plastic wrap so the dough doesn't stick.
Dinner Buns
-
After the dough has risen for the last round grab golf ball-sized pieces of dough with greased hands and shape them into rolls. To shape them stretch the top of the dough while pinching and sealing the bottom. Place on greased cookie sheets or baking dishes. Cover with a warm towel and let rise until doubled in size-about 30 minutes.
-
Bake for 20 minutes at 325°F for nonstick pans or 350°F for glass dishes. Optional: brush melted butter on top after baking for extra flavour.
Cinnamon Buns
-
On a lightly oiled surface, roll the dough into a rectangle or square that is about 1 cm thick. Spread room temperature butter all over in a thin layer. (The amounts will vary depending on whether you make dinner buns out of the dough or use all the dough for cinnamon buns. If you used all the dough you may want to divide the dough before rolling because it will be too much if you roll out all the dough at once.)
-
Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon all over the dough until evenly covered. Roll up the long side of the dough tightly. Pinch in the ends. For reference: I used 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon for the filling for half a batch of dough, so double it for a full batch. Or measure with your heart!
-
Cut into slices about 1 inch apart. Place rounds into a greased baking dish. Cover with a warm towel or place in a warm spot to let rise for 30 minutes or double in size.
-
To make the glaze for the cinnamon buns whisk together ½ cup of brown sugar, ½ tbsp of cinnamon and ⅔ cup of heavy cream. Double if making a full batch. Set aside.
-
Bake for 10 minutes at 325°F for nonstick pans or 350°F for glass dishes. Pour glaze all over the cinnamon buns and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
Recipe Notes
* warm the towel by placing it in a dryer for a few minutes or in the oven at a very low setting- 300°F for 5-10 minutes.
*all of the ingredient for the cinnamon bun filling and glaze will depend on how much you make so double if you are doing a full recipe…or measure with your heart 🙂
Freezing Instructions: Freeze the baked buns in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then reheat as desired. If reheating the whole pan, lightly cover and reheat in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes or until warm.
Cover leftover buns tightly and store at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerator up to 1 week.
* Around 89 calories for one dinner bun, 127 calories for a cinnamon bun depending on how big you make them.
Did you make this recipe?
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