Instructions

Begin by bringing eggs and butter to room temperature.  I like to keep my butter out overnight in a cool place.  Eggs can be removed from the fridge an hour before or can go in a warm-water bath for 20 minutes.

Next, in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, salt, yeast, milk and 2 eggs.  Mix but don't expect the dough to come together yet.

With mixer on low, add each egg and wait a minute until absorbed before adding another.

Once all eggs have been added, increase speed of mixer to medium-high and beat dough for 5 minutes or until it is coming together and slapping the inside of the bowl.

While your dough is mixing, prep butter: peel each packet of butter so that it's ready to go when you are incorporating it into the butter.

Reduce mixer speed to medium-low and begin to add walnut-sized pieces of room temp (but still slightly cold to the touch--not warm!) butter, bit by bit, only adding more after the previous piece disappears in the dough.

Toward the end, you may have to wait longer in between additions.  Once all butter has been added, remove bowl from stand mixer and gently run your hands/fingers through the dough to check for butter lumps.  If you find any, smear them into the dough by squeezing them while spreading.

Pour dough into a large plastic bin and place in the fridge to rise overnight.  *A double batch of dough gets refrigerated as one unit, just make sure you have a large enough container.  A 4-quart with a lid works well.  Make sure to place something heavy on top since this dough has a mind of its own and will push open the top during rising, even in the fridge!

For Cinnamon Buns

When ready to bake in the morning, remove from the fridge, turn out carefully onto a floured work surface, shape into a rectangle (2 rectangles if you made a double batch) and roll out into a large rectangle measuring the length and width of your silpat or baking sheet.

Spread half of butter over surface with fingers or a pastry brush, then sprinkle with cini-sugar to cover everything but the top 1 inch (lengthwise).

Drizzle the rest of the melted butter over the cini-sugar, then roll in sides and bottom of the rectangle 1/2 inch.

Working with the bottom, roll up tightly until you reach the un-sugared top.  Spread with any leftover butter from the pan that you used to melt it in, and pull and press to seal your log.  At this point, if dough is warm, place in the fridge uncovered to chill so that cutting is easier.

Once dough is chilled, use a serrated knife to slice log in half.  Now slice each half in half, and keep repeated until buns are the size you'd like.  Remember that when they bake they will get huge, so sometimes smaller is better!

At this point, buns can be frozen* until ready to proof (rise) and bake, or you can let them sit on the counter, evenly spaced on a baking sheet covered loosely with plastic wrap, for 20 minutes.  Place them in a preheated oven set to 375 F and bake until golden brown and springy when touched, about 15-20 minutes.

*If you do decide to freeze the buns, place them in a ziploc bag and simply prep some on a baking sheet the night before baking to thaw in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap.  Then in the morning bring them to room temperature for 30-60 minutes until ready to bake.  They should feel soft and springy, which means the yeast are active.