Very few can say no to a cinnamon roll, and if you can bake them from scratch in a few simple steps, why not? This recipe is a house favourite, with my brother and father hovering by the oven impatiently each time I make them, wiping the tin clean within in moments and then asking when I am making these again.This recipe is very easy, like most of my other recipes, but the first batch of mixing the dough is a bit tough to do by hand – but fret not, just soldier through this step like a brave woman! You may feel doubtful when you see the dough is very wet and sticky, and hard to knead, but I assure you, by the next morning, you will have a lovely malleable dough to roll out!I do not add a cream cheese frosting, but instead a glaze just for the sake of it – with a cup a coffee the bun is perfect on it’s own!Happy breakfasting! The Recipe Serves Serves: 8 | Prep Time: 12 hours | Cook Time: 20 mins Ingredients 1 ½ cups flour ¼ tsp baking soda ¼ tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt 1 cup warm milk 2 tsp instant dry yeast ¼ cup castor sugar ¼ cup melted butter Filling: 1/3 cup melted butter 1/3 cup brown sugar 2 tbsp ground cinnamon Glaze: ¾ cup icing sugar 3-4 tbsp milk Instructions Bloom the yeast in warm milk and sugar. Set aside for 5-10 minutes until bubbly In the meantime, whisk together all the dry ingredients Add the milk mixture and melted butter and stir to combine with a fork Transfer the dough onto a floured surface area and knead for about 10 minutes Place into a new bowl and cover and let rise overnight in a dry warm place (or at least 4 hours) The next day prepare the filling by stirring all the ingredients together Then punch the dough down to remove the air and knead again for a few minutes Then roll out on a flour platform in a large square Spread the filling evenly across Gently, but firmly, roll from one end to the other, fastening at the bottom With a sharp knife, slice into desired thickness (recommend about 1.5 inches) and place in a greased tin Cover the tin and let rise for another 45-60 minutes Bake in a preheated oven of 180C for 20 minutes Note: to reheat the buns, place in the oven at 180C for 7-9 minutes

I guess things do change when your house has a mini-human running around! We now take festivals and holidays a lot more seriously, arts and crafts overtake the dining table, and glitter now holds a place in each corner. The loud noises come for free! So of course, with Easter, a day I had no idea what it was for, suddenly got us making chocolate eggs and creating treasure maps or something of that sort. I went to the next best thing – baking hot cross buns – something I do quite well. Hot Cross Buns are a delicious brioche-like bread buns – a rich texture, that tells you this is more than ‘just bread’ – and i owe that to the addition of eggs. The crosses on top – a simple slurry of flour and water – makes it what it is. I add a heavier amount of cinnamon and nutmeg than most, and of course raisins. Leftover hot cross buns work delightfully for French toast or bread pudding – with an extra helping of bourbon sauce! The Recipe Serves yields 12 Ingredients 75g raisins, soaked in 1 cup hot water 175 ml warm milk 2 ½ tsp instant dry yeast 105g castor sugar + ½ tsp 40g butter, soft 2 eggs 520g all purpose flour ½ tsp salt ½ tsp cinnamon generous pinch of nutmeg Slurry: ¼ cup flour + 2-3 tsp water Egg Wash: 1 egg + 2 tsp milk Instructions Take 50 ml of the milk into a separate bowl and add the ½ tsp sugar and the instant dry yeast and set aside to bloom for 10 minutes Strain the raisins out of the water once the raisins are softened In a big mixing bowl, add the remaining warm milk, butter and sugar and mix until butter has completely melted through In a separate bowl, stir the flour, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg together and set aside Once the yeast has bloomed, add the mixture and the 2 eggs into the milk mixture and stir well Then slowly add the flour, stirring with a wooden spoon to make a dough Then add in the raisins Tip dough over into a clean surface and knead with your hands for at least 4-5 minutes until the dough easily springs back upon touch Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a cloth and place in a warm place for 1 hour 30 minutes or until dough doubles Once the dough has doubled, tip the dough over onto a clean surface and divide into 12 equal pieces Make round bun balls, pinch the edges to ensure a smooth surface and place in a greased tin, leaving a little space between each bun Cover the tin with greased cling film or cloth and set in a warm place to rise a second time for 30 minutes In the meantime, whisk together the flour and water slurry (it should be a thick paste like) and put into a plastic zip-lock or piping bag and whisk together the egg wash Preheat the oven to 180C Once the buns have risen, generously brush the egg wash over each bun Then pipe the flour slurry like a cross over each bun Bake for 15-17 minutes in the oven Remove from the oven and cool before serving

I have spent the past few months on the most delicious projects that includes a fair amount of labour over bread. Most of you know my weakness of bread – I could easily live my entire life on coffee and toast (with some chocolate + cheese), but actually baking bread hasn’t been my forte. But that has changed in the past few months. I’ve delved into the world of baking bread, churning out loafs, focaccia, and currently I’m neck-deep in croissant dough – a small feedback – pay double for your croissant and be very kind to any croissant baker – they deserve all the love in the world. Now, this is something that’s pure gold in my dictionary – a delicious bread – stuffed with Amul cheese + a smear of chili garlic sauce. Classic, easy, delicious. Dough needs 1 hour of proving, and then another 20 minutes, and bakes for another 20 minutes – all in all, you’re gobbling down delicious buns in less than 3 hours – you see, GOLD! These bread buns can easily be baked plain as dinner rolls on their own, or stuffed with leftover aloo paratha filling, paneer, veggies, etc etc… you get the gist! The bread rolls on their own are vegan – simply use a bit of coconut oil and sugar to brush on top instead of milk. Enjoy! The Recipe Serves NEEDS 3 HOURS | Makes: 16 mini buns Ingredients BUNS: 310g flour (maida) 1 ½ tsp salt 2 ½ tsp instant yeast 1 tbsp castor sugar 1 cup water lukewarm 2 tbsp oil extra – flour for dusting extra – oil for greasing to brush: 2 tbsp milk (coconut oil + sugar for vegan substitute) black sesame seeds Filling: 16 cubes of cheese ¼ cup chili sauce Instructions Whisk the flour, salt, yeast and sugar Pour the warm water slowly to make a dough Dough should be soft and smooth Stretch the dough and knead Then massage oil into the dough Total kneading: 10 minutes Shape into ball and prove for 1 hour Then knock back the dough and knead for 1 minute Shape into ball and divide into 16 equal balls Flatten each out into round shape Place some chili sauce and cube of cheese Pack into ball, fastening the edges Place into a greased tray Proof for 20-25 minutes Then brush with milk and sprinkle black sesame seeds Bake in oven 175C for 25 minutes Allow to cool completely before packing on a rack

The Hygge Series is making me realise the extent of FOMO suffering most people have. Last week I had a conversation with a friend who told me how shocked she was when friends posted messages about hoping 2019 would be better than their disastrous 2018 – because she always saw such positive, happy and fun posts through the year from their pages – so much that it pricked her curiosity. Social media has always been the source of a lot of assumptions. I definitely don’t post pictures of bad days when I am angry, frustrated, annoyed, PMSing or facing delays with work. You only see how much food I eat, where I travel, the occasional date and social nights… does that mean I am happy 24/7? No way. I am human. And so is everyone else. The art of peacefully being on social media is to be able to admire other people without rallying up your own thoughts and beliefs – and know that we all go through ups and downs because life is just that! Now, back to Kitchen Therapy: every product of mine is multi-purpose – I believe you must have freedom to play with anything you invest in and make life so much easier. The Chai Masala under The Nurture Range is one such example. Of course, stir in a pinch or two into your warm masala tea or hot milk… but there is so much more you can do! This adaptation of the cinnamon rolls is with the addition of a lot of the Chai Masala – in the dough as well as the filling. This spice blend adds a bit of spiciness from the pepper and I like to have them as is – sans any icing. However, if you wish do go ahead with a drizzle of sugar vanilla glaze, or for a decadent touch – a cream cheese frosting. The Recipe Serves 8 Ingredients 1 1/2 cups flour 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 2 tbsp Kitchen Therapy Chai Masala 1 cup warm milk 2 tsp instant dry yeast 1/4 cup castor sugar 1/4 cup melted butter 1/2 cup melted butte 3 tbsp Kitchen Therapy Chai Masala 3 tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp cinnamon handful of finely chopped nuts (pistachio, almonds) Instructions Bloom the yeast in warm milk and sugar. Set aside for 5-10 minutes until bubbly In the meantime, whisk together all the dry ingredients Add the milk mixture and melted butter and stir to combine with a fork Transfer the dough onto a floured surface area and knead for about 10 minutes Place into a new bowl and cover and let rise overnight in a dry warm place (or at least 4 hours) The next day prepare the filling by stirring all the ingredients together Then punch the dough down to remove the air and knead again for a few minutes Then roll out on a flour platform in a large square Spread the filling evenly across Gently, but firmly, roll from one end to the other, fastening at the bottom With a sharp knife, slice into desired thickness (recommend about 1.5 inches) and place in a greased tin Cover the tin and let rise for another 45-60 minutes Bake in a preheated oven of 180C for 20 minutes Note: to reheat the buns, place in the oven at 180C for 7-9 minutes