I remember being fascinated by these the first time I saw them in a bakery, hypnotised by that twirl of bronze and heady aroma of freshly baked dough and cinnamon.
I couldn’t rest until I knew the secret to how they were shaped, which turned out to be a much simpler process than I’d imagined. There is nothing worse than a cinnamon knot that doesn’t taste of cinnamon, so I’ve used it twice: first in the sugary, spiced filling, and then in the final glaze. This is what mornings were made for.
Blueberry cinnamon knots
The cinnamon syrup is tasty enough to warrant making it on its own. Store in a sterilised glass bottle for drizzling over cake or into coffee.
Prep/rise 2hr 50 min
Cook 20 min
Makes 12
For the dough
250g white bread flour
250g plain flour
1 sachet fast-action yeast
½ tsp salt
60g caster sugar
1 large egg, plus extra, beaten, for glazing
215ml whole milk
80g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g dried blueberries
For the filling
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
70g ground almonds
3 tbsp ground cinnamon
100g dark brown sugar
For the cinnamon syrup
100g caster sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
In a large bowl, stir the flours, yeast, salt and sugar, then add the egg, milk and butter. Knead to a smooth dough, then leave to rise in a bowl covered with a damp kitchen towel until doubled in size – one to two hours.
Meanwhile, make the filling and the syrup. Combine the filling ingredients to form a paste. Make the syrup by warming the sugar with 80ml water in a small saucepan until it dissolves. Add the cinnamon, bring to a boil, turn off the heat and leave to infuse.
When the dough has puffed up, turn it out on to a lightly floured worktop and roll out to a 30cm x 50cm rectangle. With the short edge of the dough facing you, spread the filling over the surface of the lower two thirds and scatter over the dried blueberries. Pick up the uncovered third of dough, and fold it over the middle third, then fold over again to give a rectangle with three layers of dough. Press the edges down to seal, then use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 12 strips along the short side, each roughly 2.5cm thick. Trim away any excess at the sides.
To make the knots, take each strip of dough and stretch between your hands to double its original length. Take each strip and, using your palms, roll each end in opposite directions until twisted. Then, holding one end of the dough between your thumb and the base of your fourth finger, loop the dough twice round your fingers, tuck in the ends to meet, and press together to seal. Repeat with the remaining 11 strips. Arrange the knots on two large baking sheets lined with greaseproof paper, put the sheets in large plastic bags and leave to rise for 30-45 minutes, until puffed up. Just before baking, brush the tops with a little beaten egg, then bake at 190C (180C fan)/gas 6 for 15-20 minutes, until hazelnut brown, then brush with the cinnamon syrup.
