cinnamon sugar orange knots
Golden and sweetly spiced cinnamon sugar orange knots make a delicious weekend tradition!
I’m at my happiest when eating fresh bread and also at my happiest when baking bread. A Saturday morning spent with a bowl of rising bread dough is one of life’s small joys, meant to be savored. Best of all is the moment when the scent of cinnamon-sugar clouds and freshly zested citrus floods the kitchen – absolute heaven!
These dreamy cinnamon sugar orange knots are a cross between cinnamon-sugar buns and orange rolls. Dusted with cinnamon-sugar and drizzled with orange butter glaze, you’ll want to devour these beauties warm from the oven.
How to Make Orange Knots
The dough – I use my basic sweet yeast dough recipe for these knots. It’s simple to make and is ready to use after a 40 minute rise.
Rolling and shaping the dough – Once the dough rises, roll out into a 16 x 12-inch rectangle. Use a sharp knife to slice the rectangle into two 8 x 12-inch rectangles. Slice each rectangle into 8 strips (for a total of 16 strips) and use lightly floured hands to shape each strip into a knot.
Second rise – Place the knots on parchment-lined baking sheets and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon-sugar, then cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the knots rest in a warm place until puffy (about 30 minutes).
Baking knots – Bake the knots for about 22 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Drizzle with orange butter glaze before serving.
Make Ahead Knots
To make these knots ahead, work up to step 4. Place the knots on baking sheets, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 16 hours. On baking day, remove the chilled knots from the refrigerator and let rise in a warm place until puffy (about 45 minutes) before brushing with melted butter and sprinkling with cinnamon-sugar. Bake as directed.
Description
Cinnamon sugar orange knots are a cross between cinnamon-sugar buns and orange rolls! Drizzled with orange glaze, you’ll love these knots for breakfast.
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 1/2 cups (490 g) flour, divided
- 1 package Red Star PLATINUM Yeast
- 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pinch of nutmeg
- 2 tsp fresh orange zest
- 1 cup (240 g) low-fat milk
- 1/4 cup (56 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 large egg (50 g), at room temperature
Topping
- 2 Tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
Glaze
- 1 Tbsp (14 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 tsp fresh orange zest
- 2 Tbsp (30 g) fresh orange juice
- 3/4 cup (90 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Combine 2 cups (280 g) flour, yeast, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and orange zest in a large mixer bowl; mix on low speed until incorporated. Heat milk in a microwave-safe measuring cup for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until very warm (120-130°F).
- Add warm milk, butter, and egg to flour mixture and mix until combined; mix in remaining 1 1/2 cups (210 g) flour. Switch out the flat beater for a dough hook, and knead dough for 4 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough is ready when it feels tacky but doesn’t stick to your fingers (if necessary, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time while kneading).
- Place dough in a large bowl coated with nonstick spray and cover with plastic. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. To check if dough has doubled, lightly flour two fingers and press them down into center of dough. If indentations remain, gently press down dough; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Turn dough out on a lightly floured board and roll into an 16 x 12-inch rectangle. Use a sharp knife to cut the rectangle into two 8 x 12-inch rectangles. Cut each rectangle into 8 strips (approximately 1 1/4-inch wide), for a total of 16 strips. Use lightly floured hands to gently shape each strip into a knot and place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Brush knots with melted butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle generously over knots. Cover knots loosely with plastic and let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 30 minutes. While the knots rise, preheat oven to 350°F.
- Bake, rotating pans halfway through, for 22 minutes, until golden. Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- For the glaze, whisk together melted butter, salt, orange zest and juice, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Drizzle glaze over knots and and let set before serving.
Notes
Make ahead knots: Work up to step 4. Cover the knots with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 16 hours. On baking day, remove the chilled knots from the refrigerator and let rise in a warm place until puffy (about 45 minutes) before brushing with melted butter and sprinkling with cinnamon sugar. Bake as directed.
Keywords: Cinnamon, Sugar, Orange, Breakfast
More delicious bread recipes:
Meyer Lemon Rolls
Cinnamon Sugar Orange Twist
Overnight Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
Meyer Lemon Danish Braid
21 comments
love the flecks of zest in the glaze! and i’ve been meaning to play around with yeast (i’m not quite comfortable using it yet, plus i have a sizeable amount in the pantry), and this sounds like a good, perfectly challenging and tasty way to do that (:
Bread that isn’t hard to make and delicious sounding. Isn’t everyone happier eating fresh bread? ha.
So very scrumptious! I can almost smell the aroma of fresh bread baking in your lush photos. The combination of seasonal orange and cinnamon is fabulous!
I love having a weekend at home so I can bake bread. Bill loves orange rolls, and these knots look fabulous!!
These look absolutely delicious! You definitely inspired me to start baking breads more often 🙂
These look absolutely wonderful Laura! I’m always trying to test my bread making skills, so I am putting these on my list!
I am also at my happiest when bread is involved 🙂 These are just stunning.
These knots look perfectly fluffy and I LOVE the cinnamon-sugar-orange combo!
I could not agree more, Saturday spent baking is the best. And umm, if these knots are involved I know it will be extra delicious! 🙂
Laura, I’m at my happiest when eating fresh bread too!!! and then running it off! 🙂 these cinnamon sugar orange knots are gorgeous!!!
If you had seen me reading this post you would have seen me nodding my head. These look so soft and perfectly sweet! 😀
Simply divine, Laura!
These look amazing! I love the flavour combinations and the little knots are so cute.
Oh! these look fantastic! I’m happiest too when baking bread. It is so satisfying, and if it can be a sweet flavorful one like this, well, I am in culinary heaven. The photographs you have provided are just so lovely. They show the method & technique, taking all of the guess workout of the prepration and are engaging to the eye. What beautiful work.
Laura these look incredible, I really need you to open up that bakery so I can visit! I want that orange glaze all over everything 🙂
These are so perfect and I’m totally with you. Baking with yeast is definitely my happy place, too 🙂
I couldn’t agree more Laura – I adore Saturday baking and anything with yeast is therapeutic! These are lovely
I can imagine how wonderful this must smell while baking on a blustery day! Love the citrus + cinnamon combo!!
Oooh, these are lovely! Delicious flavor combo too…I have been dying to try one since I saw them on Instagram the other day! 🙂
Oh. My. Goodness. Laura, these knots are INCREDIBLE. And your photos are perfection, of course!
I just found these and have to buy oranges! I love making bread or anything with yeast after years of being intimidated, I found my niche.