Name: Orange and Hazelnut knots
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 150 min
Ingredients: 450 g bread flour (plus extra for dusting ); 2 Tbsp white sugar; 1/2 tsp salt; 8 g instant dry yeast; 1 Tbsp orange zest; 60 ml orange juice; 190 ml milk; 1 medium egg; 50 g butter (room temperature ); 4 tablespoons butter (room temperature); 150 g soft brown sugar; 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 cup whole hazelnuts; 150 g confectioners sugar; 2 Tbsp milk; 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Sweet and sticky orange and hazelnut knots with a cinnamon and hazelnut filling.

They're soft and fluffy, full of orange flavor and topped with a cinnamon glaze and a sprinkle of toasted hazelnuts.

bird's eye view of a plate of cinnamon buns

I have had so much fun making these orange and hazelnut knots. Any bread dough that requires a bit of artistic twisting is fun to me!

Orange and hazelnut go together like bread and butter, or peas and carrots or chocolate and cookies! These delightful orange scented buns have a whole orange (zest and juice) in the dough. In the middle is a layer of toasted hazelnut, brown sugar and cinnamon. Once baked they're topped with a cinnamon glaze and more toasted hazelnuts.

Don't miss the toasting of the hazelnuts step. It's crucial for flavour!

The dough

The dough is simple to throw together, and you don't even need a mixer. I'm using instant yeast in this mixture which speeds up the rising time.

Combine the flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt and orange zest. Then warm together the milk and butter. Pour this over the dry ingredients along with the orange juice and mix it with a fork to make a shaggy dough.

Now tip the dough onto a floured bench and knead away until it is smooth and glossy. I slap the dough down and pull it up in quick motions.

Then place it in a greased bowl, cover it and leave it to sit and double, before tipping it on to a lightly floured bench for shaping.

Look at those gorgeous flecks of orange.

a ball of dough on a floured wooden bench

Shaping the knots

Though dough is rolled out into a long rectangle and the hazelnut sugar mixture is spread on. Then it is folded it into three like a pamphlet and cut into 12 even strips.

dough strips cut with a silver bench scraper

Take a strip and twist it around to lengthen it. Then take the twisted strip and cross one end over the other, tucking one piece at the back and one at the front.

dough strips twisted and tied into knots. Hands in the background twisting the dough strips

Once baked, lavishly top with cinnamon glaze and a sprinkle of toasted hazlenuts.

Pretty simple huh! My 9 year old loves to make these. His knots can be interesting shapes but it's all part of the knot's rustic charm!

Have you made this? Tag me and let me know! @home_grown_happinessnz

Orange and Hazelnut knots

Sweet and sticky buns with a cinnamon and hazelnut filling. They’re soft and fluffy and topped with a cinnamon glaze and a sprinkle of toasted hazelnuts.

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Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

1 hr 30 mins

Total Time 2 hrs 30 mins

Course Dessert, Snacks

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 336 kcal

Ingredients

Dough

450 g bread flour plus extra for dusting
2 Tbsp white sugar
½ tsp salt
8 g instant dry yeast
1 Tbsp orange zest
60 ml orange juice
190 ml milk
1 medium egg
50 g butter room temperature

Filling

4 tablespoons butter room temperature
150 g soft brown sugar
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
½ cup whole hazelnuts

Glaze

150 g confectioners sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

In a bowl or a stand mixer, combine the flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt and orange zest.
In a saucepan heat the milk and 50g of butter until the butter melts. Let it get nice and hot but don't let it boil.
Grab a fork and slowly pour the hot milk mixtue into the flour mixture and give it a stir.
Add in the egg and orange juice and mix it with a fork until it forms a shaggy and slightly sticky dough ball.
Tip the dough onto a floured bench and knead for 5-7 minutes until smooth. I slap the dough down and pull it up in quick motions.
Lightly grease a bowl and place in the dough.
Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to double in size in a warm space, for about 45-60 minutes.
Place an ungreased pan on medium heat and add the hazelnuts. Toast them for 5 minutes until they're hot and toasted all the way through. Leave them to cool for 10 minutes.
Add the hazelnuts to a blender and blitz them into crumbs. Remove and reserve 2 Tbsp of the blitzed hazelnuts for the topping.
Add 4 tablespoons of butter, the cinnamon and the brown sugar to the remaining hazelnuts in the blender. Blitz it together into a paste.
Roll the dough on a floured bench into a rectangle of about 60 x 30 cm.
Spread on the hazelnut mixture, then fold the rectangle into thirds, like a pamphlet.
Cut the folded dough into 12 even strips. Take a strip and twist it around to lengthen it. Then take the twisted strip and cross one end over the other, tucking one piece at the back and one at the front. Do this for all 12 strips until they are all knotted.
Place the knots onto a lined baking tray and let them rise for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 356°F (180°C). Bake the knots for 15-17 minutes until golden brown, then leave to cool for 20 minutes before glazing.
Mix all the ingredients of the glaze in a bowl and drizzle over the knot. Sprinkle over the reserved hazelnuts.

Keyword cinnamon