On a bun run and a roll roll

So far, I've followed each of the recipes in "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" Challenge pretty much to-the-letter.

And then I got to Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread. And I went crazy. Cra-aaa-zzy, I tell you. I'm a wild woman. I don't know what came over me.

Instead of making two loaves of bread, I decided to make little cinnamon-raisin buns. (This, after my sticky-bun extravaganza. You'd think I'd be done with buns. But, no.)

I was inspired by Peter Reinhart's suggestion of topping the finished loaves with melted butter and dunking them in cinnamon-sugar. Little buns = more surface area for crunchy, buttery, cinnamon-sugar topping. It's simple math, really.

Simple, tasty math.

So, you dump some flour, sugar, salt, yeast and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.

And you add the wet ingredients and mix. I decided to knead this one by hand to make sure to get all of those raisins blended in. (I left out the nuts and also added some dried cranberries. Because I didn't have quite enough raisins. And also, I'm craa-aaa-zzzy.)

You wind up with a wonderfully soft and supple dough that smells so good and cinnamon-y -- even unbaked -- that I considered eating it raw. Considered. I said considered. I'm not that crazy.

After a couple of hours of fermentation, I shaped the dough into 3-ounce balls.

Right after pulling them from the oven, I brushed each one with milk (after those sticky buns, I was all out of butter) and dunked each one in cinnamon-sugar.

I loved the soft roll paired with the sweet, crunchy exterior. Makes a perfectly portable breakfast, spread with a little peanut butter.

I plan to take one with me on my next walk on the wild side.