Wild Flour Bakery Morning Buns

Butter pack (see recipe)

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 cup minus 1 tablespoon lukewarm water (110 degrees)

4 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar (divided)

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold, whole milk

2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, beaten

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Cinnamon sugar (3/4 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon) to coat rolls

Make butter pack first.

Dissolve yeast in water. Let yeast proof until thin layer of froth forms on top, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

In large bowl, combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar and salt; mix well with your hands. Using large wooden spoon, stir in unsalted melted butter, milk and reserved yeast mixture; combine until thick paste forms.

Turn mixture onto lightly floured work surface and knead 1 or 2 minutes, just until dough comes together. It should be somewhat elastic but not necessarily smooth, and supple but not wet. If dough seems dry or pieces of dough are falling off, knead in more water.

Place dough in lightly greased mixing bowl, cover with damp cloth and let rise in warm spot until dough has doubled, 50 to 90 minutes.

On floured bread board, flatten dough to about 1/2-inch thickness with floured rolling pin. Dough should be about 15 inches by 10 inches. Set in lightly floured jelly roll pan. Cover with plastic and freeze 30 minutes to slow yeast. Remove from freezer, cover tightly and refrigerate until dough is thoroughly chilled, at least 3 hours but no more than 18 hours.

A half-hour before removing dough from refrigerator, remove half the butter pack. Spread half the butter pack onto dough, using fingers or metal spatula. Spread butter mixture as evenly as possible across 2/3 of dough, leaving a 1-inch border around all sides of dough rectangle. Fold dough in thirds, starting with unbuttered end. You will have a rectangle of dough with 3 layers, 2 of them buttered. Give dough a quarter-turn to the right. Hit dough with rolling pin, then roll it out again into a rectangle with the same dimensions as the first. Fold it in thirds again, but do not butter it. Give dough a quarter-turn to the right, then roll it out again into a rectangle. Wrap tightly in plastic. Freeze dough 30 minutes, then refrigerate 1 hour.

Butter Pack:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour

Cut butter into 1-inch cubes and place in electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add flour and mix until all flour is incorporated and consistency is very even. Divide mixture into 2 parts, wrap each in plastic, flatten somewhat into disk and refrigerate separately.