Really Big Buns

Do I need to say anything about these buns? I think that photo says it all.
These are by far the best Cinnamon Buns I have ever had or made. I used to be the world's worst cinnamon roll maker and now I have to humbly say that I am a queen!
I don't deserve all the credit though. My good friend Coralee gave me the original recipe that I have played with to come up with this one.
These buns are not as bad as they appear. They are 100% whole wheat. They have honey inside instead of sugar. (that is a sugar glaze on top but not much and the buns are good without it) They also contain fresh ground flax seed. They are also not as big as that photo might suggest. That lovely bun is sitting on a beautiful plate my brother Joe made when I got married. You can seem more of is art work here.
Now for the sharing of this wonderful recipe and my dirty secrets for making health food taste so good.

Coralee's Cinnamon Rolls
2 Tbsp dry yeast (I always throw in an extra 1/2 tbsp for luck)
6 Cups whole wheat flour (I use hard white wheat freshly ground it makes a lighter bun or bread for that matter)
2 Tbsp gluten (this helps make your dough soft and fluffy because the fiber in whole wheat cut the natural gluten strands and this gives the dough a boost)
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 cup milk (scalded and cooled)
1/3 cup honey
2 Tbsp lemon juice (this is my secret weapon, lemon juice is a dough conditioner and makes whole wheat fluffy and soft and to die for, you can also use vinegar but I like the flavor of the lemon better.)
1 stick of butter
2 eggs
2 Tbsp ground flax seed (these add good nutrition and fiber)
More honey and some cinnamon
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Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix the 1/3 cup honey, eggs, milk, lemon juice, butter, flax seed, and 1/2 the flour mixed with the gluten. Beat well and add the yeast mixture. Mix and let rise for about 15 minutes. Add the rest of the flour and kneed the dough for 8-10 minutes. (I just do all of this in my Kitchen aide mixer rather than kneed. The dough is very sticky at this stage.) Cover the dough with a towel and let it rise once or twice. (about 1 hour)
Divide the dough into two pieces. Roll each piece out into a rectangle. Mix some butter and honey together and smear it on the two rectangles and then sprinkle them generously with cinnamon. Roll them up into a long roll. Cut the cinnamon rolls with dental floss for a clean cut without smashing the dough. Each log should yield enough rolls to fill a 9X13" cake pan, or a total of about 32 cinnamon rolls.
You can add raisins and nuts if you wish but my family won't permit that. I live with it.
Place the cut rolls into a buttered pan. Cover them and let them rise for about 15-20 minutes (long enough to pre-heat the oven that we forgot to pre-heat to 375 deg F. ) Bake them for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.
If you want a glaze on them, add it right when they come out of the oven. My glaze is just a couple of scoops of powdered sugar, a lump of butter and some milk and vanilla.

I have an even more sinful cousin to this Bun,
The Orange Roll
for this you add the zest of one large orange (2-3 Tbsp) to the dough when adding the second amount of flour.
Form into rolls and bake as above (you can do the cinnamon thing or not, I like it so I do the cinnamon)
Frost these with light orange frosting:
2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp orange juice concentrate (I use just orange juice if that is all I have)
orange zest
Powdered sugar (enough to make a glaze)
Ice them when they come right out of the oven so it soaks in and make happy gooeyness.

Here is another view of the bun and that lovely plate.