Red Currant Bakery

Espresso Dough
2 In a large stand mixing bowl, add flour and sugar, yeast and spices, and whisk together.
3 Add the melted butter, espresso, and pinch of salt to the mixing bowl. Mix together with the dough hook on low speed for 15 min or until the dough is a smooth cohesive ball of dough. 
4 Shape the dough into a ball and place, smooth side up, in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or proofing bag and set it somewhere warm to rest for 1 hour. 
Date Butter Filling
7 Place the dates in a large bowl, pour over about 4 cups of boiling water (or enough to fully cover the dates) and cover with a lid or foil. Let sit and soften for at least ten minutes.
8 Strain the dates (its ok if a little water stays behind) and add them to a high speed blender or food processor with the softened butter. Blend until smooth and place the date butter in a bowl until ready to use. 
Shaping and Baking the Buns
11 Preheat the oven to 350 F. 
12 After 1 hour has passed, the dough should have doubled in size and be very soft and puffy. Roll out the dough to approximately 60 cm x 40 cm. It can be helpful to use your hands or a bench scraper to keep shaping it into a rectangle as you roll because I find yeasted dough naturally wants to be more of a circular shape. If the dough keeps shrinking back, cover it with a towel and let it rest for 5 minutes to let it relax; then try again.
13 Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the large rectangle into four equal rectangles.
14 Spread the date butter (you might need to give it a quick stir if the butter separated from the dates) onto each rectangle. Leave a 1/2" border on all of the sides. This will allow you to seal up the rolls with out all of the filling coming out.
15 Roll up each rectangle starting with a long side of each rectangle. Then pinch the seam shut.
16 After you pinch the seam shut along the long edge, pinch together each end of the log so that both ends are sealed. 
17 Once all four logs are rolled and sealed, working one at a time, cut each one in half lengthwise (or hotdog style) so that each log becomes two long pieces.
18 After you have cut it in half, take one half at a time and tie it into a slip knot (you may need to pull the half log a little to make it a little longer). The slip knot should have the open side of the log face up so that you can see the layers and the filling.
19 Once you have tied the knot, bring the tail that is at the bottom of the knot, up and over the top and tuck it into the center of the knot. Then bring the tail that is on top of the knot over and under the knot and into the center opening. Now both tails should be in the center of the knot and you can pinch them together and tuck them under the knot. 
20 Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats and place four of the knots onto each baking sheet. 
21 Let the knots rest for 20 min while the oven heats up.
22 Bake the knots for 25 min until golden brown. If not baking on convection, rotate and switch the baking sheets halfway through the baking process. 
23 While the knots are baking, mix coffee or espresso and powdered sugar to make a glaze thin glaze - it should be about the consistency of maple syrup.
24 Once the knots are done baking, while they are still hot and on the baking sheets, brush on the glaze. Then let them cool for at least 10 minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool completely.