Cinna-Bites

Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Using your hands, a mixer, or a bread machine, mix and knead all of the dough ingredients until you've got a smooth, fairly soft dough., Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and allow it to rise at room temperature for an hour; it'll be puffy, though not necessarily doubled in bulk., Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a clean work surface., Place the milk and the cinnamon filling or sugar in separate small bowls., Lightly grease two 9" round cake pans. If desired, pour 1/4 cup maple syrup into the bottom of each pan., Tear off 1"-or-so pieces of the dough. (If you bothered to round them into balls, they'd be about the size of chestnuts; but you're not bothering to do that.) Dip the irregular dough pieces into the milk, then into the cinnamon. Place them, close together, in the prepared pans. Each pan should be full enough that you can only see the bottom of the pan in scattered places., Cover the pans, and allow the dough to rise for about 90 minutes, until it's puffy, though probably not doubled in bulk., Drizzle the bites with melted butter. Bake them in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 22 minutes, or until they're beginning to brown around the edges, and they seem done., Remove the pans from the oven, and carefully turn the bites out of the pan onto a rack to cool. If you've used syrup, let them rest upside-down on the rack until they're cool; otherwise, the syrup will stick to the rack. Serve the bites warm or at room temperature.