Welcome to the third episode of Linnea Lund’s Food Fridays. For those of you who are new, for the month of December we are introducing Food Fridays! Every Friday we will share one of our favorite Swedish dishes for you and your loved ones to try out at home. We believe the holidays are the best time for sharing and exchanging recipes and traditions with your family, friends and colleagues. This is why at Linnea Lund we want to share a little of our Swedish culture with you!

 

Today’s recipe is of the sweet, warm and delicious kanelbullar. Kanelbullar, also known as cinnamon buns, are a classic at Swedish coffee parties. This traditional Swedish kanelbullar recipe is made with a perfectly soft and chewy cardamom dough, a buttery cinnamon-sugar filling, and twisted into cute little knots.

 

Ingredients: 

 

Dough

 

▢ 405 g all-purpose flour

 

▢ 50 g  granulated sugar

 

▢ 56 g unsalted butter

 

▢ 1 oz milk

 

▢ 7 g instant- rise yeast

 

▢ ¾ teaspoon salt

 

▢ 2 teaspoons ground cardamom

 

Filling

 

▢ 113 g unsalted butter

 

▢ 100 g light brown sugar

 

▢ 2 tbsp ground cinnamon

 

▢ 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

 

▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Topping

 

▢ 1 egg + 1 tablespoon water

 

▢ pearled sugar

 

Instructions

1. Heat the milk and butter. Combine the milk and 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan*.  Heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to melt the butter, until the mixture reaches ≈43°C. (The mixture should be warm but not hot to the touch. If the mixture gets too hot, just wait a few minutes for it to cool.)
2. Mix the dough. In a separate large mixing bowl, briefly whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, ground cardamom and salt until combined.  Add the warm milk mixture and stir until the dough begins to form. If you find that the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, just sprinkle in a bit of extra flour.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 7-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and soft.
4. Form the dough into a ball, place it in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise in a warm space for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.
5. Mix the filling. Meanwhile, stir together the filling ingredients in a separate mixing bowl until evenly combined.
6. Roll out the dough. Once the dough is ready to go, turn it out onto a large floured work surface.  Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 22 x 15-inch (55 x 38-cm) rectangle.  
7. Carefully and evenly spread the filling mixture across the entire surface of the dough.  Then fold the left third of the dough in towards the center, and fold the right third of the dough over that towards the center, like you’re folding a business letter. 
8.  Gently run the rolling pin over the dough to press out any big bubbles.  Then roll the dough out a bit more so that it forms a 15 x 8-inch (38 x 20-cm) rectangle.
9. Form the buns. Using a pizza cutter, pastry cutter or a knife, slice the dough into even 2 x 20-cm long strips. Take one strip and twist it several times, gently stretching it as you do so until it nearly doubles in length. Grab one end of the twisted strip and loosely wrap the dough around two fingers twice, like a bandage.  
10. Then loop the rest of the dough perpendicularly around the dough so that it forms a knot, and tuck the loose end in at the bottom.  Transfer the dough to a large parchment-covered baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining dough strips.  
11.  Loosely cover the dough buns with a clean kitchen towel and let them rise a second time for 45-60 minutes.
12. Heat the oven to ≈190°C.  Brush each bun with the egg wash, then sprinkle with a pinch of pearled sugar.
13. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the rolls reach your desired level of golden brown.  
14. Transfer to a wire baking sheet and let cool for 5 minutes. 

Serve warm and… ENJOY!