Cinnamon Bun… with a twist

This is a much loved recipe of mine.   I fell in love with these cinnamon buns (bullar) in Sweden back in my teens when I lived there.  The spiced soft bread with the crunchy sugary bits were delish with coffee and a staple in every home I visited in the year that I lived in Sweden.  They are an essential part of morning or afternoon tea, taken on hikes, cross country skiing, or even just in the comfort of someones home.   Even now I’ll break out this recipe at least once a year for one reason or another.  They freeze well, have a great wow factor, and I’m yet to meet someone who didn’t like them.

The specific inspiration for making it this time was actually a posting I discovered on Pinterest.

I would normally make these in the traditional small snail style, but seeing this magnificent  loaf seemed like a great challenge that I wanted to see if I could create.

The results… well it was a lot easier than I expected, and it looked great.   Sharing it with family on Good Friday we started speculating about how yummy it would be with some cooked apple, or using this style to make a savory twist.  It’s fair to say there maybe a few more fancy plaited breads on my blog in the near future as I explore some of the idea’s that we came up with.

Swedish Cinnamon Bun Recipe

(Vetebullar*)

Dough

• 150g butter
• 500ml milk
• 4 tsp dried yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 100g white sugar
• 2 tsp dried cardamom
• 1 egg
• 6 cups plain flour

Filling

• 100g butter
• 1dl brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 egg to brush over the dough before baking.

Melt the butter and then add the milk and warm to room temperature (about 37c).  Should feel just slightly warm to the touch.   Add your yeast.

In a separate bowl combine your dry ingredients and then add your milk/butter/yeast mix immediately and combine well.  Knead the dough until smooth and elastic (approx 5 mins).

Allow to prove until the dough has doubled in size.

Knock back and then spread out as far as the dough will stretch with about approx 1cm in width.

Combine the filling mixture and then spread out evenly onto your dough.

Once this is done then start rolling your dough at the longest point of the rectangle like below:

Once complete then cut in half.  I would recommend a sharp knife as the dough can be a bit slippery and will squish.

Then the fun begins.  Start gently twisting the dough by lifting one roll over the other.  The dough can be quite soft particularly with the sugar and butter layer through it so this is not a super quick process but the outcome makes it worthwhile.  Having said that you don’t have to be too precise about this as it will turn out better than you think.

At this point beat your egg and brush over the top of the dough.  I also sprinkled the dough with demerara sugar, but if you can get a hold of pearl sugar (small white pieces), use them, as this is the traditional decoration.

Allow the dough to prove a second time before putting in the oven.

If like me you found your had a very very long dough roll, then I would recommend halving it to make 2 loaves, as I ended up with one very large one which I ended up dividing into 3 after baking to freeze.

Bake in a 200 c oven for approx 20 mins, or until golden brown.  Serve warm with Pear cider, or a cup of coffee.  Its delicious as a snack or even for a treat for breakfast.

This bread will freeze well.

Happy Cooking and Happy Eating,

Leah

* recipe sourced from the ICA Sju Sorters Kakor c1988