Once you have mastered the Main Sourdough Swedish Bun Dough, you will be able to experiment with a wide variety of both shapes and flavors. However, it would almost be wrong to start with anything other than kanelbullar, or Swedish cinnamon buns.
I learned to bake these traditional buns with bakers in southern Sweden where almost every café has a plate on the counter and almost every home has a bag in the freezer, ready to pop in the oven for unexpected visitors. For me, nothing says Sweden as much as the waft of ground coffee and freshly baked cinnamon buns. These are great fun to make with the kids too!
Makes 12 to 15 buns
WHAT YOU NEED
One batch of Main Sourdough Swedish Bun Dough
550g (4 cups) flour
100g (½ cup) caster sugar
5g (½ tsp) ground black cardamom seeds
250g (1 cup) whole milk
38g (3 tbsp) egg
180g (¾ cup) active Sweet Starter for Swedish Buns
9g (1½ tsp) salt
100g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter, cubed
For the filling
8g (1 tbsp) ground cinnamon
10g (2 tsp) water
150g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened
150g (¾ cup) caster sugar
40g (½ cup) almond meal
15g (1 tbsp) vanilla syrup
For the topping
Vanilla syrup
Pearl sugar
WHAT TO DO
Make one batch of Main Sourdough Swedish Bun Dough by placing the flour, sugar, ground cardamom, milk and egg in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix at slow speed for 2 minutes, or until well combined. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel, and leave it to rest for 45 minutes.
Add the starter and mix for 3 minutes on low speed, then add the salt and increase to medium speed for 3 minutes. Gradually add the butter to ensure it mixes in smoothly, and continue mixing for 5 minutes. The dough is ready when it starts to come away from the bowl. It should be smooth and elastic. Carry out the windowpane test to confirm the gluten has developed properly.
Turn the dough out into a lightly greased plastic container with a lid. The dough will rise by approximately a third so make sure the container is large enough to allow room for this. Place the lid on, making sure to leave a small gap to allow air to still get in.
Leave it in a warm spot for 2 hours; 80°F (26°C) is the ideal temperature for this. If you want to achieve great results , you could even turn your heating on for a few hours or place the dough on a high shelf or near a radiator.
Once this time has passed, punch down in the middle to reduce the volume of the dough and then remove the dough from the container and re-create a uniform, rounded shape again. Place the dough back into the container, cover the container with cling wrap and place it in the fridge for six hours or overnight.
The dough is now ready to be shaped and filled!
To prepare the cinnamon filling, start by mixing the cinnamon and water in a small bowl to create a paste. Place the softened butter in a mixer and mix for 1 minute, or until smooth. Continue mixing, and gradually add the sugar to the butter, followed by the almond meal, vanilla syrup and cinnamon paste. Be careful not to overmix the filling; 1 to 2 minutes on slow speed is enough.
Fill the dough and tie the buns. Place the buns 2 inches (5cm) apart on a lined baking tray, and cover them with a clean damp kitchen towel. Leave them to prove for 9 to 12 hours at 80°F (26°C). If your kitchen is cooler than this, you may need to leave the buns to prove for longer.
Once the buns are almost finished proving preheat your conventional oven to 390°F (200°C). When the buns have almost doubled in size and are a bit wobbly, they are ready to go in the oven. It is the wobble that you really need to look for!
Place the tray in the oven, lower the temperature to 360°F (180°C). Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden.
Brush the buns with vanilla syrup while still hot, then sprinkle them with pearl sugar.
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