Kanelbullar
Nothing beats a freshly baked kanelbullar (Swedish cinnamon bun) with coffee. The Swedish have their 'fika' a ritualistic morning tea, typically with freshly baked goods. I spent many mornings having fika with friends, attempting to improve my Swedish.
It is important to select a flour that is higher in protein (e.g., above 11%). This will help create a soft texture. Bread or pizza flour works well in this recipe.
Kanelbullar recipe
Ingredients
Dough
Milk: 1 cup
Unsalted butter: 120 grams
Bread or pizza flour (high protein): 3 1/4 cup
Sugar, caster: 1/4 cup
Instant yeast: 7 grams
Cardamon, ground: 2 teaspoons
Sea salt, fine: 3/4 teaspoons
Filling
Unsalted butter: 120 grams
Brown sugar: 1/2 cup
Ground cinnamon: 2 tablespoons
Cardamon, ground: 1 teaspoon
Vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon
Glazing
Egg (for egg wash, mix with 1 tablespoon water)
Granulated sugar (pärlsocker)
Sugar, caster: ~2 tablespoons
Method
Take out butter for the filling so it can reach room temperature. This is important.
Heat milk in a saucepan on low heat, aiming for ~37C. Add yeast to activate and leave for 10 minutes. Add melted butter and mix.
Mix flour, sugar, cardamon, and salt. Add the milk mixture and stir to combine.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until the dough is soft and smooth (~10 mins). Alternatively you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook.
Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rise in a warm place for an hour until it has approximately doubled in size.
Meanwhile, mix the filling ingredients in a separate bowl.
Roll out the dough onto a floured surface. You will want to roll it out so it is a long rectangle, with ~0.5cm thickness.
Place dollops of the spread evenly on the dough like polka dots. This will allow you to spread the filling mixture evenly over the dough.
Fold one third of the dough over onto itself and the remaining third on top so you have three layers of dough. Gently roll out the dough to remove bubbles.
Cut strips of dough ~1.5cm in width. The easiest way is to use a pizza cutter. Twist the strips and wrap in a figure eight shape around two of your fingers and tuck the remaining underneath.
Place the buns onto a tray lined with baking paper. Cover with a clean damp cloth and leave to rise until soft (the better the buns prove, the lighter the buns)
Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Brush each bun with the egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar (pärlsocker).
Melt sugar in water to create the sugar syrup using equal volume of sugar and water (i.e 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons water).
Bake for ~15 min. Brush with sugar syrup once the buns come out of the oven and let them cool.
Notes
Eating the next day: After the kanelbullar has been baked and left to cool, I would recommend heating it in the microwave for 10 seconds before eating. You will notice a world of difference.
Type of flour: Having a flour with a higher percentage of protein is crucial for the right texture. You can look at the nutritional information on the packet. You are looking for something that is at least 11 g per 100 g of flour (i.e. at least 11%)