Kanelbullar (Cinnamon Bun) Recipe

The buns, just out of the oven - they're a bit wonky and are without pearl sugar, but taste pretty good.

Well, I've now had two attempts at making Kanelbullar (Cinnamon Buns) and although I'm certainly no expert, I'm getting a bit better at making them. Tweaking is part of the fun of cooking for me and I think by attempt #3, I might just be there. And hopefully by then I'll have found some pearl sugar, which is a vital visual element for these buns but not so easy to come by in Melbourne town.

Rolling out the pastry

My recipe comes from the book "Swedish Culinary Classics" by Carl Jan Granqvist & Lena Katarina Swanberg, released by The Swedish Institute. Here's the spiel that comes with their recipe:

Kanelbullar are a classic at Swedish coffee parties. During the golden age of home baking, such parties turned into orgies of sweet yeast breads, small cookies, cookies with fillings, pastries and cakes. This tradition lives on in Sweden. If you are invited to someone's home for coffee, you always get a cinnamon bun, a cookie or a piece of cake with it. And at cafes, dainty little cookies continue to compete with all those supersized American muffins.

Kanelbullar (Cinnamon Bun) Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Makes 25 buns

35g yeast

100g sugar

300ml milk

1 egg

120g butter

1tsp salt

1 tbsp ground cardamon

750g wheat flour

Filling

100g butter

50g sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon

Glaze

1 egg

2 tbsp water

pearl sugar

PREPARATION

Crumble the yeast in a bowl and stir in a few tablespoons of milk. Melt the butter and pour the milk on it. Add the rest of the ingredients and kneed the dough in a dough mixer for 10-15 minutes. Let the dough rise while covered at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough so it is about 3mm thick and 30cm wide. Spread the room temperature buter on top. Make a mixture of sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it over the dough. Roll the dough the long way and cut the roll into about 25 slices. Place them with the cut edge upwards in paper moulds. Place on a baking sheet and let rise under a towel for about 60 minutes or until the buns have doubled in size.

Beat together the egg and water, brush the mixture carefully on the buns and sprinkle pearl sugar on top. Bake in the oven at 220 degrees celsius for 5-6 minutes. Allow to cool on a rack.

MY NOTES:

• I used dry yeast, so I halved the amount listed above. Next time I'm going to try fresh yeast, which you can buy from bakeries.
• You don't need a bread machine/dough mixer but it makes it a bit easier.
• I made bigger buns this time so only got about half the number, but they turned out less dry than my first batch of 25. When they rise they get pretty big, but if you pat them down a bit the size is more manageable. If you make them bigger like me, you'll need to adjust the cooking time - up to double the time in the recipe.
• I also laid them out a bit differently - the swirl wasn't facing up but to the side, just for something different.

If you've got any tips/tricks on making these buns, I'd love to know!

Hot X

My freshly baked Hot Cross Buns, with chocolate instead of fruit.

After reading the Epicure article this week which compares some of the buns you can buy in Melbourne, I've been inspired to bake some myself (homemade ones taste sooo good! Often better than bought ones, I say, although Babka's are pretty fine).

And the best recipe I've found so far? The one that came with our bread-making machine, believe it or not. I'm sure you can use the recipe without a bread machine - just compare a non-machine hot cross bun recipe (such as Delia's, which I've blogged about before) and adapt as necessary. Of course, you only use the machine to mix the dough and do the initial rising - else you'd end up with a hot cross loaf, which might be a bit odd.

Hot Cross Buns. (Recipe courtesy of Breville)
340ml water
2 Tbsp oil
2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp brown sugar
600g bread flour
3 Tbsp milk powder
1 Tbsp ground mixed spice
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 & 1/4 tsp dried yeast

Add later on.
190g sultanas
40g peel/chopped apricots/whatever else you want
or/
230g chopped bittersweet chocolate (if you're feeling that way inclined)

Cross Mix.
110g plain flour
approx 3 Tbsp water

Spicy Glaze.
1/2 cup sifted icing sugar
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp hot water

Sugar Glaze.
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp boiling water

If you're using a bread machine.
1. Put all ingredients in the first section (ie: up to yeast) into the pan, in the exact order. Set the machine to "dough" and when the machine beeps (well, that's what mine does!) add the fruit/chocolate - the beeping happens near the end of the cycle, before a final mix and rising session.

2. Once the dough cycle is finished, divide into about 18 pieces and shape into rounds. Place close together on greased baking trays.

3. Cover loosely with a clean tea towel and leave to stand in a warm area for 20 minutes or until doubled in size (I sometimes put mine in the oven on a really low setting, 20-40 degrees Celsius).

4. To make the crosses - mix together the ingredients for the cross mix (above). Roll out thinly and divide into strips. Once the buns have risen (end of step 3) use water to affix the strips to the buns in the shape of a cross.

5. Bake in a preheated oven 190 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Slide buns onto a wire rack to cool. If you want to make them look glossy and taste even sweeter, brush the hot buns with a glaze (two are listed above). To make the glazes, mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl and add the hot water to combine. Brush over the buns when they are still hot.

7. Stand for 15 minutes to cool before serving.

8. Eat your delicious buns!

If you're not using a bread machine.
Perhaps use Delia's recipe - it might be easier! Or if you're feeling adventurous, use the recipe above (or adapt your own version) and follow Delia re: order to add ingredients, when to rise etc, and hope for the best. Hers is pretty good, but you don't have to be as pedantic as she is (it gets a bit annoying and life's too short).

Shrove Breakfast

Any excuse to have pancakes is good, but today is the best - mmm, Shrove Tuesday (actually, these are almost crepes). Although they're a bit wonky (hey, homemade is cool) they tasted pretty good and went well with a homemade warm blueberry sauce (with berries we picked ourselves).

PANCAKES

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk

Method:
1. Sift flour & salt and make a well in centre
2. Place egg in well and with a wooden spoon gradually work in the flour and half the milk.
3. Beat for 1 min and stir in remainder of milk
4. Allow to stand for 1/2 hour (to soften the cellulose of the starch grains, producing a lighter batter)
5. Melt a bit of butter in fry pan. Pour sufficient mixture to cover pan (or to make pancake to the size you want). Cook until set and lightly browned on base
6. Turn pancake and brown on other side, then remove from pan. Keep on a plate in oven set to low temp (about 100 degrees celsius) while you cook the rest of the batter
7. Serve with lemon juice and sugar, warm blueberry sauce, maple syrup, ice-cream or whatever else you feel like!

(Recipe from the trusty Cookery the Australian Way)