Swedish Kanelbullar and Kardemummabullar
I'll be the first to admit that it doesn't take a lot for me to fall in love with pastry. But after my first taste of the Swedish kanelbullar these have become a staple in my baking. And I'm not the only one who loves them! In 2010 the Swedes ate 316 kanelbullar per person for that year. This number only included shops and bakeries and doesn't show any home baked goods or smaller stands, meaning the Swedish eat roughly a kanelbullar a day!
So what are they? Kanelbulle (cinnamon bun) or kardemummabullar (cardamom buns) are a brioche bun, in a fun shape topped with sprinkles and filled with cinnamon or cardamom. Kanelbullar and kardemummabullar are virtually the same recipes, but use a different filling and folding technique. Kanelbullar typically contain a bit of cardamom, giving them a distinctive flavour. On the other hand kardemummabullar often contain some cinnamon, giving them a bit of colour and flavour balance. The buns remind me a lot of Dutch Bolussen, but kanelbullar aren't as sweet and they look a lot cuter with the twirls and the sprinkles. They're the perfect bun to go with coffee or tea for fika!
Please stay a little longer to enjoy this one picture of a kardemummabullar, before you scroll down into an endless sea of text, where I attempt to summarize the history of kanelbullar:
HISTORY
The history of cinnamon buns is quite unexplored. Although different variations of kanelbullar already existed, they didn´t become prevalent in Sweden until after the first world war. During World War I Sweden put heavy restrictions on the import of goods such as sugar, egg and butter. When these products returned to the shelves in the 1920s, everyone went mad for pastry and we find the origins of the modern kanelbullar. In fact, the first mention of the word 'kanelbullar' in the newspapers is from 1925, where it was suggested as an addition to a lunchbox to accompany coffee and tea. Cinnamon buns began to appear in cafés and bakeries across the country, but weren´t as popular as they are today. The ingredients for the buns, especially the spices, were expensive and not everyone could afford the buns - the luxury of kanelbullar was reserved only for the wealthy!
In fact, after 1928 no more mentiones of cinnamon buns appear in the media. It is not until 1941 that the word "kanelbullar" occurs again. After World War II a new 'sweet wave' hits Sweden. The kanelbullar properly break through this time and by the early 1950s they're a fairly common pastry. With the recovering economy more people could afford to buy the rather expensive ingredients. In 1952, kanelbullar could sell for about 10 cents each, so boys could buy them for their breakfast before heading to school. Recipes for kanelbullar start popping up in cookbooks around the same time and mentions are made of them being a staple home-made pastry.
KANELBULLENS DAG
In 1999 kanelbullar had become so popular in fact, that the International Day of Kanelbullar was invented and has been celebrated every year ever since. It started when the ´Home Baking Council´, came up with the idea of highlighting the Swedish home baking. Many believe it was for commercial reasons, but the HBC responds: "It has never been about selling cinnamon buns or increasing the sales of wheat flour and sugar. It has been about caring, that you should bake your own cinnamon buns and sit down and talk about your memories. Our idea with Kanelbullens Dag was that it would be a day of thoughtfulness.". October 4 was chosen because the home baking council had started in the fall, it did not clash with other seasonal food and festivals, and that year October 4th coincided with International Children's Day. It was not immediately popular: in 2000 Kanelbullens Dag is first mentioned in the newpapers and it took five years before the day made its entry into the Swedish calendar. Today bakeries sell roughly 3 times the amount of bullar they normally sell on Kanelbullens Dag, which is quite a feat considering they are already quite a popular pastry!
* The recipe is easily doubled (perhaps you want cinnamon and cardamom buns?) and the buns freeze very well.
* I have seen some recommendations for leaving the buns in the fridge to rise for roughly 12 hours claiming it will give the buns a 'more professional texture', while giving the flavours a longer time to develop.
* This recipe is perfect for experimenting with flavours. It works equally well for cinnamon flavoured as for cardamom flavoured buns, but there are many other flavours. Almonds, hazelnuts and cinnamon sugar sprinkles are used more often, but you could also add pistachio, apple, dried fruits or chocolate. Once you have the brioche dough, you can fill it with anthing you can think of and use the folding techniques described below to show off the filling.
* Mind that the folding techniques mentioned are but a few popular styles. There is not a right or wrong look for the bullar. A bakery might develop their own variation to stand out. It's all up to you!
Whatever you end up making: Enjoy warm, with koffee, for fika!
I hope you have a lovely day!
References:
Varför är kanelbullens dag den 4 oktober? - Svenskahogtider
Six sticky facts about Sweden's beloved bun - thelocal.se
Alskaattbaka
Hon startade ”Kanelbullens dag” - SVT
Kanelbullar.se
So what are they? Kanelbulle (cinnamon bun) or kardemummabullar (cardamom buns) are a brioche bun, in a fun shape topped with sprinkles and filled with cinnamon or cardamom. Kanelbullar and kardemummabullar are virtually the same recipes, but use a different filling and folding technique. Kanelbullar typically contain a bit of cardamom, giving them a distinctive flavour. On the other hand kardemummabullar often contain some cinnamon, giving them a bit of colour and flavour balance. The buns remind me a lot of Dutch Bolussen, but kanelbullar aren't as sweet and they look a lot cuter with the twirls and the sprinkles. They're the perfect bun to go with coffee or tea for fika!
Please stay a little longer to enjoy this one picture of a kardemummabullar, before you scroll down into an endless sea of text, where I attempt to summarize the history of kanelbullar:
HISTORY
The history of cinnamon buns is quite unexplored. Although different variations of kanelbullar already existed, they didn´t become prevalent in Sweden until after the first world war. During World War I Sweden put heavy restrictions on the import of goods such as sugar, egg and butter. When these products returned to the shelves in the 1920s, everyone went mad for pastry and we find the origins of the modern kanelbullar. In fact, the first mention of the word 'kanelbullar' in the newspapers is from 1925, where it was suggested as an addition to a lunchbox to accompany coffee and tea. Cinnamon buns began to appear in cafés and bakeries across the country, but weren´t as popular as they are today. The ingredients for the buns, especially the spices, were expensive and not everyone could afford the buns - the luxury of kanelbullar was reserved only for the wealthy!
In fact, after 1928 no more mentiones of cinnamon buns appear in the media. It is not until 1941 that the word "kanelbullar" occurs again. After World War II a new 'sweet wave' hits Sweden. The kanelbullar properly break through this time and by the early 1950s they're a fairly common pastry. With the recovering economy more people could afford to buy the rather expensive ingredients. In 1952, kanelbullar could sell for about 10 cents each, so boys could buy them for their breakfast before heading to school. Recipes for kanelbullar start popping up in cookbooks around the same time and mentions are made of them being a staple home-made pastry.
KANELBULLENS DAG
In 1999 kanelbullar had become so popular in fact, that the International Day of Kanelbullar was invented and has been celebrated every year ever since. It started when the ´Home Baking Council´, came up with the idea of highlighting the Swedish home baking. Many believe it was for commercial reasons, but the HBC responds: "It has never been about selling cinnamon buns or increasing the sales of wheat flour and sugar. It has been about caring, that you should bake your own cinnamon buns and sit down and talk about your memories. Our idea with Kanelbullens Dag was that it would be a day of thoughtfulness.". October 4 was chosen because the home baking council had started in the fall, it did not clash with other seasonal food and festivals, and that year October 4th coincided with International Children's Day. It was not immediately popular: in 2000 Kanelbullens Dag is first mentioned in the newpapers and it took five years before the day made its entry into the Swedish calendar. Today bakeries sell roughly 3 times the amount of bullar they normally sell on Kanelbullens Dag, which is quite a feat considering they are already quite a popular pastry!
Kanelbullar / Kardemummabullar
makes 8-12 buns - from alskaattbaka and Scandikitchen
Brioche dough:
80 grams butter
250 ml milk
1/2 egg
20 grams fresh yeast*
3 tablespoons (fine) sugar
500 grams flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cardamom [optional]
Filling:
80 grams sugar
80 grams butter
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon and/or ground cardamom **
1 teaspoon flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar [optional]
Topping:
1/2 egg
pearlsugar or coarse sugar
1. Start by making the wet ingredients for the dough: melt the butter and add the milk. If mixture is luke-warm add the egg and yeast, otherwise wait for it to cool before adding.
2. Sieve the flour, salt and cardamom together and mix with the wet ingredients. Knead for 10-15 minutes until a soft dough is formed. The dough should be wet and slightly sticky to the tough, but you can add more flour if it's too wet to handle.
3. Leave the dough to rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
4. In the meanwhile create the filling: mix all ingredients together to form a uniform paste.
5. Once the dough is risen, knead back and roll out into a large square. Spread the filling on the square. Shape the dough and fold into small buns [see note on shaping & folding techniques below!].
6. Beat the last half of the egg till smooth and use it to brush the buns. Sprinkle pearl sugar on top. Leave the buns to rise for 30 minutes before baking them in a preheated oven of 215 degrees Celsius for 8-12 minutes.
* Or dried yeast equivalent for 500 grams flour.
** For Kanelbullar (cinnamon buns) use 3-4 teaspoons ground cinnamon. For Kardemummabullar (cardamom buns) use 3-4 teaspoons ground cardamom - in these buns 1+ teaspoon ground cinnamon is sometimes added for colour. I personally like the flavour balance of adding half of both.
makes 8-12 buns - from alskaattbaka and Scandikitchen
Brioche dough:
80 grams butter
250 ml milk
1/2 egg
20 grams fresh yeast*
3 tablespoons (fine) sugar
500 grams flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cardamom [optional]
Filling:
80 grams sugar
80 grams butter
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon and/or ground cardamom **
1 teaspoon flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar [optional]
Topping:
1/2 egg
pearlsugar or coarse sugar
1. Start by making the wet ingredients for the dough: melt the butter and add the milk. If mixture is luke-warm add the egg and yeast, otherwise wait for it to cool before adding.
2. Sieve the flour, salt and cardamom together and mix with the wet ingredients. Knead for 10-15 minutes until a soft dough is formed. The dough should be wet and slightly sticky to the tough, but you can add more flour if it's too wet to handle.
3. Leave the dough to rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
4. In the meanwhile create the filling: mix all ingredients together to form a uniform paste.
5. Once the dough is risen, knead back and roll out into a large square. Spread the filling on the square. Shape the dough and fold into small buns [see note on shaping & folding techniques below!].
6. Beat the last half of the egg till smooth and use it to brush the buns. Sprinkle pearl sugar on top. Leave the buns to rise for 30 minutes before baking them in a preheated oven of 215 degrees Celsius for 8-12 minutes.
* Or dried yeast equivalent for 500 grams flour.
** For Kanelbullar (cinnamon buns) use 3-4 teaspoons ground cinnamon. For Kardemummabullar (cardamom buns) use 3-4 teaspoons ground cardamom - in these buns 1+ teaspoon ground cinnamon is sometimes added for colour. I personally like the flavour balance of adding half of both.
Shaping & folding techniques
I found a helpful video with variety of techniques for rolling and folding the buns, so I included the timestamps to the video that show the techniques:
* For swirl-buns: take one edge of the square, smeared with filling, and roll all the way to the opposite end into a large swirly cylinder. Cut roughly 2 cm thick slices per bun, tuck the loose end under the bun and place them on a baking sheet.
* For twirled buns: fold the large square in half. Slice thin strips of roughly 1 cm width (one end of the thin strip should have a fold, creating a flat U-shape) and twist both ends in different directions, creating a twirl. Take one end of the strip and circle the rest around until you have a spiral. Tuck the end under the bun.
* For a bun with a stripe on top: fold the large square in half. Slice thin strips of roughly 1 cm width. Take one end of the strip between thumb and finger and wrap the strip around your fingers twice. The last end of the dough is crossed over the wrapped 'circles' and placed inbetween your thumb and finger, tucking the end under the bun.
* Alternatively create a bun that is both twirled and has a stripe on top, combing the two previous techniques.
I found a helpful video with variety of techniques for rolling and folding the buns, so I included the timestamps to the video that show the techniques:
* For swirl-buns: take one edge of the square, smeared with filling, and roll all the way to the opposite end into a large swirly cylinder. Cut roughly 2 cm thick slices per bun, tuck the loose end under the bun and place them on a baking sheet.
* For twirled buns: fold the large square in half. Slice thin strips of roughly 1 cm width (one end of the thin strip should have a fold, creating a flat U-shape) and twist both ends in different directions, creating a twirl. Take one end of the strip and circle the rest around until you have a spiral. Tuck the end under the bun.
* For a bun with a stripe on top: fold the large square in half. Slice thin strips of roughly 1 cm width. Take one end of the strip between thumb and finger and wrap the strip around your fingers twice. The last end of the dough is crossed over the wrapped 'circles' and placed inbetween your thumb and finger, tucking the end under the bun.
* Alternatively create a bun that is both twirled and has a stripe on top, combing the two previous techniques.
* The recipe is easily doubled (perhaps you want cinnamon and cardamom buns?) and the buns freeze very well.
* I have seen some recommendations for leaving the buns in the fridge to rise for roughly 12 hours claiming it will give the buns a 'more professional texture', while giving the flavours a longer time to develop.
* This recipe is perfect for experimenting with flavours. It works equally well for cinnamon flavoured as for cardamom flavoured buns, but there are many other flavours. Almonds, hazelnuts and cinnamon sugar sprinkles are used more often, but you could also add pistachio, apple, dried fruits or chocolate. Once you have the brioche dough, you can fill it with anthing you can think of and use the folding techniques described below to show off the filling.
* Mind that the folding techniques mentioned are but a few popular styles. There is not a right or wrong look for the bullar. A bakery might develop their own variation to stand out. It's all up to you!
Whatever you end up making: Enjoy warm, with koffee, for fika!
I hope you have a lovely day!
References:
Varför är kanelbullens dag den 4 oktober? - Svenskahogtider
Six sticky facts about Sweden's beloved bun - thelocal.se
Alskaattbaka
Hon startade ”Kanelbullens dag” - SVT
Kanelbullar.se
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