Kalle Bergman is a food writer and media entrepreneur who…
Try the classic Swedish cinnamon bun today, and immerse yourself in the traditional Swedish coffee ceremony called “fika”.
Photo By Mads Damgaard
The cinnamon bun is a pivotal player in the part of the day which in Sweden has been known as ”Fika Time” for as long as anyone can remember. ”Fika” is traditionally a shorter or longer coffee break together with friends, family or colleagues – and fika time, in general, is in very high regard all across Sweden. Still considered an almost holy ritual even in the workplace, it is essentially the Swedish equivalence of the Japanese tea ceremony.
The classic Swedish cinnamon buns recipe. Absolutely delicious!
Author: Kalle Bergman
Recipe Type: Baking
Serves: 12 large buns
Ingredients
1,75 oz (50g) of fresh yeast (fresh to dried yeast conversion found in link below)
3 Oz (85 g) of organic butter, unsalted
1 Cup (2,5 dl) of milk
½ Cup (1,25 dl) of sugar
2 Pinches of salt
1 Teaspoon of cardamom
3 Cups (7 dl) of flour
1 Free range egg for glazing
Coarse sugar for topping
Filling
6 Oz (190 g) organic butter, unsalted
⅔ Cup (1,5 dl) sugar
2 Teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
Melt the butter and add the milk in a saucepan until lukewarm. Remove from the heat. Break the yeast up into smaller pieces, put in a bowl and add the butter and milk mix. Add sugar, salt, flour and cardamom and work the dough until completely smooth using your hands or a mixer with dough hooks. Leave to rise for 30 minutes under a kitchen towel, during which you make the filling by mixing together the fresh butter, cinnamon and sugar.
Roll the dough out into a rectangular shape of about ½ inch (1,25 cm) thickness (give the dough a good work through with your hands before rolling it). Spread the filling generously across the dough and roll into a tube on the short side. Cut the tube into 1½ inch (4 cm) buns. Place the buns cut side up (The alternative way is to roll the buns out again and twist them into long tubes, that are then rolled up into a spiral shape - in this case, you should have some extra filling ready to smear on top) on a buttered baking sheet and cover with a kitchen towel. Leave to rise for another 30 minutes.
Whisk the egg and paint the top of the buns with the mixture. Then sprinkle a little coarse sugar on top of each bun. Bake in a preheated oven at 430°F (225°C) for about 10 minutes.
Notes
FRESH TO DRIED YEAST CONVERSION CAN BE FOUND
HERE - http://makebread.com.au/fresh-yeast-conversion/
Kalle Bergman is a food writer and media entrepreneur who is the founder of Honest Cooking. As a food writer, his writing has been regularly featured in publications like Gourmet, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post and Serious Eats. He is obsessed with simple food, more often than not from his native Scandinavia.
Hi,
your recipe sounds delicious, I just made those buns and they are baking right now but I think something went wrong, my dough didn’t really rise.
So here are my questions.
Yeast : Fresh or dried?
No kneading at all?
how much flour in gram did you use?
for the filling: Melt the butter or leave it like that?
thanks for you help
Eva
Thanks for the question – this recipe is for fresh yeast, and I have added the gram quantity (50g) to make it clearer. Also, you need to work the dough until completely smooth in the first stage. And make sure to punch the dough down after the first rising. For the filling, don’t melt the butter – it will melt and emulsify with the sugar in the oven anyway and create a yummy, sticky filling.
Thanks for staying on top of me – hope things are clearer now – and best of luck with the second batch!
great – thanks – I used dried yeast so that’s why my batch didn’t rise I guess.
How about the flour? 3 cups would be approx 500 g is that allright?
Eva
Oh my gosh, this look delicious! And so beautiful! Your photographs are gorgeous.
I’ve recently launched my own blog, I’d love for you to check it out and let me know what you think :) http://www.prettygoodfood.com
Thanks, and Happy Cooking!!!
This looks wonderful, especially the ‘fika time.’ I love foods that revolve around rituals. Especially when those rituals mean you get to put your feet up and rest.
Fika has to become a new ritual in my home. Specially if I get to enjoy it with these cinnamon buns. I love cinnamon buns but the American version are so fatty and I hate the syrup on top, I’m so glad you posted your recipe. Can’t wait to try it!
Its Fika time!!! Seriously though, I had aprox. half cup of flour left over? The dough was nice and soft… I hope this works out, Now to find some to Fika with, even though my bro was born in Denmark!!!
Hi,
your recipe sounds delicious, I just made those buns and they are baking right now but I think something went wrong, my dough didn’t really rise.
So here are my questions.
Yeast : Fresh or dried?
No kneading at all?
how much flour in gram did you use?
for the filling: Melt the butter or leave it like that?
thanks for you help
Eva
Hi Eva,
Thanks for the question – this recipe is for fresh yeast, and I have added the gram quantity (50g) to make it clearer. Also, you need to work the dough until completely smooth in the first stage. And make sure to punch the dough down after the first rising. For the filling, don’t melt the butter – it will melt and emulsify with the sugar in the oven anyway and create a yummy, sticky filling.
Thanks for staying on top of me – hope things are clearer now – and best of luck with the second batch!
All the best
Kalle
great – thanks – I used dried yeast so that’s why my batch didn’t rise I guess.
How about the flour? 3 cups would be approx 500 g is that allright?
Eva
Eva,
Yes, 3 cups is about 450g. And with some extra flour for the table when you roll the dough – 500g will be perfect.
Good luck!
All the best
Kalle
I’m so glad I found your blog! These bullar take me right back home! :-)
Maria!
Thank you so much for your nice comment. I am a big fan of your beautiful photos, so I’m flattered to get a compliment from you!
All the best
Kalle
Oh my gosh, this look delicious! And so beautiful! Your photographs are gorgeous.
I’ve recently launched my own blog, I’d love for you to check it out and let me know what you think :) http://www.prettygoodfood.com
Thanks, and Happy Cooking!!!
Same as “Kanel snäckor”, right?
Mais Oui, Klingenberg. Mais Oui!
This looks wonderful, especially the ‘fika time.’ I love foods that revolve around rituals. Especially when those rituals mean you get to put your feet up and rest.
Fika has to become a new ritual in my home. Specially if I get to enjoy it with these cinnamon buns. I love cinnamon buns but the American version are so fatty and I hate the syrup on top, I’m so glad you posted your recipe. Can’t wait to try it!
I already made this at home this week – delicious and it was so great in the midst of the summer. Thanks!
I learned about Fika a few minutes ago thanks to my Swedish friend, I live in Iran and I’m gonna make these beautiful Cinnamon Buns . Thanks
Pretty! This has been an extremely wonderful post.
Thanks for providing this info.
These look delicious…Bullar?
Hi,
I was just wondering, what type of flour is best for this recipe? A bread flour or plain flour?
Thanks:-)
Hello,
Its Fika time!!! Seriously though, I had aprox. half cup of flour left over? The dough was nice and soft… I hope this works out, Now to find some to Fika with, even though my bro was born in Denmark!!!