Baking College In-Depth: Swedish Buns

Swedish buns started popping up in bakeries and cafés in Sweden within the Twenties. Since unique spices like cardamom and cinnamon weren’t available then, these buns had been thought of a luxurious. Because the financial system grew within the Nineteen Fifties, the trail was paved for cardamom and cinnamon buns to shortly turn into a prized pastry that lives within the hearts and houses of Swedes at this time.

Swedish buns are intricately twisted pastries imbued with the woodsy heat of the southern Indian spice inexperienced cardamom. Cinnamon and cardamom are Sweden’s hottest bun fillings—with Swedish pearl sugar adorning the cinnamon-filled buns and a dusting of cardamom sugar topping the cardamom-filled ones. It takes some apply to grasp the beautiful form—give your self loads of grace with the primary few buns to get the hold of it. And in case your knot isn’t good, don’t fear! They may style fantastic it doesn’t matter what.

Be sure you be part of us for Baking School with Williams Sonoma on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at 5 p.m. PT. Brian Hart Hoffman will take you step-by-step by making these Swedish Buns. That is one baking occasion you gained’t wish to miss! 

Click on right here to obtain a printable PDF of this lesson!

INGREDIENT BREAKDOWN

Glorious recipes require fantastic substances. Right here’s how our recipe’s substances contribute to creating showstopping Swedish Buns.

BREAD FLOUR: Bread flour is excessive in protein and gluten, which is crucial on this recipe. It helps give stability and construction to the enriched dough and lets you roll, pull, stretch, and form the dough with out it tearing.

GRANULATED SUGAR: Sugar acts as food for the yeast, which converts it to carbon dioxide and alcohol within the fermentation course of. This helps make the dough tender, making a delicate, supple bun, and provides a little bit of sweetness with out making it overly candy. Sugar additionally contributes to the bun’s golden coloration and retains moisture whereas it bakes.

RED STAR® ACTIVE DRY YEAST: A typical with regards to baking with yeast, Red Star® Active Dry Yeast is a tried-and-true favourite for a motive. Offering a average and regular leavening fee that enables for optimum taste growth, energetic dry yeast works extremely nicely in enriched doughs similar to this. The slower motion of energetic dry yeast additionally makes it the right selection for the gradual rise of refrigerated doughs like this one. An important a part of this dough’s leavening, yeast wants meals (sugar and carbohydrates), heat (the nice and cozy milk combination on this recipe will activate your yeast), and moisture for correct fermentation. Take into account, yeast is killed at 140°F (60°C), so preserve your thermometer available when heating your milk and butter.

KOSHER SALT: As a rule of thumb, the ratio of salt to flour in dough is 1.8% to 2% of flour weight. It’s essential to weigh your salt as a result of totally different salt crystals measure otherwise. Dough with out sufficient salt can simply over-ferment. Salt additionally helps with the colour of the buns and enhances the general taste.

FRESHLY GROUND CARDAMOM: Cardamom provides notes of pine, mint, and citrus and a refined smokiness, which gives the right steadiness to the buns.

WHOLE MILK: We use milk so as to add fats and taste to our dough. Milk accommodates pure sugars that start browning when heated between 212°F (100°C) and 350°F (180°C), which contributes to the buns’ lovely bronze coloration.

UNSALTED BUTTER: Butter provides decadence to the enriched dough, creating moist, tender buns. Melting the butter into the milk additionally means the melted butter incorporates extra easily and evenly, making certain consistency in taste and texture in each chunk.

EGGS: The addition of egg on this dough not solely provides richness but in addition helps with leavening, because the egg whites assist create steam that puffs up your dough as soon as it hits the heat of the oven. Eggs additionally give the right golden shine to Swedish buns with the assistance of an egg wash—an egg whisked with a little bit of water that will get gently brushed onto the buns proper earlier than going into the oven!

LIGHT BROWN SUGAR AND GROUND CINNAMON: Gentle brown sugar is made by mixing granulated sugar with 3.5% molasses, which supplies the sunshine brown sugar its beautiful coloration, moist texture, and delicate but distinctive caramel taste. The mixture of sunshine brown sugar and the candy, refined warmth of floor cinnamon is a match made in heaven.

SWEDISH PEARL SUGAR: Swedish pearl sugar is small, in regards to the dimension of a dried lentil, and is usually made out of sugarcane. Except for being a chic adornment on prime of the buns, it provides a pleasant crunchy texture, which fantastically contrasts the delicate, buttery inside of the buns.

MAKING THE DOUGH

1. For dough: Within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat 1½ cups (191 grams) flour, granulated sugar, yeast, salt, and cardamom at low pace simply till mixed. Including the flour in two additions ensures all of the substances are evenly integrated into the dough.
2. In a medium saucepan, warmth milk and butter over medium warmth, stirring often, till butter is melted and an instant-read thermometer registers 120°F (49°C) to 130°F  (54°C). Add heat milk combination to flour combination; beat at medium pace till mixed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg; beat at medium-high pace for two minutes. Step by step add remaining 2¼ cups (286 grams) flour, beating simply till mixed and stopping to scrape backside and sides of bowl. Heating the milk and butter to simply the proper temperature ensures the dough is heat sufficient for the right first rise however not so sizzling that it’s going to kill the yeast.

GETTING KNEADY

1. Swap to the dough hook attachment. Beat at medium-low pace till a delicate, easy, elastic dough types, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough should still stick barely to sides of bowl however ought to cross the windowpane check.) End up dough onto a clear floor, and form right into a spherical. To ensure the dough passes the windowpane check, pinch or reduce—however don’t tear, as a result of this damages the gluten strands—a small, walnut-size piece of dough. Then gently and slowly pull and rotate the dough out from its middle. If the dough is correctly kneaded, it is possible for you to to stretch it—with out tearing— till it’s skinny and translucent. If it tears or breaks in the course of the stretch, give your dough one other minute of labor after which check once more. If the dough is simply too onerous to stretch, it’s been overmixed.

TIME TO RISE

1. Grease a big bowl. Place dough in bowl, turning to grease prime. Cowl and let rise in a heat, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) till doubled in dimension, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Rising occasions differ relying on the atmosphere, however remember the fact that the quantity the dough has risen—the quantity—is extra essential than how lengthy it takes to rise.
2. Punch down dough. On a clear floor, pat dough into a ten×6-inch rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at the least 8 hours or as much as in a single day.

PREP THE FILLING

1. For cinnamon filling: In a medium bowl, stir collectively butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt till nicely mixed.
2. Alternatively, for cardamom filling: In a small bowl, whisk collectively granulated sugar and cardamom; reserve ¼ cup (50 grams) cardamom sugar in one other small bowl. Stir butter, flour, and salt into remaining cardamom sugar till nicely mixed.

FILL AND FORM

1. Let dough stand at room temperature for five minutes. On a flippantly floured floor, roll dough right into a 25×10-inch rectangle, with one lengthy facet closest to you. Utilizing an offset spatula, dollop desired filling onto dough, and unfold in a skinny, even layer to edges. Working from quick sides, fold dough in thirds like a letter. Letting the dough stand at room temperature for a couple of minutes permits it to calm down a bit of so it’s simpler to roll it out. Dotting the floor of the dough with small mounds of the filling and gently spreading all around the floor helps you obtain an ideal, even layer.
2. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

TAKING SHAPE

1. Roll dough into an 11×8-inch rectangle, with one lengthy facet closest to you. Utilizing a pastry wheel or sharp knife, reduce dough lengthwise into 15 strips (about ¾ inch extensive every). Holding up one finish of 1 strip vertically, gently pull dough in increments till strip is 22 inches lengthy, being cautious to maintain an excellent thickness all through dough so it doesn’t tear. Holding backside finish of strip between index and center fingers and thumb of 1 hand, loosely wrap dough strip thrice round fingers of that very same hand, overlapping dough barely. Place thumb of identical hand over overlapped dough strands to safe; wrap remaining finish of dough perpendicularly, between index and center fingers, and round overlapping dough strands to kind a knot-like form, tucking free finish beneath backside of completed bun as you take away your fingers. Repeat with remaining strips, and place about 2 inches aside on ready pans. Cowl and let rise in a heat, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) till doubled in dimension and dough holds an indentation when gently pressed, 1 to 1½ hours. Making small notches at ¾-inch intervals provides you a information to observe to proceed chopping the strips of dough. In case you can’t pull the strips longs sufficient with out the dough springing again, cowl with a kitchen towel, let stand for 10 minutes, after which return to it. Retaining the shaping free is vital—a free knot provides the dough area to proof and increase earlier than baking. Too tight and the pressure towards itself will trigger the bun to unravel.

BRUSH, ADORN & BAKE

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. For topping: In one other small bowl, whisk collectively egg and 1 tablespoon (15 grams) water; brush onto buns. Sprinkle with pearl sugar (if utilizing) or reserved cardamom sugar as desired. The egg wash provides the buns a gloriously golden exterior and helps the cardamom sugar topping or the Swedish pearl sugar follow the dough.
3. Bake till golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in middle registers at the least 190°F (88°C), 15 to twenty minutes, rotating pans midway by baking. Instantly sprinkle with further pearl sugar (if utilizing) or any remaining reserved cardamom sugar as desired. Let cool on pans for five minutes. Serve heat. Retailer in an hermetic container for as much as 2 days.