Swedish Cinnamon Buns (Kanelbullar)

Step 1

Into the bowl of your stand mixer, measure out the 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, the salt and the cardamom. Mix these two together for a few seconds, just until they're combined.

Step 2

Next, melt 1/3 cup butter in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat. If you're thinking to cut a corner here and melt your butter in the microwave instead, don't do it! If the liquid is too hot, it will kill the yeast. Once it's melted and starts to bubble, remove it from the heat and stir in the 1/3 cup sugar until you can see and feel the grains beginning to dissolve in the hot butter. Add the milk slowly, stirring constantly. You're looking for the milk and butter mixture to be about 105 degrees Fahrenheit, but if it feels only slightly warm to the touch (slightly above room temperature) you're good to go.

Step 3

When your wet ingredients have reached the ideal temperature, add the yeast, stir gently, and let sit for 5 minutes.

Step 4

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, along with the egg. Make sure your stand mixer is fitted with the dough hook attachment.

Step 5

Turn your mixer on low and watch the ingredients combine. After about a minute you should see a sticky dough starting to come together. If you need to turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, now's your chance.

Step 6

Turn up the mixer speed slightly and allow the mixture to knead the dough for about 2 minutes. The dough should be tacky to the touch, but not so sticky that it's very messy. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl easily and the bowl should appear fairly clean. If the dough appears too sticky, continue kneading and add flour, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough reaches that tacky texture.

Step 7

If you don't have a stand mixer, you can knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured work surface for 5 minutes after the wet and dry ingredients are combined.

Step 8

Cover the bowl with some plastic wrap and move it to a warm place in your kitchen to rise for about 1 hour. It should have doubled in size after about 1 hour.

Step 9

Once you notice your dough has risen fully, and before you do anything with it, grease a large baking sheet with some butter (you can use two medium sheet pans or one large one).

Step 10

Turn the dough out onto a work surface that's been very lightly greased with vegetable oil. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough evenly until you have a 40 centimetre square (40cm by 40cm).

Step 11

In a separate bowl, combine the softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and the cardamom until it forms a paste. Spread the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture evenly over the dough all the way to the edges.

Step 12

Fold the square of dough in 1/3 of the way on one side and then the other, like you'd fold a piece of paper or a letter.

Step 13

Using a pizza cutter or pastry cutter, slice the dough rectangle into 12 long strips.

Step 14

Take each strip, fold it in half, twist well and then wrap it around your hand one and a half times, tucking the end under securely. Repeat this with all 12 strips until you've formed 12 buns. Click here for Jamie OIiver's visual tutorial of how to create a similar twist.

Step 15

Place the buns on the prepared baking sheet(s) and space them out well (they spread as they bake).

Step 16

Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel and set them aside to rise for about 15-20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius).

Step 17

Once the rolls have risen for 20 minutes (no longer), very lightly brush the tops with some egg wash (beat one egg with 1 tablespoon of water) and sprinkle with some pearl sugar or crushed nuts. Place them in the oven to bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until they're a nice even golden brown.

Step 18

Remove the pan from the oven and let the buns cool on the pan for about 15 minutes before serving.