Kanelbullar

Ingredients

• For the dough: 500g strong white bread flour
• 250ml whole milk, warmed to blood temperature
• 13g fresh yeast or 5g fast-action dried yeast
• 80g caster sugar
• 80g butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 2 tsp cardamom seeds, freshly crushed
• For the filling: 120g very soft butter
• 90g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• Pinch of salt
• To finish: 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tbsp pearl sugar

Before you cook

• Crush the cardamom seeds in a mortar until they are coarsely ground and fragrant.
• Warm the milk until it feels neither hot nor cold on the inside of your wrist.
• Beat the filling butter, sugar, cinnamon, ground cardamom and salt together until it is a smooth spreadable paste.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment.
• Take the dough butter and the egg out of the fridge so they are not fridge-cold.

Steps

1. Crumble the yeast into the warm milk in a mixing bowl and stir until it dissolves.
2. Add the flour, sugar, salt, crushed cardamom and the egg, then mix to a shaggy dough.
3. Knead for 5 minutes, either in a mixer with a dough hook or by hand on the worktop.
4. Add the softened butter a knob at a time, kneading each piece in before adding the next.
5. Keep kneading for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic and only slightly tacky.
6. Cover the bowl and leave the dough somewhere warm for 45 to 60 minutes until doubled.
7. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it into a rectangle about 50cm by 35cm.
8. Spread the cinnamon filling right to the edges with a palette knife.
9. Fold the rectangle in thirds like a letter, bringing the short ends into the middle.
10. Roll the folded slab out gently until it is about 40cm by 25cm.
11. Cut the slab into 20 strips about 2cm wide with a sharp knife or pizza wheel.
12. Take a strip, stretch it slightly, wind it twice around two fingers and tuck the loose end underneath to make a knot.
13. Set the knots on the lined sheets with plenty of room between them.
14. Cover the trays loosely and prove for 45 minutes until visibly puffed and wobbly.
15. Heat your oven to 200C fan while the buns finish proving.
16. Brush each bun with beaten egg and scatter pearl sugar over the top.
17. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until deep golden brown, turning the trays halfway.
18. Cool the buns on a rack under a tea towel so the crust stays soft.