Kanelbullar (Swedish cinnamon buns)

• 500 g Wheat flour (strong white bread flour)
  Swaps (2)
• 250 ml Milk (whole)
  Swaps (2)
• 175 g Butter (75 g for the dough and 100 g, very soft, for the filling)
  Swaps (2)
• 1 u Egg (beaten, for glazing)
  Swaps (2)
• 0.5 teaspoons Salt
• 150 g Sugar (70 g for the dough and 80 g for the filling)
• 1.5 tablespoons Cinnamon (ground)
• 2 teaspoons Cardamom (ground, ideally freshly ground from the pods)
• 25 g Yeast (fresh, or 8 g dried yeast)
• 40 g Pearl sugar (or crushed sugar cubes)

Instructions

1. 1

   Melt the butter for the dough in a small pan, take it off the heat and add the milk. Check that the mixture is lukewarm, about 37 °C (it should not feel warm to your fingertip), then crumble in the yeast and stir until it dissolves.

   5 min

2. 2

   In a large bowl, mix the flour, 70 g of the sugar, the salt and the ground cardamom. Pour in the liquid and knead for about 10 minutes, by hand or in a stand mixer, until the dough is smooth, elastic and only slightly sticky. Resist adding lots of extra flour, or the buns will be dry.

   10 min

3. 3

   Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave the dough to rise somewhere warm and draught-free until doubled in size.

   60 min

4. 4

   Meanwhile, make the filling: beat the soft butter with the rest of the sugar and the cinnamon to a smooth, spreadable paste.

5. 5

   Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured worktop without kneading it again and roll it out into a rectangle of about 30 × 45 cm. Spread the filling right to the edges, then fold the rectangle in three lengthways, like a letter, to give a strip of about 10 × 45 cm. Cut it into about 20 strips just over 2 cm wide.

   15 min

6. 6

   To make the knots, hold a strip by both ends and twist it several times, stretching it slightly. Wind it twice around two fingers, bring the end over the top and tuck it underneath so the knot cannot unravel. Place the knots well apart on trays lined with baking paper, or in paper cases.

   15 min

7. 7

   Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise again until puffy and a gentle press leaves a dent that springs back slowly. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220 °C, conventional heat.

   45 min

8. 8

   Brush the buns with the beaten egg, sprinkle with the pearl sugar and bake one tray at a time until deep golden.

   11 min

9. 9

   Transfer to a wire rack and cover with a clean tea towel while they cool: the trapped steam keeps them soft.