Swedish Cardamom Buns #BBB

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When I was growing up, a neighbor used to make us a cardamom braid every Christmas.  Her cardamom loaves were the best, we savored every last crumb.  I kept that memory in mind while finishing these buns and when I tried the first one - nostalgia heaven.  We loved that bread slightly warmed and barely toasted, with butter on top.  There was a sprinkle of sugar on top of the loaf and it took me years to figure out that it was added after baking.  That's what I did with these buns, sprinkle more cardamom sugar after brushing with a little sugar glaze, (hey, it's traditional), and then warmed with a little butter.  Absolutely divine.  For our Bread Baking Babes challenge, we had the option of yeast or sourdough, and a number of fillings from cardamom to savory.  Given my hometown Scandinavian heritage and cardamom bread history, I absolutely opted for the full cardamom option, traditional yeast bun.  Since that neighbor is still around, I begged my mom to see if she still has that recipe stashed somewhere.  Fingers crossed!

The few changes I made were to reduce the sugar in the dough and switch it to brown sugar for flavor, use 2 tbsp golden flax meal plus all purpose flour, and add a couple spoonfuls of sleepy sourdough discard.  I felt like the lovely dough I ended up with could easily have been used immediately, but I shaped into 12 rolls and chilled overnight for time and flavor's sake.  The next day I added the filling and shaped using the method from our Inside Out Coconut Buns, which I find fairly easy and very pretty.  The shaping was actually easier for these buns than the coconut as far as filling popping through.  I also used both an egg wash and the sugar glaze.  The egg wash doesn't let as much of the glaze stick, but enough to get the sugar sprinkle to stick, which was what I wanted.  These are sweet buns, a definite treat, and they don't need much beyond a schmear of good salty butter to make one swoon.  One note: fresh ground cardamom is infinitely better than pre-ground if you happen to have it!  I have a glass quart jar of decorticated cardamom seeds that I grind on demand.  


 We would love to have you try out these delicious Swedish buns with us this month and share how they turned out and whether you chose sweet or savory!  New recipes are posted every other month on the 16th. (Next bake in February 2025).  Check out our Facebook group to see the participants' baking results during that time.  If you would like to post your results with a Buddy badge on a blog, let us know in the comments or on the Facebook page.

Swedish Cardamom Buns
makes 12 buns

410g (3 ¼ cups) all-purpose flour
90g (~1/2 cup) whole wheat flour
7g (2 ¼ tsp) active dry yeast
27g (2 tbsp) brown sugar
8g (1½ tsp) sea salt
3g (1 ¾ tsp) cardamom, ground
240g (1 cup) milk, whole or non-dairy
76g (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg (50 grams) room temperature, optional

Cardamom filling:
150g (¾ cup) granulated sugar
8g (4 tsp.) ground cardamom
85g (6 tbsp) salted butter, very soft or just melted
16g (2 Tbsp.) all-purpose or bread flour

Egg wash:
1 large egg + 1 tbsp water

OR

Sugar Glaze:
¼ cup water
¼ cup brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract

Sugar sprinkle
50 grams (¼ cup) sugar
⅛ tsp ground cardamom

Dough:

Warm the milk and butter over low heat and stir until the butter is melted. Cool to room temp before incorporating in the dough.  Whisk in the egg and set aside.

In a stand mixer, combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, yeast, salt, and cardamom.

Add the cooled milk mixture and mix on low until combined; a couple minutes. Continue to mix on medium speed until a soft, smooth, and elastic dough forms.  Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

Cover the dough and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

At this point the dough may be divided for shaping or de-gassed and chilled overnight.

I divided my dough prior to chilling.

Shaping:

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to warm up to room temperature for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix together the sugar, flour, and cardamom, then stir in the butter.  If using melted butter, you may need to chill the filling for a couple minutes until it is a workable consistency.  Then set aside at room temperature.  When ready to shape, divide the filling into 12 equal portions.

Divide dough into 12 equal portions if not done prior to chilling.  If freshly shaped, let dough rest for 10 minutes.

Take one portion and flatten, then place a ball of filling in the center and flatten slightly.

Pull up the edges and seal along the edge like a potsticker.


Turn the dough seam side up and fold the edges over and press it all down.  Roll gently into an oval, turning to ensure the seam does not separate.  Make a few lengthwise cuts inside the edges of the dough with a knife or pizza wheel.

 

I liked the results of 5 cuts best, rather than 4.

Fold in half lengthwise and twist.


Wrap the twist back around itself and tuck the end up under, sealing to the other end.

Transfer the shaped buns to two parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets, allowing space for them to rise.


Cover and let rise in a draft-free place for 1½ - 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  

Once the buns have doubled, brush with egg wash if desired.  Our family does not prefer pearl sugar and so we went with traditional sugar sprinkle after baking.


Add the Sugar Glaze after the buns are baked. Make the glaze and the sugar sprinkle while the buns are baking. To make the glaze, in a small saucepan, stir the water, sugar, and vanilla and lightly boil over medium heat. Stir frequently and let the glaze reduce until it coats the back of a spoon, about 10-15 minutes.  (I just made a simple syrup, enough to wet the buns for the sugar to stick, and did not reduce the syrup, not wanting something that viscous; but if not using an egg wash the reduced syrup would likely be preferable for the finished product.)  To make the sprinkle, simply combine sugar and cardamom in a small bowl.  There will be a little more than needed, can reduce sugar to 3 tbsp if desired.

Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer registers at least 190ºF.
Brush the sugar glaze over the warm buns. Immediately sprinkle with cardamom sugar.  (I did three buns at a time to make sugar the sugar would stick.)

Remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.  (There will be some filling spread around the buns, just lift them out.)  Serve warm, with butter if desired. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.


The rest of the Bread Baking Babes

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