Last time, the cardamom roll were very successful, but too many steps. So, I simplified the steps, especially in shaping, which could be done with one secret weapon.
This recipe is somewhat similar to the Swedish Cardamom Rolls I made last time. But I changed the followings to make it less sweet and easier to shape.
- Ingredients：Increase cardamom quantity, and chop them into smaller pieces
- Kneading：No windowpane, no punch down, no bench time
- Dough：Use more butter, less sugar
- Filling：Use cinnamon to replace cardamom, reduce the quantity of butter and sugar
- Shaping：No twisting, just use one chopstick
Easy Shaping with One Chopstick
No need to twist left and right, just cut the rolled dough into a trapezoid, with the short side facing up, and the spirals on the left and right sides (like a trapezoid standing on the table). Then use a chopstick (or anything similar) to press down in the middle, refers to the picture below. The spirals on both sides will then face up, and the shape is complete!
No Windowpane, Punch Down or Bench Time
I was in lazy mode when making this cardamom roll, so I skipped all the windowpane check, punch down or bench time steps.
Yes, we often being told that the dough should be kneaded until there is a thin film (windowpane), the dough should be punched down after fermentation, and it should have bench time after finished shaping.
I didn’t do any of the above.
Since the dough had a high fat content, it was soft and clean enough for me to do the shaping, even no windowpane was created; I didn’t see any air bubbles after fermentation, so no punch down; bench time? The gluten in the dough was relaxing, so I just omitted it.
The final product? In fact, it’s almost the same as last time.
Ref. Cinnamon and Cardamom Roll Video Recipe
Let’s watch how this Japanese lady made cinnamon roll in an easy way.
One more recipe for reference： 北欧シナモンロール from tomiz.
Ingredients
Makes 8-10 pcs
For the Dough
- ground cardamom from 12 pods
- 250 g bread flour
- 4 g dry yeast
- 30 g sugar
- 3 g salt
- 40 g melted butter
- 1 egg（½ for dough, ½ for egg wash）
- 115 g warm milk
For the Filling
- 20 g butter (in room temperature)
- 30 g sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder
How to Make Easy Shaping Cinnamon and Cardamom Roll (Less Sweet)
- Make the dough first. Mix melted butter and milk. Put the cardamom, flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and ½ eggs into a large bowl, pour in the milk and butter solution. Mix well until the dough is smooth.
- After the dough is slightly form the shape, take it out and knead until it is smooth and not sticky. Ideally until there is a thin film, but it’s not necessary.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let it proof until it doubles in size.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. Stir together the room temperature butter, sugar and cinnamon powder. Set aside.
- Back to the dough. After the first proof, roll the dough with a a rolling pin into a rectangle about 20 x 30cm in size. Try to make the dough’s thickness as even as possible.
- Using a pastry brush, spread the filling evenly on the dough. Roll it up from the bottom, to make a Swiss roll shape.
- Seal the edges with finger tips. Then roll it out to make it longer. Divide it into 8-10 trapezoids. (The shape may be smaller on both ends. Try to make it as even as possible)
- Place the short side of the trapezoid facing upward. That is, the appearance of the trapezoidal dough standing on the table. Press down with a chopstick, and the spirals on both sides will naturally rise up.
- Place the shaped dough on a lined baking tray. Covered with a dry cloth and allow to rise to about 1 ½ times in size.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- Gently brush the dough with egg wash and bake for 12-14 minutes.
