Surprisingly Easy! Swedish Cardamom Roll

Yes, this cardamom roll has many steps, needs kneading and shaping, yet, it is not difficult. Satisfaction can overcome those little hurdles.

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Last time, I made the Nordic Finnish-style cardamom cinnamon rolls, which is akin to the cardamom roll I made here. Swedish people also use cardamom in baking, and one of them is Kardemummabullar. The shape is very beautiful, but the long steps terrified me. This time I took the time to challenge it, and I like it very much!

Less Sugar Version

Most of these Nordic treats recipes I came across online are made a dozen or twenty at a time; a lot of sugar is used in the filling; an extra layer of sugar glazing is applied after baking. I think that’s probably too sweet to me.

Then I looked for a Japanese version (カルダモンパン レシピ), which sweetness was relatively mild, though I didn’t add sugar glazing either. Overall the taste was actually sweet enough for my family. Of course, taste varies from person to person, so you can adjust the amount of sugar you use.

Reference Recipes

I hadn’t referred to any video recipes, but I find these 2 blog posts are helpful.

• Tomizawa「春よ恋で作る!北欧風カルダモンパン」
• fixfeastflair “Swedish Cardamom Rolls (Kardemummabullar)”

Overview of Main Steps

1. Measure everything
2. Knead the dough
3. Proof to double size
4. Punch down, divide the dough
5. Shaping
6. Proof again
7. Baking

Cooking Notes

• Cardamom：Make sure the cardamom seeds are crushed finely. It won’t be so nice if you bite into a big piece.
• Dough：I kneaded it on a silicone mat, didn’t add extra flour while kneading. It was sticky at first, but please just keep kneading. It’d become smooth after some time.

Swedish Cardamom Roll Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 8

For the dough

• 225 g bread flour
• 1 tsp (3 g) dried yeast
• 30 g sugar
• 2 g salt
• 25 g melted butter
• 1 egg (half for the dough, half for egg wash)
• 5 cardamom pods
• 115 g warm milk

For the filling

• 50 g butter in room temperature
• 40 g sugar
• 5 cardamom pods

How to Make

1. Take out the seeds from the cardamom pods, and crush with a pestle and mortar. Mix the melted butter and milk together.
2. Make the dough first. Place flour, salt and sugar, dried yeast, half egg and half of the cardamom seeds (from step 1) in a big bowl. Pour in the buttery milk, and mix until smooth.
3. Take out the dough on a working surface, knead until the dough is smooth, not sticky and ideally has a window pane. (Ref. video on how to knead dough with hands「完全感覚ベイカー:独学でパンに挑む人へ」）
4. Put the dough back to the bowl, cover with cling film, let it proof until it doubles the size.
5. Now make the filling. Mix the butter, sugar and the remaining cardamom together. Set aside.
6. Back to the dough. After proofing, punch it down and shape round. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
7. Roll the dough into a 20 x 45cm rectangle with a rolling pin.
8. Spread the filling on the dough. Fold the left to the middle, then the right side to the left (ref. to fixfeastflair). Cut into 8 strands.
9. Hold both ends of a strand, lengthen it gently by swinging it up and down, then shape it like a knot (refer to fixfeastflair)
10. Place the buns on a baking tray and cover with a clean tea towel. Let them proof again to 1.5 times bigger. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190ºC.
11. Gently brush with egg wash. Bake for 15 minutes.