Let's Do the Twist         

 

National Cinnamon roll Day is almost here. As I promised, I'm adding a tutorial on how to roll, twist and braid  the bullar. Our favorite way is the twisted up individual rolls. It looks beautiful and  rather fancy but really is quick to learn. I've also included the famous Swedish Tea Ring as well as the braided bread without filling. The  basic roll up and slice is quickest and always looks appetizing.. Any way you cut it the presentation is beautiful and the taste....amazing.

After the dough has risen under a tea towel-about an hour, divide it into two balls and let sit for about 10 minutes. Then roll each one out into a rectangle:

Spread softened butter over the entire surface and then sprinkle with cinnamon and then vanilla sugar.
At this time you can also omit the cinnamon and do just butter and almond paste-this makes a unique treat which not many people have ever tasted!

grate or break up almond paste evenly over the dough

Next step-Here is where you do the twist!

Fold the sprinkled dough over in half and then with a sharp knife slice it into strips.

Pick up one strip  at a time and hold each end and twist from one end

roll it up and gently tuck the end under 

Then place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Here's how to do the basic roll

after spreading the filling, roll up gently with both hands

cut abut 1-2 inch slices and place on baking sheet.

Next- brush the tops with beaten egg and then sprinkle pearl sugar on top. Do this before letting them rise for about half an hour to 45 minutes. Chopped walnuts or pecans also taste great.

Ahhh...now the tea ring

roll as with the individual rolls

bring it into a circle and gently blend the ends together

slice-or cut with

scissors-part way into the dough and brush with the egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar

let it rise covered under a tea towel then bake at 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Now, here's a bit more complicated idea-a five strand braid.

After the  dough has risen, divide into five equal sized balls- about the size of a baseball. They can be large for a larger loaf. Then roll out into long ropes-keeping care to have the same diameter from middle to end and equal lengths. I'm always a bit rushed with this and could improve my rolling consistency. It helps to have both palms begin at the middle of the ball and the gently roll out and working  towards the ends. 

working from right to left take the outside rope and weave it under over to the left side. Each time you begin from the right and with the outermost rope. How you start will be opposite from the previous row-if you start with over then the next row will begin with under. Continue this until the end and tuck under the short ends.

brush with egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar and perhaps nuts. Bake until done-about 375-400 degrees and, depending on loaf size, about 25-30 minutes.

add coffee, invite some friends for fika..... and enjoy!

...

Kanelbullens Dag-Swedish Cinnamon Roll Day

                  Get ready, October 4 is Cinnamon roll day!

What's the big deal? This is not the grocery store bakery or factory produced and packaged pastry, or dripping with sugary glaze mall bun most Americans know.  Swedish Kanelbullar are nothing at all like cinnamon rolls we find here. In fact, they don't even compare. The typical Swedish cinnamon roll is a lightly sweetened yeast white bread with ground cardamon baked in the dough along with a vanilla sugar, real butter and cinnamon filling, with  a small pearl sugar topping baked on top-no icing, tack!
It definitely deserves it's own day of honor.

This holiday is relatively new. It was invented in 1999 by the Home Baking Council, a club of baking ingredient producers which is now run by the Danish sugar company Dansukkar. The company wanted to honor its 40 year history with a baking tradition. Seems the cinnamon rolls were perfect since they already were such well known and loved tradition all over Scandinavia.

I began experiencing life in Sweden and Finland back in 1978. This is when I first had the experience of "fika". Rarely is there a time when one visits a Scandinavian home when you don't have coffee and something sweet to go with it. Sitting down to "fika" is a ritual that I would tend to compare with the Japanese tea-although less formal and with few expected guidelines. It seems, though, that there must always be nice coffee cups, preferably with saucers, a clean table-not fancy, flowers perhaps, and always a plate of cookies and cinnamon rolls. I think the cinnamon roll is usual and  expected in most places.

My in-laws would always have a pretty plate  filled with cookies which they had baked and set out-one for each guest, plus, there always was a cinnamon roll for each person at the table. Farmor would count how many were left and ask who didn't have their roll or specific cookie. I could never cut down on sweets on those visits. Along with the traditional cookies they had grown up baking, often there was a new recipe they had tried from one of the Swedish homemaking magazines. If that cookie was very well received, it became a tradition. We have a few of those recipes which I'll share in my upcoming cookbook.

Sadly, Farfar and Farmor are gone but we still keep up that tradition of baking the bullar and serving them with coffee. Only at Christmas though, do we add in the large array of beautiful Swedish cookies.

It took me years to perfect this recipe-with the help of another friend who married a Swede and had lived and had a home in Sweden for some years. Flour and butter are a bit different in each country, and Swedes still use the fresh cake yeast and let it sit and proof in the liquid. Here, we are so used to "instant" everything so I have had  to use trial and error to get this process down.

From the exclamations of many friends over the years, our Swedish Cinnamon rolls are amazing. In fact, even today, when we are asked to bring baked goods, always the first request is the Swedish cinnamon rolls. I have looked around for decent vanilla sugar and pearl sugar and only find it online-or in Sweden. Right now I have a young friend visiting his parents back in Stockholm and I'm sending him out shopping for my kardemumma, vanilla sugar and pearl sugar. Fall is coming, Christmas will be here before I know it, and after this sweltering 100 degrees fades into a temperate fall, we will be ready to bake again...just in time for the October 4 celebration.

Cardamom from Sweden. It can also be found in many stores. I like to  grind mine first since it gives an even stronger aroma and flavor.

I let the warm milk and sugar and butter and yeast proof in the mixer bowl. It should look,like this before adding the flour and cardamon.

When the dough is mixed it should be a bit sticky. I then turn it out onto the counter for a final knead. I think the Ankersrum does a perfect job, but I like the true hands on feel and satisfaction of  a  "just right" feel of  the dough.

rising beautifully under a tea towel

This recipe divides into about four good sized lumps. I roll them out one at a time, smear softened butter all over and sprinkle with cinnamon and vanilla sugar. I've used "other" vanilla sugar not from Sweden and they suffice. Also, I've substituted vanilla extract into the dough before mixing . It's good to be innovative with with you have around in the kitchen cupboards.
There are even recipes for making your own vanilla sugar with the actual vanilla bean submerged into powdered sugar. I think I'll experiment with that soon.

Here is the finished result...I'll post as soon as I get back to my kitchen the how to of  rolling  and twisting and  the various shapes-even the  famous Swedish Tea ring is made with this recipe.

I  THINK   EVERY   DAY   IS   A   GOOD   DAY   FOR  A  SWEDISH  CINNAMON ROLL !



RECIPE FOR SWEDISH KANEL BULLAR

Ingredients

1 1/3 sticks of butter

2 ¼ cups of milk

5 tsp dry yeast

½ tsp salt

2/3 cups of sugar

1 egg

1 tsp crushed  cardamom seeds

6 cups of flour

Filling:

softened butter

vanilla sugar- or granulated sugar

cinnamon

Pearl sugar 

walnuts or almonds

almond paste -grated

In a small sauce pan heat the milk, sugar and salt till just warm. This is about 105 – 100 degrees. Add the butter and let it melt. Far far taught me to add an egg here and it makes the rolls very moist-it is an option.

Next, place liquid in the mixer bowl to proof the yeast.

Sprinkle the yeast over the liquid and gently stir it in until just wet. Let it set for about  10 minutes. You will see it become foamy and bubbly. This tells you the yeast is active and working. I always make sure to do this step before adding any other ingredients. If the yeast is too hot it won't work -and it definitely won't work if the liquid is too cold. The key is to  learn by touch what is the best temperature. If I can put my finger into the liquid and keep it there even though it's a bit hot-then its about right. If I have to take it out-too hot.  We learn by doing and I have had my share of sad ,small, unchanging lumps of dough that won't rise.

Next,add the crushed cardamon and begin adding the flour. I add one cup at a time so I can gauge the amount-it's easier to add than to take away! The best dough is ready when it is pulling away from the sides of the mixer bowl and is still just a bit sticky to the touch yet can still be handled.

Once you have a nice lump of dough , place it in a lightly greased then flip the dough over so the greased part is on top, cover with a tea towel and let rise-about 30-45 minutes.

When the dough has doubled in size, uncover and punch it down with your fist and let it rest.

Divide into  two and begin the forming of the rolls. 

On a  lightly floured surface use a rolling pin and roll out the dough into a rectangle about ½ inch thick.

Spread softened butter over the surface, and then sprinkle with  vanilla sugar and cinnamon.

If you don't have vanilla sugar then regular sugar will work. 

Another option is to grate almond paste and sprinkle over the butter, omit the cinnamon-then roll up and slice as below.

Pre heat oven to 450

Option one:

Roll the rectangle up and slice about  1 inch apart. 

Place rolls on cookie sheet lined with baking paper and brush with whipped egg then sprinkle with pearl sugar.

 Cover  the rolls with a tea towel. Let rise for about 30  minutes. I like to set the cookie sheets by the warming oven away from drafts. They seem to rise nicely this way.

Bake for 5-7 minutes-until lightly golden on the tops

Option two:

Roll out the dough into a 1/2” thick rectangle, spread with the  softened butter and sprinkle the vanilla sugar and cinnamon. Next fold over in half- from the long side of the rectangle, cut ½ inch strips and hold each end in your fingers and twist from one end and then roll up into a spiral. Place on the cookie sheet and brush with egg and sprinkle sugar on top.

You can also do a braided loaf without a filling. These taste wonderful with coffee in the morning. This was always a staple in Finland.

FarFar often places his small bullar in paper cups and sprinkled them with chopped walnuts or almonds along with the pearl sugar. Our American cupcake papers are too small but now days we can find all sizes of paper cups. They freeze nicely this way  and look festive when serving with other small cookies.

Almond Orange Squares-Gluten free while not even trying to be!

I know the rage is all gluten free and I get it. A few years ago our eldest son introduced the Primal Diet and Crossfit workouts. For a time the whole family was converted and we ate no grains and very little sugar (well,... kind of and most of us). Although I think we already were very healthy eaters and I always served a big variety of fresh vegetables and fruits, we did make many meals stretch with pasta and potatoes and home made breads. The activity level of this household is a work out in itself. In fact, many of the kid's visiting friends complained that coming here was like going to a PE class. I always said that my kids run for fun. Our back yard has a  circus rope to climb up and swing down from the tree, pull up bars, ping pong table, and even lots of mud where they dig holes for fun.
This no grain, lots of  meat and  nuts and vegetable diet and crazy workouts  is good and we still adhere to it I would say about 75% of the time. When I was trying to lose the last pounds from bearing 9 babies, I really became a bit more diligent and focused more on workouts and diet. It's a hard things to follow all of the time. The test of my faithfulness to all this came with my last trip to Sweden and when our son told me to not eat any bread or dairy there !!! Really? In Sweden? Sorry, I couldn't adhere to that , yet, I do know that moderation and not over eating and staying active each day is really the key to healthy living.

So, back to these amazing almond bars. We fell upon this in one of our basic cookbooks and were amazed. It doesn't take any flour. Sure, there is a bit of sugar in the almond paste, but for those who truly have found gluten to be a culprit,  they will be delighted with this treat. It is still the one our son requests. These are the main ingredients-plus eggs:

Winter in California brings a load of citrus to  many people here and around the world.

It seems just about every other house has an orange, lemon, tangerine, or grapefruit tree. Most trees are loaded with fruit and much of it goes uneaten. This winter we happened upon friends who had extra  oranges and mandarins for us to pick. The real treat has been the blood oranges. My kids love to climb trees and are ready to brave the thorns and gather in the fruit. Much of it is within reach so I stand at the base and pick what I can and also catch the falling ones.

blood orange

They are intriguing to look at-almost like a pink grapefruit but still a juicy sweet orange. We usually juice them and try to freeze some for later. I say try because everyone wants some and it is quickly gone. This year I added them to this recipe. The taste is much the same as a navel orange-it's the color that is so amazing.
So, with the load of oranges, my birthday present of Blue Diamond Almond paste from  a dear friend whos hubby works for the company, and a block of dark chocolate, we were ready to make this up once  again. Only thing lacking was that our lazy backyard chickens were taking a  winter break from egg laying. Oh well, eggs are pretty inexpensive.


Almond Orange Squares with Dark Chocolate

Set oven to 350

400g of almond paste- (14 oz)
zest from 1/2 an orange
juice from one orange
4 eggs

Garnish
125g or 4 oz of  dark chocolate-add more if you like it thick!
sliced almonds-optional

Line  a  8 x 12 inch or 10 inch square pan with paper. I think this works best but if you don't have parchment paper it works to grease and flour the pan. I usually double this recipe so I use a glass rectangular baking dish.

Grate the almond paste into coarse chunks. Add the orange juice and zest.

Separate the eggs, placing the whites in smaller mixer bowl.

Beat the egg yolks, one at a time, into the almond and juice mixture, beating well after each one.

almond mixture

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Here is where I always love my hand mixer-look for them at garage sales and thrift stores. They always come in handy-no pun intended!

egg whites

Carefully fold the egg the egg whites into the almond mixture. Spread onto the  prepared pan.

baked to a perfect golden color

Bake on a low oven rack for 25-30 minutes. 

Once you remove the pan from the oven, immediately place your chocolate on top so it can melt and be smoothed out. If you like, you can grate your chocolate . I put these thick squares down and they melted perfectly.

I've also used all the left over chocolate bars and chocolate chips in the cupboard and it makes a great topping.. Sprinkle with almonds if you desire . Cut into squares. I learned my lesson and tried to cut them after the chocolate cooled! Works best when the chocolate is still warm and soft.

Enjoy!
I think I might try another batch with these beautiful tangerines.....