Medium
35
BunsBy Tessa Kiros
Published 2004
These gorgeous buns were always a part of my childhood. They are found everywhere in Finland — and probably all over Scandinavia — in tea rooms and houses. Everyone makes their own and they freeze beautifully so you can just pull out a few when a craving sets in. Don’t be put off when you see that the buns need to rise for a couple of hours. You can get the dough together really quickly and then leave it alone without even a glance. The rolling and cutting can be a little tricky the first time you do it, but the second time will be easy.
Put the milk and sugar in a bowl and crumble in the yeast. Leave for 10 minutes, or until the yeast begins to activate. Add the egg, butter, cardamom and salt and mix in. Add the flour, bit by bit, mixing it in with a wooden spoon until you need to use your hands, and then turn it out onto the work surface to knead. It may seem a little too sticky initially, but will become compact and beautifully soft after about 5 minutes. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with a clean cloth and then a heavy towel or blanket, and leave in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
To make the cinnamon butter, mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Divide the butter into four portions and keep on one side.
Put the dough on a floured work surface and divide it into four portions. Begin with one portion, covering the others with a cloth so they don’t dry out. Using a rolling pin, roll out a rectangle, roughly about
Line two large baking trays with baking paper, or bake in two lots if you only have one tray. Line up the dough sausages in front of you and cut them slightly on the diagonal, alternating up and down, so that the slices are fat ‘v’ shapes, with the point of the ‘v’ about
Leave the buns to rise for half an hour and
© 2004 All rights reserved. Published by Murdoch Books.