Kanelbullar

I said I would put the cinnamon rolls up, so here they are. Strictly they are knots rather than rolls, which is the Swedish way of doing them and a good deal less fiddly than it looks.

The recipe is the standard one from the old Swedish household cookbook, with the quantities converted so they are usable either way.

Dough

• 100 g / 3.5 oz butter
• 5 dl / 17 fl oz / 2 cups milk
• 50 g / 1.75 oz fresh yeast
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1½ dl / 5 fl oz sugar
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1.3 litres / about 5½ cups wheat flour

Filling

• 100 g / 3.5 oz butter
• 1 dl / 3.5 fl oz sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

On top

• 1 egg
• Pearl sugar

Method

Melt the butter, add the milk, and warm it until it is finger warm, no hotter, or the yeast dies in the bowl.

Crumble the yeast into a large bowl. Add a splash of the milk and butter and stir until it has dissolved completely before adding the rest. Then the salt, sugar, cardamom, and about two thirds of the flour.

Mix, adding flour until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. Hold a little flour back for the worktop.

Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise until doubled, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Work the dough in the bowl for a few minutes, then turn it out and knead on a floured surface with the remaining flour. I always end up using more flour than the recipe says. Otherwise it stays sticky enough to be unpleasant to roll.

Divide in two. Roll each piece out to roughly 20 × 40 cm (8 × 16 in).

Mix the filling and spread it over both.

Fold each sheet in half lengthways and cut into strips. Twist each strip along its length, then tie the twisted strip into a loose knot.

Set the knots on a lined or greased baking sheet and leave to rise under a tea towel for 20 minutes.

Beat the egg and brush it over them. Scatter pearl sugar on top.

Bake in the middle of a 250°C / 480°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until properly brown. Hot and fast is the point, long and slow dries them out.