Ultra-Soft Swedish Cardamom Buns
This recipe is lightly adapted from one given to me by my mother- and sister-in-law, two incredibly talented, Swedish-heritage bakers, who each keep binders of tried-and-true recipes covered with hand-written modifications and notes. Here, I used a tangzhong and a milk wash to yield super-soft, chewable buns—if you like ’em crispy, with a glossy sheen, forgo the tangzhong (notes on how to do that below), and brush with egg wash instead of milk. Don’t mess with the filling though. Trust me.
All aboard the tangzhong train
The best cinnamon rolls, in my humble opinion, are ultra-soft, fluffy, and pull-apart tender. The foolproof way to get that texture (and have it last for days) is to use a tangzhong—a hydrated flour slurry not unlike a roux. Bread made with tangzhong is more tender because the starches in the flour are pre-gelatinzed with hot water and milk, allowing your dough to absorb and preserve more liquid during kneading and baking. Adding a tangzhong could not be simpler: it takes about three minutes and only dirties one extra dish—and the results are well worth the trouble. Once you’re sold, try it in other breads that are best when extra-soft, like dinner rolls, Portuguese sweet bread, and Japanese milk bread.
Time: 3 hrs
Active Time: 1 hr
Makes: 12 rolls
Drink: A damn fine cup of coffee.
FOR THE ROLLS
FOR THE FILLING
Make your dough
1. Make tangzhong
In a small pot, add ingredients for the tangzhong. Place pot over medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and the whisk leaves lines on the bottom of the pot. This takes about two minutes. Remove from the heat and scrape into the bowl of a stand mixer or another large bowl.
2. Melt butter in milk
Add milk and butter to the same pot you made the tangzhong in (now scraped clean). Melt the butter over low heat, stirring occasionally. Don’t let the milk scald or start steaming. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. Mix dough; knead for 7–10 minutes
Add all your dough ingredients, including the butter/milk mixture, to the same bowl that you already scraped the tangzhong into. Mix with a dough hook or a wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together. It will be sticky.
Using the dough hook or lightly floured hands on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 7–10 minutes.
3. Let rest 60–90 minutes
Shape your dough into a smooth ball and place in a large, lightly oiled boil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise 60–90 minutes somewhere warm.
Make filling
4. Cream butter
Use the paddle attachment on your mixer to cream the butter. It should look light yellow and fluffy.
5. Add other ingredients; mix to combine
Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and vanilla and mix to combine. It’ll be a rich, dark brown.
Set aside.
Make rolls
9. Deflate dough; shape into a rectangle
Gently deflate your dough and shape it into an 22" x 15" rectangle. (Use a ruler or a yardstick if you’re bad at eyeballing, like I am. The dimensions matter if you want to make 12 rolls of relatively uniform size.)
10. Add filling
Spoon the filling over the dough and spread it evenly, all the way to the edges.
11. Fold into thirds; roll again
Fold your dough into thirds, like you’re folding a business letter. Gently run a rolling pin over it to pop air bubbles. Rotate and roll again, into a 15” x 8” rectangle.
12. Form buns
Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, slice the dough into 1” x 8” strips.
Now the fun (and messy) part: Take one strip at a time and, holding it gently from both ends, wiggle and slap it against the cutting board to lengthen. Grab one end and loosely wrap it around two fingers twice, then loop the rest of the dough perpendicularly to form a knot. Tuck the loose end in at at the bottom.
Transfer to a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the strips.
Here’s some YouTube guidance if you need it.
At this point you can wrap the pan in plastic wrap and reserve in the fridge or freezer until later, or forge ahead.
13. Let rise 60 minutes; preheat oven to 375 F
Cover the buns loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise for another 60 minutes. (If you refrigerated or froze them, they may need up to two hours to rise.)
14. Bake
Brush lightly with whole milk and sprinkle with pearl sugar, if desired. (Pearl sugar is traditional, but I prefer for the whole eating experience to be soft and chewy, with no crunch, so I leave it off.)
Bake 18–20 minutes in a 375-degree oven, or until golden-brown.
15. Let cool, eat
Transfer your buns to a wire rack and let cool for five minutes. Serve warm!
Um, excuse me?
Do I have to do the tangzhong?
The tangzhong is what makes these ultra-soft and tender. If you prefer not to use it, just add the weight of flour and milk straight to your dough and start kneading—easy!
Can I make the dough in advance and cook it in the morning?
Yes, you can do everything up to step 12, and then wrap the pan in plastic and reserve it in the fridge or freezer. (If you freeze it, be sure to let it thaw and rise before baking.)
Should I use salted or unsalted butter?
It doesn’t matter. I use salted because I like my food saltier, but if you’re the opposite, use unsalted.
The twisting looks tricky.
It’s hard to get it exactly right, but the good news is that it doesn’t really matter. As long as you have some twisty knot-like shape, it’ll look pretty and taste delicious.
Why is this recipe listed in weight?
I very much prefer to bake by weight. I think it’s cleaner, easier, and more precise. Here’s a quick guide if you’re interested and have never tried it.
