I don’t often bake buns, but when I do, I don’t shy away from using butter and sugar!
I bring back Rolf’s childhood memories by adding saffron into the dough. Rolf is half Swedish and has spent a lot of time there growing up. Back then, saffron was seen as a luxurious spice and was added into buns during Christmas, but I think you can add luxury in your buns any day!
RECIPE FOR SAFFRON BUNS
The dough:
(~20 buns)
3 dl of milk
0,3 g of saffron
1 ½ dl of sugar
½ ts of salt
1 tbsp of cardamom
50 g of yeast
150 g of room temperature butter
1 organic egg
11 dl of flour
In a small pot, heat the milk until it’s steamy, then add saffron and cardamom and stir.
Crumble the yeast into a separate bowl, add milk, sugar, salt, egg, and butter.
Slowly add flour, mix well, and knead the dough. Do this until the dough is still a little sticky, but does not completely stick to your hands when you are handling it.
Let the dough rise in a covered bowl for about an hour – the dough should double in size.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Filling:
150 g of butter
1 dl of sugar
1 1/2 – 2 tbsp of cinnamon
Mix softened butter, sugar, and cinnamon together.
Flip the dough on a floured baking mat, split the dough in half, and use a rolling pin to shape into an even rectangle.
Spread half of the filling and fold the rectangle in half.
Cut into strips that are about 4cm in width.
Cut the strips in half, so that the top portion stays intact.
Twist the strips and fold the top portion so that it comes under the bun.
Place the buns on the baking tray, cover with a cloth of any kind, and let rise for about 30 min.
Using a pastry brush, brush some egg wash over the tops and sides of the uncooked buns.
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the buns reach a beautiful golden brown color.
Mix together 3 tbsp of maple syrup and a splash of water.
Mix together ½ dl of sugar and ½ tbsp of cardamom.
Brush the buns with the syrup mix, and sprinkle the sugar/cardamom mix on top.
Enjoy with a nice cup of latte!
Cristina
