Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Kaneelirullid aka Estonian cinnamon rolls

Cinnamon rolls / Kaneelirullid

I know, I know. Spring is in full swing here in Estonia and I'm baking cinnamon rolls? I blame Joy the Baker, author of the Best Baking and Dessert Blog according to Saveur. Joy's Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread has been taking Estonian foodbloggers by storm, and I've fallen for it as well. But I cannot possibly blog about the cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread - or about Finnish korvapuustit or voisilmäpullat or about Swedish kanelknutar - before I have blogged about the wonderful cinnamon bun recipe I've been using for well over a decade, if not longer.

These are smallish cinnamon rolls, at least when compared with its American counterparts. It's not a Classic Cinnabon for sure (a respectable 220 grams and a whopping 880 kcal!!!!), more like a delicious and less decadent alternative :D

The step-by-step photos were taken back in November 2008 :)

Cinnamon Rolls
(Kaneelirullid)
Makes 36 small pastries

Cinnamon rolls / Kaneelirullid

50 g fresh yeast*
50 ml (about 3 Tbsp) lukewarm water
300 ml milk
100 g unsalted butter
0.5 tsp salt
85 g caster sugar (100 ml)
1 tsp ground cardamom
600 to 650 g all-purpose flour

Filling:
100 g unsalted butter
85 g caster sugar
0.5 Tbsp ground cinnamon

For brushing:
1 small egg

Take a large mixing bowl, add the lukewarm water. Crumble the fresh yeast into the water, stir until combined.
Melt butter in a small saucepan, then add the milk (the resulting mixture should be about 37C aka body temperature) and slowly pour into the yeast mixture.
Add sugar, salt and cardamom. Now add the flour, a cupful at a time, mixing and kneading until you've got a nice soft and shiny dough.
Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it prove in a draught-free warm place until doubled (for about an hour).

Meanwhile, make the filling. Melt the butter slowly, then add the sugar and cinnamon. Let it cool a little.

When the dough is risen, then gently knead it again and divide into three pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into a 23x30 cm rectangle on a lightly floured surface.

Cinnamon rolls / Kaneelirullid

Spread with the butter mixture, right to the edges:

Cinnamon rolls / Kaneelirullid

Then roll it up rather tightly, starting from the longer side:

Cinnamon rolls / Kaneelirullid

Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into inch-long lengths (about 2-3 cm):

Cinnamon rolls / Kaneelirullid

Cinnamon rolls / Kaneelirullid

Transfer each roll onto a baking sheet:
Cinnamon rolls / Kaneelirullid

Bake in a pre-heated 220 C oven for about 12-15 minutes, until nicely golden brown. Transfer to a metal rack to cool.

Cinnamon buns / Kaneelisaiad

NOTES:

* If you're not planning to eat all the cinnamon buns on the day of baking, you may want to place some of the warm buns into a large plate/bowl and cover with a kitchen towel while cooling - this helps to keep them soft longer.
* If you prefer using instant dry yeast, then mix the yeast with the other dry ingredients, add milk, water and melted butter and stir until combined.

7 comments:

grace Virlouvet said...

yummmm! looking so delicious!!!

Kira said...

We make these delicious things in Denmark too - we call them kanelsnegle (cinnamon snails). Now that I've seen this post, I don't think I'll be able to stop myself from making some tonight, and I might just have to try your recipe - there must be a reason why you've been using it for so long :)

Sara said...

These sound almost like the finnish cinnamon cardamom buns I saw in Falling Cloudberries, which are Finnish. (I posted them on my blog; I have since found another recipe that is no-knead). They are fabulous (and have a slightly different shape but formed similarly). I will try these the next time the urge strikes, especially given that it sounds like is is so tried and true for you!

ChichaJo said...

These look so yummy Pille! I am reminded of my favorite bun/roll that I used to have in Finland and have never had since...it was called a Dallas Pulla. It didn't have any cinnamon in it but instead a sort of creamy vanilla filling. I have no idea how to go about making it...would you have any recipes?

loyd said...

Your rolls sound tasty and the photos are really wonderful.

Gitte said...

I just have to say that they look amaaaazing!!!

Anonymous said...

Ok so I'm from the US and I did not understand any of this. Maybe if there were some side notes in the standard (american) system. It took me over 2 hours just to convert everything into teaspoons and cups.