Cardamom Braided Buns (Kardemmumabullars)

The smell of cardamom is the smell of far and exotic places but also the smell of a cosy Scandinavian home surrounded by a fairytale winter land. Grown in India, cardamom made its way to the Middle East and Europe a long time ago, in the Middle Ages. It was a gold-like spice, very expensive and appreciated, carried on the Silk Road for centuries to the wealthy ones of the west. The carriers on the Silk Road that was spread all the way from China to Europe, were risking their lives, being attacked by bandits, slipping off the steep cliffs, stepping on poisonous snakes and scorpions under the blazing sun in the Gobi desert and fighting wild animals such as lions and tigers. But the reward was high enough to undergo such danger. Also the Vikings discovered this luxurious spice, allegedly during their raids in Constantinopole, and later it has become the crucial ingredient for their kanelbullars (cinnamon buns) and kardemmumabullars (cinnamon braided buns), the typical Scandinavian pastry.

Perhaps it’s a pity that cardamom is so easy to get nowadays as with the higher availability drops our appreciation. It’s a warming spice that helps our digestion, clears our skin, cleans the teeth, helps against bad breath, fights cancer and has many other health benefits. Slightly minty with a hint of lemon but mostly just a very unique taste that is hard to describe, cardamom is in this well known Scandinavian pastry almost always combined with cinnamon. In this recipe the cinnamon is excluded and so the cardamom taste can develop fully and without disturbance. It requires thinking out of a box for a second but I was surprised that I actually liked it more without the cinnamon. And of course the sourdough is a separate chapter of unique taste and superior quality and all together this pastry is … a heaven. Great for breakfast or your afternoon tee, snacks, a little treat accompanied by a glass of red wine… It  creates an extraordinary moment out of the ordinary one.

Ingredients for 10 to 12 braided buns

For the stiff starter

• 25 g starter
• 25 g water
• 50 g bread flour
• 1 tsp sugar

For the dough

• all the stiff starter above
• 400g white bread flour (spelt or wheat)
• 60 g sugar
• 5 g salt
• 1/2 tbs ground cardamom
• 125g room temperature water
• 125g room temperature milk
• 80 g butter softened

For the paste

• 60g softened butter
• 60g brown sugar
• 1 tbs ground cardamom

Egg wash

• 1 egg
• 1 spoon of milk or water

Method

1. Mix all ingredients for the stiff starter the night before baking. Create a ball and leave it in a container covered with plastic on a counter in a room temperature for 10 to 12 hours.
2. Next day, mix all ingredients for the dough together. Make a smooth dough.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic or a wet towel and let the dough rise until it almost doubles its size. This might take around 4, 5 hours but it depends on your room temperature and humidity.
4. When the dough doubles, flatten it (punch it down), wrap it with plastic foil and put it in the fridge for 2 hours or over night.
5. In the meantime, prepare the paste.
6. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out into a square.
7. Apply the paste on 2/3 of the length of the dough.
8. Fold the empty 1/3 over the middle 1/3.
9. Fold the last third over the center.
10. Roll out the dough again gently into a rectangle.
11. Divide the rectangle in stripes, each about 4 centimetres wide. Cut each stripe in half lengthwise but leave one end connected.
12. Twist the stripes and create a knot (see the pictures below).
13. Place the braided buns on a baking sheet in a baking pan.
14. Let it proof until it almost doubles its size. It can take 2-4 hours.
15. Preheat the oven for 220 ºC.
16. Apply the egg wash and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.