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swedish cinnamon buns on small plates
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5 from 2 votes

Swedish Cinnamon Buns

Swedish cinnamon buns are a lovely, diminutive, not-too-sweet rendition of this internationally beloved treat. Here's how to make them great.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time12 minutes
Additional Time2 hours
Total Time3 hours 12 minutes
Course: Cookies + Bars
Cuisine: Scandinavian
Keyword: swedish cinnamon buns
Servings: 22 small buns
Calories: 181kcal
Author: Carolyn Gratzer Cope

Equipment

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 1 cup (237 ml) warm milk (105° to 110°F)
  • 4 teaspoons (12 grams) active dry yeast
  • ¾ cup (150 grams) sugar
  • 1 large egg beaten
  • 8 tablespoons (112 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground cardamom see note 3
  • 4 cups spooned and leveled (480 grams) bread flour (see note 4)
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) neutral-tasting oil, such as safflower

For the filling

  • 8 tablespoons (112 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ½ cup (125 grams) granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

To finish

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • Swedish pearl sugar

Instructions

Make the dough

  • Warm milk to between 105°F and 110°F. This takes about 30 seconds in my microwave when milk is straight from the fridge, but your mileage may vary.
  • Pour milk into the bowl of a stand mixer (don't attach bowl to mixer just yet) and sprinkle with yeast. Add a pinch of the sugar. Stir to dissolve. Let stand in a warm spot until foamy, about 5 minutes.
  • Add remaining sugar, egg, melted butter, salt, and cardamom. Give it a stir.
  • Add the flour.
  • Connect bowl to mixer fitted with dough hook. Turn machine to speed 2 and knead for 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.
  • Pour the teaspoon of oil into a clean bowl. Add dough and turn to coat lightly but completely.
  • Place a kitchen towel over the bowl and set it in a warm spot to rise until doubled, an hour or more.

Roll out and fill the dough

  • Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin.
  • Turn dough out onto work surface and and gently shape into a rough rectangle with your hands.
  • Roll out the dough to an approximately 14-inch by 22-inch rectangle.
  • In a small bowl, combine the butter, sugar or brown sugar, and cinnamon. Mash it up with a fork (or even with your fingers) until well-combined.
  • Spread the filling evenly over surface of the rolled out dough.

Shape the buns

  • Starting with one of the long sides, fold the dough in half.
  • Slice into 22 1-inch-wide strips.
  • Working with one strip at a time, create a twist by holding each end in one hand and rotating in opposite directions (one hand toward you, one away from you). Strip will lengthen a bit as you work.
  • Starting at one end, roll twisted strip into a spiral shape.
  • Tuck the remaining end under the roll.
  • Repeat with remaining pieces of dough until you have 22 shaped buns.
  • Divide buns evenly between two parchment-lined half sheet pans, leaving some space in between for the buns to grow.
  • Cover and let rise for about 45 minutes.

Finish and bake

  • Preheat oven to 400°F with two racks as close to the center as possible.
  • Beat together the egg and water in a small bowl.
  • Brush egg wash lightly onto the whole surface of each bun.
  • Sprinkle each bun with a bit of pearl sugar.
  • Bake until lightly browned and just cooked through, about 12 minutes, swapping the positions of the pans halfway through baking.

Notes

  1. Whole milk enriches the dough and is my strong preference for these buns. If you like, you can use your favorite plant-based milk instead.
  2. You can use active dry yeast and instant yeast interchangeably in this recipe.
  3. I use ground cardamom from a spice jar and find it's the perfect amount. If you are grinding your own cardamom from pods, it will be much stronger, so use one teaspoon instead of one tablespoon.
  4. Weighing your ingredients when baking is the best method. If you're measuring by volume, watch my video about measuring flour and use the spoon and level method.
  5. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can mix the flour into the dough with a wooden spoon and then knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes on a lightly floured work surface. It's a sticky dough, so I prefer to use the mixer.
  6. Bake rolls shortly before serving. Once cooled completely, leftovers will keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature for a day or two.
  7. For overnight buns: After shaping the buns, cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the fridge an hour before baking to let the dough finish rising. (Depending on the temperature of your fridge, they'll have risen a tiny bit or nearly all the way overnight.) Once rolls have risen, proceed as directed. 
  8. To freeze dough: After shaping the rolls, arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pop into the freezer right away. Once frozen solid, transfer to an airtight container and keep frozen for up to a year. When ready to use, arrange frozen buns on two parchment-lined baking sheets as directed. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature, then let rise for an hour or so before proceeding.
  9. Adapted from Handmade Living by Lotta Jansdotter.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 175mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g