Food 2020 - Recipes (Kanelsnurrer a la Meyer's Bakery)
If you're Danish (or an enthusiastic foodie with an eye on the Nordic food scene) you'll have heard of Claus Meyer, the other man who founded Noma, the one many people haven't heard of, among other things, and who now has a small chain of bakeries alongside his many, many restaurants. I did wonder on stumbling across this recipe whether I was biting off more than I could chew as a born-again baker! However, nothing ventured and all that. I was going in!
I should say that the shortage of yeast in these parts is a bit of an issue, and in fact is nothing new, usually all you can get are the wretched little 7g sachets of powdered yeast that needs to be activated before you can use it. Since then, I found a source of yeast and bought 500g of the stuff, initially assuming it was more of the same. It wasn't; it was "instant" yeast, which you don't need to do anything with. You can simply just add it to the ingredients and go straight ahead.
I did have a brief suspicious moment and decided to check whether you should use the same quantity as fresh yeast in any given recipe and quickly found the answer was no. Use 1/3rd of the amount specified was the advice I got, or 3g of instant for every 10g of fresh. The recipe said 50g so I used 15g. Given the way the dough rose this was a very wise move. It might have filled the entire kitchen otherwise! It even kept rising during the knock it back and stick in the fridge stage of the process. I put it in a box to contain it and by morning it had pushed the lid right off.
The initial steps where you need to knead the dough for 8 minutes and then a further 8 minutes to add the butter is hard work even with a food mixer with dough hooks, but it's worth it.
A word with regard to quantities, I did get 12 buns as per the instructions. If I do them again, and I probably will, then I will make half the dough and the same amount of buns. We had to share one, because they are enormous. 6 of them are now in the freezer and we'll be sharing the other five over the next five days because frankly half a bun that size is quite enough. Oh, and I would recommend only baking them for 12 minutes, not 14.
The result is well worth the effort though, with a lovely, soft, tearable dough and a sweet streak from the cinnamon, sugar and butter filling. These are going on my "do again" list.
Kanelsnurrer (Cinnamon Swirls) a la Meyer's Bakery
Makes: 12
Takes: 1hr 10 mins plus proving
Ingredients:
For the dough:
I should say that the shortage of yeast in these parts is a bit of an issue, and in fact is nothing new, usually all you can get are the wretched little 7g sachets of powdered yeast that needs to be activated before you can use it. Since then, I found a source of yeast and bought 500g of the stuff, initially assuming it was more of the same. It wasn't; it was "instant" yeast, which you don't need to do anything with. You can simply just add it to the ingredients and go straight ahead.
I did have a brief suspicious moment and decided to check whether you should use the same quantity as fresh yeast in any given recipe and quickly found the answer was no. Use 1/3rd of the amount specified was the advice I got, or 3g of instant for every 10g of fresh. The recipe said 50g so I used 15g. Given the way the dough rose this was a very wise move. It might have filled the entire kitchen otherwise! It even kept rising during the knock it back and stick in the fridge stage of the process. I put it in a box to contain it and by morning it had pushed the lid right off.
The initial steps where you need to knead the dough for 8 minutes and then a further 8 minutes to add the butter is hard work even with a food mixer with dough hooks, but it's worth it.
A word with regard to quantities, I did get 12 buns as per the instructions. If I do them again, and I probably will, then I will make half the dough and the same amount of buns. We had to share one, because they are enormous. 6 of them are now in the freezer and we'll be sharing the other five over the next five days because frankly half a bun that size is quite enough. Oh, and I would recommend only baking them for 12 minutes, not 14.
The result is well worth the effort though, with a lovely, soft, tearable dough and a sweet streak from the cinnamon, sugar and butter filling. These are going on my "do again" list.
Kanelsnurrer (Cinnamon Swirls) a la Meyer's Bakery
Makes: 12
Takes: 1hr 10 mins plus proving
Ingredients:
For the dough:
- 500ml cold whole milk
- 50g yeast
- 1 egg
- 1kg plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 150g sugar
- 15g salt
- 15g ground cardamom
- 150g butter, finely diced
- 200g butter
- 200g sugar
- 20g cinnamon
- 1 egg
- sugar, for sprinkling (I managed to get some sugar nibs, which are much better than granulated sugar for these buns)
- Pour the milk into a bowl, then stir in the yeast. Add the egg, flour, sugar, salt and cardamom and knead the dough in a mixer until it’s smooth, shiny and comes away from the sides of the bowl (this takes around 8 mins at a medium speed). Add the butter to the dough and knead for another 8 mins until the dough is quite smooth (the long kneading times are essential for a good result). Cover with a cloth and leave to prove for 90 mins in a warm place.
- Meanwhile, mix the ingredients for the filling to create a uniform mixture. Once the dough has proved, knock it back until firm, then wrap in cling film and leave to cool in the fridge for at least 1 hr.
- When the dough is cool, sprinkle some flour onto a work surface and roll out the dough to a rectangle of about 50cm x 60cm. Smear the filling evenly onto the dough. Fold one-third of the dough to the middle, then fold the remaining third over the first section; you now have three layers.
- Roll out the dough to a square of 30cm x 30cm, then cut it into 12 strips of 30cm. Curl each strip by twisting the ends in opposite directions six or seven times, making sure not to squeeze out the filling. Wrap the dough twice around your index and middle finger. Fold the end of the dough back over the two wraps so it’s now gripped between your index and middle finger. Pull your fingers away, so the tip of the dough-strip fastens inside the roll.
- Set the swirls on baking trays covered with baking paper. Cover the swirls with a cloth and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
- Heat oven to 200C, fan 180C, gas 6. To make the glaze, beat the egg in a bowl, then baste the swirls with the beaten egg and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake for 12-14 mins, then remove from the oven and leave to cool.