Korvapuusti (cinnamon roll)

Just few days ago it was the Finnish independence day, it was cold and snowing outside so there was nothing better to cook some korvapuusti, a traditional Finnish cinnamon roll.

Ingredients

• 7dl flour
• 2,5 dl milk
• 1/2 egg
• 1 dl sugar
• 1/2 tbsp black cardamom
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1 bag dried yest (11g)
• 100g butter 
• For filling: sugar, butter and cinnamon

Preparation

The flour used for this recipe is a bit difficult to explain, it has 12g protein per 100g and it says is a all purpose baking. One of the main hints of this recipe is to use as less flour as possible, otherwise it looses the fluffiness.

The black cardamom, you can use powder or you can grind your own to be a bit thicker, as you wish. 

In a big bowl pour half the flour and add the dried yest, heat the milk in the microwave so it is a bit over hand temperature. 

Batter an egg and place half in another big bowl and save the other half for decoration later on. In that bowl add the warm milk the blag cardamom, salt and sugar. Add slowly the flour/yest mixture to the milk/egg stirring all the time.

Once a homogeneous dough is achieved, add the other half of the flour slowly and when you have about 1dl flour/yest left to add, add the butter (room temp so it is easy to mix) and mix thoroughly then add the rest flour if it is necessary.

The dough should like elastic, silky soft and non sticky. Let it rest for 40 min in a warm place as to activate the yest. And easy trick is to place the bowl in the sink and create a warm water bath (warm it is around 40ºC).

Take the dough and work it a bit in a floured surface and split in in 2 so it is easy to handle. Add some flour on working surface and flatten the dough with a roller into rectangular shape, make it as thin as possible, half centimeter is good, but make it as thin before it breaks.

With your own taste, add butter cinnamon and sugar, it is not important the order; you can put all the ingredients in a food processor and then add all together, add sugar cinnamon and then the butter, but maybe the easiest is to add the butter then cinnamon and on top sugar. Keep in mind the amounts given above are for the dough, not the filling!

You can put a lot if you prefer, you can add there raisins, almonds, etc but traditional korvapuusti doesn't have.

Once you are happy with the filling, roll the dough trying not to press too much so it keeps fluffy. Once the roll is formed, with a knife cut the dough in a zig zag pattern (see the picture below). 

With the pieces cut, place them in a oven tray with baking paper and with the short side facing upwards. Then with your two thumbs press a bit the little pieces by the part which doesn't have the filling.

Let it rest for 30 min on warm place.

With the spare half egg from beginning, pain the rolls and add a bit on sugar on top of each one, it can be bits of sugar, ice sugar ow whatever you have.

Place in oven at 225ºC 10-12min. It is better that the rolls are a bit under cook that too much, when they are right in the spot they seem a bit under cook but if you stick a knife through a roll it will come out clean.

Hyvää ruokahalua!

Ms North 

By the way, Mr South says these are the best korvapuusti he has ever tasted! So try the recipe and tell us!