Kanellangd #BreadBakers

It's February with the Bread Bakers, and this month's theme is Scandinavian Breads.

Many are rye-based, because rye is a hearty grain that can thrive in the frosty north.  I'm not a huge rye fan, so I chose to make Kanellangd: Swedish Cinnamon Roll Loaf.  Check out the other amazing breads baked by other members of The Bread Bakers at the bottom of this post!

Kanellandg is a cardamom and cinnamon scented sweet bread traditionally served at Christmas. In case you are wondering, it is pronounced "kin-a-link."  

It could have been pronounced "matth-ew-mc-con-au-ghey" for all I knew--I don't understand the rules of Swedish phonetics. The names of IKEA furniture totally baffle me.  But apparently, "kanel" means cinnamon (okay, "canela" in Spanish, I'm tracking...) and "landg" means length. So "cinnamon length." Makes sense!

I know embarrassingly little about Scandinavian culture in general, but I was very surprised to learn that cardamom is very widely used in Scandinavian baking. I associate cardamom with Indian and Arabic cooking, not with Nordic. After doing a little research, there is a historical link: the Vikings. The Vikings traveled, traded, and explored far and wide, and some were actually employed as mercenaries and body guards (the Varangians) for the Byzantine Empire in Turkey--where they encountered the spice and brought it back North with them.

This recipe came from Old British Blue Eyes, himself: Paul Hollywood. It was surprisingly easy to put together and shape.  A few snips with kitchen shears is all it takes! If you accidentally cut all the way through, you can cut them into individual kanelbullar (cinnamon rolls).

When I baked my Kanellangd, however, much of the lovely cinnamon filling seeped out in baking and burned on the bottom.  This was actually a technical challenge on the American version of GBBO, so I need to watch the episode and figure out how to fix that problem.

But as they say in Sweden, "Sometimes your filling seeps out and burns on the bottom."

Just kidding, I totally made that up.

It tasted very much like a good 'ol fashioned cinnamon roll with an extra twist from the cardamom in the dough.  The loaf is glazed with a simple sugar syrup, then drizzled with an orange frosting. Mr. Hollywood called for vanilla bean paste and a zested satsuma orange, which I'm sure is heavenly.  I just had clementines and vanilla extract, so I used them instead.  The recipe also calls for hand-kneading the dough for 10-12 minutes. I used my stand mixer, because...I didn't want to knead dough for 10-12 minutes.

My taste testers were largely positive with their feedback! Of course, they were a 5 year old, 3 year old, 1 year old, and a 35 year old man--but 3 out of four loved it! My 5 year old asked for several slices, my one year old climbed on the table while I wasn't looking and helped himself to a much larger piece than I would have given him. My husband liked it too, but my 3 year old told me "It tastes-es like junt! (junk)"

Tough critic. And where did she even learn that? 😂

But she only likes about five things, so I'll take 3 out of 4 positive reviews.

If you're looking for a new take on a cinnamon roll, try out this fancy-looking loaf! Your picky three year old might not like it, but most everyone else will :)

Kanellandg (Swedish Cinnamon Roll Loaf)

adapted from BBC Food

Dough:

75g melted butter

250ml warm whole milk

450g bread flour

1 teaspoon cardamom

5g salt

7g yeast

40g sugar

1 beaten egg, divided in half

Filling:

75g softened butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 T cinnamon

75g sugar

Sugar syrup:

100g sugar

100ml water

Icing:

zest from one clementine

juice from 1 clementine

150g powdered sugar

additional water to make a icing a drizzling consistency

1. Mix the warm milk and melted butter with 1/2 of the beaten egg.

2. Mix the bread flour and cardamom in a bowl of a stand mixer. On one side of the bowl, add the yeast. On the other side of the bowl, place the salt so that the yeast and salt do not come into immediate contact with each other (it can impede the yeast from rising).

3. Using the dough hook attachment of the stand mixer and on the lowest speed, add the milk mixture to the flour mix. Knead for 10-12 minutes, until the dough is smooth and silky (it will be sticky to start). Cover and let rise until doubled (about 30 minutes).

4. Cream the sugar and vanilla together. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Lightly punch down the dough, and roll out to a 10x14 inch rectangle. Spread the butter over the dough, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture, then roll up from the long edge.

6. Using a clean pair of scissors, cut the roll into 15 slices--cutting almost all the way through. Pull each slice to alternating sides and gently press down. Cover lightly with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 20 minutes. Be careful not to over prove.

7. In a saucepan, mix 100ml water and 100g of sugar. Reduce by half.

8. Heat the oven to 220C (or 425F). Brush the loaf with the other half of egg from the first step. Bake for 20-25 minutes, covering with aluminum foil if it starts browning too much.

9. Mix the powdered sugar, zest, juice, and enough water to make an icing you can drizzle.

10. Put the loaf on a wire rack to cool. Brush the syrup over the loaf, then drizzle with icing.

Enjoy :)

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month the Bread Bakers are making Scandinavian Breads, a theme chosen by Felice from All That's Left Are The Crumbs.

And don’t forget to check out all the amazing breads baked by our talented bakers ~

• Danish Rye Bread (Rugbrød) from A Messy Kitchen
• Epcot Norway School Bread from Simply Inspired Meals
• Kanellangd from Amandie Bakes
• Lussekatter from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Pannekaker from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pönnukökur aka Swedish Pancakes from Food Lust People Love
• Scandinavian Cardamon Cinnamon Rolls from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Scandinavian Carrot Bread Rolls from Ambrosia
• Swedish St. Lucia Saffron Buns from Sneha's Recipe
• Vörtbröd (Swedish Wort Bread) from Karen's Kitchen Stories