Finnish Cinnamon Rolls Recipes

FINNISH PULLA

Steps:

• Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm.
• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the lukewarm milk, sugar, salt, cardamom, 4 eggs, and enough flour to make a batter (approximately 2 cups). Beat until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add about 3 cups of the flour and beat well; the dough should be smooth and glossy in appearance. Add the melted butter or margarine, and stir well. Beat again until the dough looks glossy. Stir in the remaining flour until the dough is stiff.
• Turn out of bowl onto a floured surface, cover with an inverted mixing bowl, and let rest for 15 minutes. Knead the dough until smooth and satiny. Place in a lightly greased mixing bowl, and turn the dough to grease the top. Cover with a clean dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down, and let rise again until almost doubled.
• Turn out again on to a floured surface, and divide into 3 parts. Divide each third into 3 again. Roll each piece into a 12 to 16 inch strip. Braid 3 strips into a loaf. You should get 3 large braided loaves. Lift the braids onto greased baking sheets. Let rise for 20 minutes.
• Brush each loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes. Check occasionally because the bottom burns easily.

KORVAPUUSTI: FINNISH CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Combine milk, 4 tbsp melted butter, yeast, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Allow to sit 10 minutes or until yeast starts to bubble.
• Stir in salt, cardamom, and 1 beaten egg. Then, gradually stir in the flour until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
• If you're using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook and knead at level 3 or 4 for about 7 minutes. If mixing by hand, knead on a lightly floured surface until it's smooth, shiny, and has lost most of its stickiness.
• Place in a greased bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and allow to rise 1 hour or until doubled in volume.
• Punch down dough, and divide into 2 equal halves. Roll each half into an 8"x14" rectangle, brush each half with melted butter, then sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Starting with the long side, tightly roll each half into a log. With a sharp knife, cut each diagonal lines to make 7 triangular rolls from each log.
• Place each roll, point up, on lightly greased baking sheets. Use a finger or a spoon to press down on each shape to make them look like ears. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400°F Brush each roll with a beaten egg. Sprinkle each roll with pearl sugar, then bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

FINNISH CINNAMON ROLLS (KORVAPUUSTIT)

Steps:

• Crumble yeast into a bowl.
• Melt butter, add milk and gently heat the mixture to 37°C.
• Pour over yeast and mix until yeast has dissolved.
• Add salt, sugar, cardamom and stir; add about 200 ml of the flour and stir.
• Add the rest of the flour and knead dough by hand until smooth and elastic, and it no longer sticks to the bowl (this shouldn't take long) nor to your hand (which takes a bit longer).
• Sprinkle some flour on top and cover: let rise for 30 minutes.
• Mix the filling ingredients together.
• Lightly flour the baking board and turn the dough on it.
• Roll dough out to a 40 x 60 cm square.
• Spread the filling on the dough and roll it up tightly, starting from the longer side of the square.
• Cut the roll in 3-4 cm pieces.
• "Open" the pieces by pressing the centre of each piece with a handle of a knife so that the centre is pressed down and the sides spread.
• Place rolls on a parchmented baking sheet, cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
• Brush the rolls with beaten egg.
• Bake at 225 C for about 10 minutes.
• Cover the rolls while cooling.

FLORENCE'S FAMOUS CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Prepare the dough by sprinkling the yeast onto 1/4 cup of warm water; set aside to soften for 5 minutes. Stir the potato flakes, milk, 1/2 cup water, white sugar, and salt together in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture reaches 110 degrees F (63 degrees C). Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl until smooth, then whisk in the warm milk mixture and yeast. Stir in the flour and margarine until a dough forms. Turn out onto a floured work surface, and knead until smooth and satiny, 10 to 20 minutes.
• Place the dough into a greased bowl, and turn over to grease both sides of the dough. Cover, and set in a warm spot to rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, and knead again briefly to push out the air. Cover, and let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir 1/3 cup softened butter with the brown sugar and ground cinnamon until blended. Feel free to make extra if you like more filling in your cinnamon rolls.
• Once the dough has rested, turn onto a floured surface and divide in two. Stretch and roll one half into a 10x14-inch rectangle. Spread half of the cinnamon filling onto the dough, and sprinkle with half of the raisins. Roll up the dough from the narrow end, and pinch the edges together to seal. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Grease two baking sheets, and cut each roll into 12 pieces. Arrange the cinnamon rolls onto the prepared baking sheets. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake the cinnamon rolls in the preheated oven until light golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool. Prepare the glaze by stirring the confectioners' sugar with 1 tablespoon butter, vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons warm water until smooth. Use additional water if needed to make a pourable glaze. Pour the glaze over the cinnamon rolls while still warm.