Kanelbullar: Swedish Cinnamon Buns (2024)

FAQs

How do you say cinnamon bun in Swedish? ›

Kanelbullar or cinnamon buns are a classic at Swedish coffee parties. During the golden age of home baking, such parties turned into orgies of sweet yeast breads, small cookies, cookies with fillings, pastries and cakes. This tradition lives on in Sweden.

In Sweden it is called kanelbulle, in Denmark it is known as kanelsnegl, in Norway it is known as kanelbolle, skillingsbolle, kanelsnurr, or kanel i svingene, in Finland it is known as korvapuusti, in Iceland it is known as kanilsnúður, and in Estonia it is known as kaneelirull.

If you let your cinnamon rolls rise for too long you can over-proof them. This can lead to dense rolls or rolls that collapse after baking.

The average Swede consumes as many as 230 cinnamon rolls a year and the pastry is so popular that it even has its own day in the calendar. Kanelbullens Dag (Cinnamon Bun Day) takes place every year on October 4th, with an estimated eight million cinnamon rolls sold across Sweden on that day alone.

The traditions of semla are rooted in fettisdag (Shrove Tuesday, or Fat Tuesday) when the buns were eaten at a last celebratory feast before the Christian fasting period of Lent. At first, a semla was simply a bun, eaten soaked in hot milk (known as hetvägg).

In Finland-Swedish, semla means a plain wheat bun, used for bread and butter, and not a sweet bun. At some point Swedes grew tired of the strict observance of Lent, added cream and almond paste to the mix and started eating semla every Tuesday between Shrove Tuesday and Easter.

There are a lot of variables that go into the consistency of dough, even down to the weather and humidity. But the most common reason cinnamon rolls don't turn out fluffy is because the dough didn't have enough time to rise.

Let Dough Rise in a Warm Place

To check if the dough has doubled, lightly flour two fingers and press them down into the center of the dough. If indentations remain, gently press down to deflate dough.

These are easy to make ahead. You have two choices: you can make the dough and chill up to 2 days, then shape, let rise and bake, as described in the recipe, OR you can make the dough, chill for 2 hours, then shape, cover with plastic wrap that is sprayed with nonstick spray and chill for up to 2 days.

Muesli, or porridge (gröt) is sometimes eaten at breakfast, made of oatmeal or cream of wheat, eaten with milk and jam or cinnamon with sugar. Common drinks for breakfast are milk, juice, tea, or coffee. Swedes are among the most avid milk and coffee drinkers in the world.

What is the biggest meal of the day in Sweden? ›

Swedes eat their main meal of the day at lunchtime; do likewise and you'll save lots of cash. Bear in mind that Swedes eat early; lunch will be served from 11am, dinner from 6pm.

Swedish Cinnamon Buns are not radically different from other cinnamon buns, but they do diverge in one fundamental way: rather than having the fluffiness of, say American cinnamon buns, they are more solid, more bready (and certainly less sweet) and yet they do have a certain bounce and softness, too.

The Swedes claim it originated there in the 1920s, though ask any Nordic country in Europe and they'll tell you the sweet roll was actually their invention. Regardless of its exact birthplace, the bun is a staple of Scandinavian baking and commonly enjoyed during FIKA, a get-together with friends.

Sweden's most beloved pastry is the cinnamon bun and every year on 4 October, locals celebrate the sweet, spiced snacks.

synonym ▲ Synonym: cinnamon bun. (slang, neologism) A person perceived as good, gentle and kind. Often a fictional character who undergoes emotional suffering.

Today's Swedish cinnamon buns are part of a tradition tracing back to the 1920s. The cinnamon buns were created after the First World War. During the war, there were restrictions put on the import of several goods such as sugar, egg and butter. People didn't always have the luxury to bake what they wanted to.