CARDAMOM BUNS

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• You can knead these wonderfully aromatic cardamom buns either by hand or with a stand mixer. I’ll show you how to make them with a stand mixer, but if you have plenty of patience you can achieve a satisfying result by hand following the same steps.

  First, take the butter out a couple of hours before you start so it will be soft when needed.

  Put the flour, sugar, crumbled yeast and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix the ingredients briefly.

  Meanwhile, warm the milk; it should be lukewarm and must not boil.

  Slowly add the milk (you may not need to use it all — this depends on the flour you use) and knead briefly with the dough hook until you obtain a homogeneous dough.

  Incorporate the softened butter slowly, one tablespoon at a time, until all of it has been used.

  Increase to medium speed and continue kneading with the hook for 15–20 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

  Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough inside.

  Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it rise in a warm place for 2–3 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size (this depends on your home temperature).

  Meanwhile, take the butter for the filling out of the fridge so it is very soft when needed.

  Once the dough has doubled in size, gently remove it from the bowl. The dough will deflate slightly as you handle it.

  Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle.

  Prepare the filling by mixing the brown sugar, a pinch of salt and the butter with a spoon in a bowl. Use a spoon or a small spatula to spread the filling evenly over half of the dough.

  Fold the dough in half, placing the plain side over the side with the filling. You should end up with a rectangular shape.

  Cut the dough into thin strips about 1–2 cm wide (about 3/8–3/4 inch). You should get roughly 10 strips, but the number will depend on how thinly you rolled the dough. Each strip is used to form one bun.

  Now for the trickiest part 😅 shaping the cardamom buns.

  Take one strip of dough. Gently wrap the dough around two open fingers or four fingers of one hand (use whichever feels more comfortable). When you reach the end of the strip, gently loosen the wrapped dough from between your fingers and bring the strip’s end to the center of the bun, then tuck it firmly underneath.

  Try to work quickly because the dough will tend to swell slightly as it rests, making it a bit harder to work with.

  Arrange the buns on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them well apart. Let the sheet rest in a warm place until they have puffed up slightly. Proofing time depends on room temperature (about 30–60 minutes). It is important that the room is not too hot, otherwise the butter in the filling will melt.

  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 356°F.

  Brush the buns with the egg yolk beaten with a little milk and sprinkle generously with cardamom.

  Bake the buns for about 20 minutes, or until they are lightly golden.

  Carefully remove the buns and place them on a rack, letting them cool completely.