Buns for Easter, or Any Time!

There is a wonderful tradition in Sweden of eating buns for all occasions.  All sorts of buns are available.  I once tried to make Swedish Semla, which is a spiced bun made for lent that is filled with almond paste and cream.  My yeast skills weren’t very good then and I ended up with a big horrible sticky mess that took hours to clean off the bench top!  I’ve made several Swedish style buns since then, but much simpler than the semla.  I decided to make some Swedish buns for Easter and thought that the cute “Bunny Bread” image being shared around Facebook would be a good idea.  As we all later found out, the bunnies were actually made with a biscuit dough, but we had a good laugh at some of the not-quite-bunnies that were produced,  including my “guinea pigs”.

Easter Bunny Buns

 

I decided to have another go, but this time with a more traditional style bun – shells (or snails).  These are traditionally topped with flaked or chopped almonds or Pearl sugar.  Pearl sugar is a bigger sugar crystal that doesn’t melt in the oven, so it is sweet and crunchy on top of the bun.  It can be bought online, but I didn’t have time.  Instead we made plain and almond ones (high salicylates and amines).  The base dough can be used for all sorts of buns – plain, filled, etc..  I used a vanilla filling this time, but you can use anything as the filling.  I adapted the bun recipe from a booklet called “Bullfest, Baka Godare Bullar Med Kaffegrädde”, which means “Bun Party, Bake Better Buns with Coffee Cream”.  Coffee cream is a 10-12% fat cream that is used for coffee drinking (hence the name), but as we don’t have that here I just substituted for a combination of milk and pure cream.

Basic Swedish Bun Dough

Serves 24-30
Prep time 2 hours
Cook time 10 minutes
Total time 2 hours, 10 minutes
Allergy / Intolerance Amines, Artificial Addititives, Artificial Colours, Glutamates, Preservatives, Salicylates
Suitable for RPAH Elimination Diet - Low Chemical / Failsafe
Meal type Sweet Things
Misc Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Warm
Occasion Easter, Special Occasions
Region Swedish
Easy, versatile Swedish bun dough.

Ingredients

  • 4.5 teaspoons Lowan's Dried Instant Yeast (or equivalent)
  • 150g butter
  • 80ml pure cream (45% fat)
  • 220ml milk
  • 4 tablespoons white sugar
  • 4 cups plain white flour (or half wholemeal)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg (for brushing)

Directions

1. Place the yeast into a large bowl.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the cream and milk and warm it to 37°C.
3. Pour the milk mixture over the yeast and mix in well. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
4. Sift the flour.
5. Add the sugar, 1 egg and most of the flour. Mix until you have a smooth dough.
6. Leave it to rest covered with a clean tea towel for about 30 minutes. The dough is ready when it bounces back after being lightly touched.
7. Knead the dough in a mixer or on a floured board until it is smooth.
8. Make the required buns and let them rise for 30 to 40 minutes.
9. Lightly beat the egg, and brush the tops of the buns.
10. Bake in the middle of the oven at 250°C for 5 to 10 minutes.

Note

Low Chemical / Failsafe

 

Swedish Vanilla Shells (Vaniljsnäckar)

Serves 30
Prep time 2 hours
Cook time 5 minutes
Total time 2 hours, 5 minutes
Allergy / Intolerance Amines, Artificial Addititives, Glutamates, Preservatives, Salicylates
Suitable for RPAH Elimination Diet - Low Chemical / Failsafe
Meal type Sweet Things
Misc Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Warm
Occasion Easter, Special Occasions
Region Swedish
Yummy and easy Swedish Vanilla Shell Buns (Vaniljsnäckar).

Ingredients

  • 1 Quantity Swedish Basic Bun Dough (Refer to recipe)
  • 75g butter
  • 4 tablespoons icing sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar (Refer to recipe)
  • 1 egg (lightly beaten)

Optional

  • Chopped or flaked almonds
  • Pearl sugar

Directions

1. Prepare the filling by creaming the butter, icing sugar and vanilla sugar.
2. After kneading the bun dough, divide it into two pieces.
3. Roll out one piece of dough to a rectangle approximately 20 x 30cm long.
4. Spread the dough with half of the filling.
5. Roll the dough up from the long side, making sure it is firm and level.
6. Cut the log into 2cm pieces and place onto a lined baking tray.
7. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
8. Allow the buns to rise for 30 - 40 minutes, then brush with egg and (optionally) sprinkle with the pearl sugar or almonds.
9. Bake in the middle of the oven at 250°C for approximately 5 minutes, until golden.
10. Cool slightly on the tray then transfer to a wire rack. Can be served while warm or completely cooled.
11. Store in airtight container or freeze once the buns have cooled completely.

Note

Low Chemical / Failsafe, High Amines and Salicylates

Refer to the recipes for the Basic Swedish Bun Dough and Vanilla Sugar.

Almonds are High in Amines and Salicylates.

Pearl sugar is a coarse sugar crystal that doesn't melt when put in the oven.  It can be purchased online, but I don't know what the salicylate content is.

 

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One Response to Buns for Easter, or Any Time!

  1. Evelyn says:

    YUMMY!! 🙂