Food Friday: Swedish cinnamon buns

Buying cinnamon rolls at Gunnarsons on Södermalm. The editor in me can't resist pointing out that the sign spells kanelbullar with an extra L!

Kanelbullar or cinnamon rolls.

Meatballs are the food that most of the world associates with Sweden. But after living here, I would have to say that  kannelbullar – otherwise known as cinnamon rolls to most of us – are even more pervasive in daily life. Kanelbullar are an institution in Sweden. In fact, they are so important that they have their own day – it was yesterday – October 4th. Every bakery and grocery store has to have them, even 7-11 has pretty decent ones.

When I turned on the news yesterday morning, the first segment I saw was of a Swedish chef baking kanelbullar. And when I stopped at a bakery to get some, they had a display devoted to the buns in the window. By the way, kanelbullar are yeast rolls and are flavored not only with cinnamon, but also with cardamom. The buns are topped with pearl sugar – large grains of sugar that look like sea salt. Here’s a basic recipe from Stockholm food blogger Anne. By the way, Demerara and turbinado sugar are both often referred to as “raw sugar” in the United States. Another recipe note: proof = rise.

Last week’s Food Friday was Swedish meatballs.

The kanelbullar display at Gunnarsons.

Tagged as: cinnamon rolls recipe, Gunnarsons, kanelbullens dag, Södermalm, Swedish cinnamon bun, Swedish kanelbullar recipe