Culture

These buns are an excellent winter treat. They take a wee bit of time and effort so they are a good option for procrastinators. I have no idea what makes them Norwegian; maybe it’s that they are baked in a roasting dish so they are rip-apart-able? It’s a bit like in first year when the hall claimed we were eating ‘Nepalese chicken’ or ‘Somalian lamb’ without any evidence that the meals were inspired by an international culinary culture at all. Nevertheless, Nigella calls them Norwegian buns, so I have called them Norwegian buns. This is another recipe from How To Be A Domestic Goddess – it’s seriously a must-own guide to all things delicious.

Dough:
600 g flour (but you’ll need a cup or two more)
100 g sugar
Half tsp salt
50 g dried active yeast activated in half a cup of warm water
100g butter
400ml milk
2 eggs
 
Filling:
150g butter
150g sugar
1 and a half tsp cinnamon
(I also chopped an apple into the mix; what is better than apple and cinnamon?)
 
 
Put your oven on at 230 degrees. Line a roasting tin (roughly 33cmx24cm) with baking paper.
First step is to make the dough. Combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Melt the butter, whisk in milk and eggs and stir into flour mixture. Mix, then knead until smooth and springy. Place in an oiled bowl and leave to rise for about 20 mins.
While it’s rising make the filling. Melt the butter and mix everything together.
Take one third of the dough and stretch it out to cover the bottom of your tin – this means each bun will have a firm bottom. Roll out the rest of the dough into a rectangle about 50cm x 25cm. Spread the filling mixture evenly over the dough. Roll it up from the longest side to make a giant cinnamon sausage. Cut the roll into 2cm slices and sit the rounds on top of the dough in the tin. Paint a wee bit of milk on them to make them nice and shiny. Leave for 10-15mins to rise then put in the hot oven and cook for 25 mins or until the buns are golden brown. Eat while warm. My flatmate insisted on slathering even more butter on his bun which considering how much butter is in these bad boys seems somewhat unnecessary. Oh well, they’re his thighs, I guess.