An adventure in Scandinavian baking, from starter to finish. In Scandinavia, people are crazy about cardamom buns. They’re usually much drier than I’d like, and after much testing I’ve found that the secret to making a much moister bun is underproofing the dough. Normally, baking something that’s underproofed is nothing but disappointing, but in this instance it’s the way to go. A slightly underproofed centre lets the dough hold on to that sticky, gooey texture you want in a cardamom (or cinnamon) bun.
Prep 10 min. Prove 3 hr. Chill Overnight. Cook 1 hr 50 min. Makes 12. 125g rye flour. 125g warm water (28C/84F). For the starter. 60g hot water (40C/104F). 60g wholewheat flour. 24g 12-hour wheat or rye starter – see method. For the dough. 204g plain flour. 204g bread flour. 55g sugar. 41g milk powder. 143g warm water (30C/86F). 65g eggs. 122g freshly fed starter (see above). 8g salt. 4g instant dry yeast. 102g butter. 51g neutral oil. For the cardamom sugar.
252g sugar. 16g ground cardamom. 3g salt. For the cardamom schmear. 200g softened butter. 100g cardamom sugar (above). For the cardamom syrup. 71g cardamom sugar (above). 29g water. To finish. 60g softened butter, for greasing. A pinch of ground cardamom, to garnish. In a clean jar or plastic container, combine 50g of the rye flour and 50g of the water and mix well by hand to form a dough. It will be quite sticky. Use a dough scraper to scrape any excess from your fingers and back into the mixture. Take its temperature: if it’s below 25C, set the container in a larger container of warm water to bring it up a few degrees. The water should completely surround the starter container to insulate it. Put a lid on the container. As long as you’re keeping the starter warm enough, you can leave it alone for 24 hours.
Check on your starter: To be honest, it probably won’t look all that different. It may have separated a bit, with some liquid at the top, and if that’s the case, just mix the liquid back in. Put your clean fingers into the mixture and stir it around a bit, to add some oxygen. Take its temperature and warm the container in warm water as necessary. Cover the container and let it sit again for 24 hours.
By now, you should be seeing some noticeable bubbling and expansion in the mixture. Add 25g of the flour and 25g of the water and mix it in by hand. Scrape the excess off your fingers and add it to the mixture. The next day, check for bubbling and expansion, which should be evident by day four. Discard half the mixture and mix in the remaining 50g flour and 50g water. If there is no evidence of fermentation in your mixture, and if you see red or orange streaks of mould or other visible growths, chuck it out, buy some fresh flour, and start over.
By day five, you should have a nicely fermented starter, with real, clear signs of active life. You are now ready to use this starter to make bread. From here, you will maintain a daily feeding schedule by discarding about 90% of it and refreshing it with flour and water, equal parts by weight. For a rye starter, you can do this once a day. For wheat, I recommend feeding it twice a day. In a medium bowl, use your hands to mix the water, flour, and 12-hour starter for a minute or so, then take the mix’s temperature: it should be 30-35C (86-95F). If it isn’t, put the bowl into a larger bowl of warm or cold water, depending on which direction you need it to go. Scrape the excess mixture off your fingers back into the bowl, then rinse your hands in the bowl of warm water. Now, use a plastic scraper to push the starter mix together, getting everything off the insides of the bowl and into one cohesive body, then cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave the freshly fed starter in a warm, draught-free place. Set a timer for 45 minutes.
Once the starter is ready, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine both the flours with the sugar, milk powder, water, eggs and starter, and mix on medium speed to combine. The mixture will look wet at this point. Let it rest for 30 minutes. Add the salt and yeast, and mix the dough thoroughly on medium for about 10 minutes, until completely smooth and very strong. Add half the butter and mix again until fully incorporated. Add the remaining butter and mix again until that, too, is incorporated. Add the half the oil, allow it to be completely absorbed, then add the rest. Ideally, the dough shouldn’t be too warm (not higher than 82F/ 28C).
Transfer the dough to an oiled container that’s large enough to hold double its size and leave to ferment at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour, until bubbly and slightly increased in volume. Cover with a tea towel and refrigerate overnight, or for up to 12 hours. Make the cardamom sugar: In a bowl, combine the sugar, cardamom and salt, and mix well, cover and set aside. The next day, make the cardamom schmear. In a small bowl, combine the butter and 100g cardamom sugar, and mix until the sugar is well incorporated. Keep this mixture at room temperature so that it will spread easily across the dough.
