Cardamom Buns
Swedish-style cardamom buns (kardemummabullar) made with freshly milled hard white wheat, rolled with butter and cardamom-sugar, knotted into stunning shapes, and topped with pearl sugar.
Key Takeaways
- Freshly toasted and ground cardamom is dramatically more aromatic than pre-ground.
- Letter-fold + slice + twist + knot is the shape — practice with one before the rest.
- Pearl sugar is traditional and stays crunchy after baking; coarse sugar is OK.
- Brush with egg wash for that bakery shine.
- Best eaten the day they're baked.
About this recipe
Scandinavian cardamom buns are a true baker's pastry: enriched yeasted dough rolled out, spread with butter and cardamom-sugar, folded in three, sliced into strips, and twisted into knots. The technique looks elaborate but is genuinely doable, and the resulting bun is one of the most aromatic things you can pull from your oven. Fresh milled hard white wheat gives the dough body and a slightly nutty character that pairs beautifully with cardamom. Toast and freshly grind your cardamom seeds if you can — pre-ground loses half its punch within weeks. Makes 12 generous buns.
Prep: 75 min
Bake: 14 min
Hydration: 60%
Ingredients
- Dough: freshly milled hard white wheat flour500 g
- Dough: whole milk (warm)200 g
- Dough: sugar60 g
- Dough: instant yeast7 g
- Dough: egg1 large
- Dough: ground cardamom10 g (1.5 tbsp)
- Dough: softened butter90 g
- Dough: fine sea salt8 g
- Filling: softened butter120 g
- Filling: brown sugar120 g
- Filling: ground cardamom8 g (1 tbsp)
- For finishing: 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water; pearl sugar
Instructions
- 1
Whisk milk, sugar, yeast, egg, and cardamom in a stand mixer bowl.
- 2
Add flour and salt. Mix until shaggy, then knead on medium 5 minutes.
- 3
Add softened butter a tablespoon at a time, kneading until each is absorbed. Knead 6 more minutes.
- 4
Bulk ferment 90 minutes until doubled.
- 5
Make filling: cream butter, brown sugar, and cardamom together.
- 6
Roll dough on a lightly floured counter to a 16x20 inch rectangle.
- 7
Spread filling evenly across the surface.
- 8
Fold the bottom third up over the middle, then the top third down (like a letter). You now have a long narrow rectangle.
- 9
Cut into 12 vertical strips.
- 10
Take one strip, hold one end down, and twist the other end. Wrap the twisted strip around two fingers, tucking the end through the loop — forms a knot.
- 11
Place knots on parchment-lined sheet pans with 2 inches of space.
- 12
Proof 60 minutes covered until puffed.
- 13
Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
- 14
Brush buns with egg wash and sprinkle with pearl sugar.
- 15
Bake 12–15 minutes until deeply golden.
- 16
Cool 10 minutes before serving.
home grain milling tutorial — hydration, gluten development, and grain choice tips that make this recipe work.
Learn about this grain: Hard White Wheat guide — flavor, milling notes, baking tips, and four in-depth guides on hydration, storage, and common mistakes. Or browse more Hard White Wheat recipes.
Learn a technique
All guides →- Bulk Fermentation with Fresh-Milled FlourFresh-milled flour ferments faster than commercial flour. Watch the dough, not the clock, and end bulk fermentation when volume has grown 50–75%.
- How To Build Gluten With Fresh Milled FlourGluten development in fresh-milled flour is a different craft than in commercial white flour. White-flour doughs love aggressive kneading, slap-and-folds, and stand mixers on high — the smooth endosperm forms long uninterrupted gluten strands quickly. Fresh-milled flour cannot work that way because the bran physically interrupts every gluten strand it touches. The bakers who get gorgeous open crumb out of fresh flour all do the same thing: hydrate fully, rest patiently, fold gently, and choose the right grain. This guide walks through the science and the technique.
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Related Techniques
Bulk Fermentation with Fresh-Milled Flour
Fresh-milled flour ferments faster than commercial flour. Watch the dough, not the clock, and end bulk fermentation when volume has grown 50–75%.
How To Build Gluten With Fresh Milled Flour
Gluten development in fresh-milled flour is a different craft than in commercial white flour. White-flour doughs love aggressive kneading, slap-and-folds, and stand mixers on high — the smooth endosperm forms long uninterrupted gluten strands quickly. Fresh-milled flour cannot work that way because the bran physically interrupts every gluten strand it touches. The bakers who get gorgeous open crumb out of fresh flour all do the same thing: hydrate fully, rest patiently, fold gently, and choose the right grain. This guide walks through the science and the technique.