Kanelstang - Danish cinnamon twist

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Kanelstang - Danish cinnamon twist

This Danish sweet bread is a bit like a loaf of cinnamon rolls and is deliciously sweet, soft and aromatic.

Prep Time30

Cook Time20

rest time1 45

Total Time50

Course: Brunch, Snack

Cuisine: Danish

Servings: approximately

Calories: 285kcal

Author: Caroline

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Ingredients

For the dough

½ cup milk
1 egg divided, use rest for egg wash
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour plain flour
1 ½ teaspoon fast acting yeast
3 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom if freshly ground, double if pre-ground
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon unsalted butter softened

For the filling

4 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ cup light brown sugar
½ tablespoon ground cinnamon

To bake and optional decoration

egg leftover from above - won't use all
4 tablespoon confectioner's sugar icing sugar
1 teaspoon water or a drop or two more as needed

Instructions

Forming dough & first rise ( around 1 hour)

Warm the milk gently and set aside - I usually just give it around 30 seconds in the microwave. Whisk the egg and divide in half. You will use half in the dough and save the other half for egg wash before baking.
Place the flour, salt, yeast, sugar and cardamom in a bowl and whisk to mix. Add the butter in small chunks and rub in to break up the pieces. Add most of the milk, reserving a little in case not all is needed, and the half egg for the dough. Bring the mixture together , adding the rest of the milk assuming it is needed - it will be relatively soft and sticky, so if it's not, you likely need all the milk. Bring the dough together in a ball and turn it out on to a lightly floured surface. Knead for around 5 minutes until it is no longer sticky and the dough feels smooth. Note, you can also do the mixing and kneading in a stand mixer, just give it a little less time kneading.
Put the dough into a clean, lightly-buttered or oiled bowl and cover. Set aside in a warm place for around one hour to double in size.

Filling and forming loaf

When the dough is almost done with it's first rise, mix together the butter, sugar and cinnamon for the filling. It should be a relatively smooth paste.
Roll the dough out into a relatively thin rectangle, approximately 11 x 15 inch (30 x 38cm). Spread the filling evenly over the top, leaving a strip around the edges without filling around ½ inch (1.5cm) or slightly more. Roll up the dough on the shorter side, but not too tight, so you get a log similar to making cinnamon rolls.
Transfer the roll to a lined baking sheet/tray (line with parchment or silicone mat). Using clean scissors or a sharp knife, cut the dough roughly every ¾ to 1 inch (2 - 2.5cm) cutting around ½ to ¾ of the way through - don't cut all the way to the bottom.
Push the pieces out to the sides left and right alternating and bunch them up slightly by pressing the ends in a little so you get almost like small buds on a stem (see pictures). You can pull or flatten the sections a bit more than I have here, as you prefer.

Second rise (around 45 minutes) then baking

Gently cover and set aside to prove for around 45 minutes - it won't rise too much but it will get slightly puffy. Towards the end of this time, preheat the oven to 350F/175C.
Lightly brush the log with the reserved egg then bake for around 18 - 22 minutes until the loaf is golden all over and gently crisp. Take out of the oven and scrape in any leaked filling to help it crystalize by the loaf. Leave to cool on the baking sheet until it's just gently warm.

Decorating (optional)

If adding glaze, place the confectioner's sugar in a small bowl and add the water. Add a drop or two more if needed to form a smooth glaze that will drizzle but relatively thickly. Drizzle over the cooled loaf and let dry slightly before slicing.

Notes

For baking, I highly recommend weighing ingredients for more accurate results.

One egg should divide roughly into 2 x 2tbsp.

When you roll out the dough, you can make it a little smaller if you like to then have slightly less layers with a bit more filling in. Some also add an additional filling of vanilla pastry cream which you can certainly add if you like, just spread a thin layer on top of the cinnamon-sugar-butter mixture.

Nutrition (per serving)

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