Recipe Cinnamon buns with juniper berries

Hemulen

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Cinnamon buns with juniper berries

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Preparation: ~2 hours
6-7 medium-sized buns

Buns:

2 dl skimmed, lukewarm milk
11 g active dry yeast or 20-25 g fresh yeast
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
6-7 juniper berries, crushed in mortar
1 dl caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg (room temperature)
6 dl (about 300g) plain flour + 1 dl for flouring the tabletop
50 g softened (lightly salted) butter

Filling:

2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
1 dl brown (demerara/turbinado) sugar
50 g softened (lightly salted) butter

Spread:

1 whisked egg
2-3 tblsp brown sugar

Warm the milk e.g. in the microwave until it’s lukewarm (~40°C for active dry yeast and ~37°C for fresh yeast).
Mix the yeast well into the milk with a wooden spoon/spatula. Add the cardamon, juniper berries, sugar, salt and egg and whisk a little.
Add half of the flour and mix with the spatula in a bowl. Add the rest of the flour in parts and knead patiently for 8-10 minutes. Add the butter towards the end to form a smoother texture. This dough is supposed to be rather loose and sticky. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1,5 – 2 hours in a draft-free place in room temperature.

Mix the filling.

Flour the tabletop abundantly. Sprinkle some flour on the risen dough and knead it for 10 seconds to remove excess air. Form a rectangle with a rolling pin and spread/sprinkle the filling on top. Leave about 1,5 cm blank on the edges to prevent gushing out while rolling and baking. Roll the dough along the longer end of the rectangle. Pull back a little while rolling to form a firm roll. Cut the roll into triangle form bits (without making a sharp peak). Place the wider edge of on the table and the narrow end upwards and press deep down along the narrow edge with your index fingers to form a ”double bun”. Let the buns rise for 20-30 min under a kitchen towel while you warm the oven (200°C). Smear the whisked egg on top of the buns with a baking brush for glazing. Sprinkle some sugar on top and bake on a baking plate lined with baking paper for 12-15 minutes.

Cinnamon buns/rolls are often seasoned with a pinch of saffron in Finland at Christmas time. In my opinion that isn't a very tasty combination as the taste of saffron is very sharp. Juniper berries (cones) are a bit milder despite their woody nature. This is the first time I tried them in cinnamon buns. My husband and I really enjoyed the taste with a good cup of coffee.

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^ I think juniper, cardamon, cinnamon, green bell pepper, chili, nutmeg, black and white peppercorns, allspice, turmeric and saffron are all woody and bitter flavors which go well together in apt proportions. Sour, acidic and sweet flavors and bold meat flavors like game and bacon balance their earthiness.
 
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green bell pepper,

Interesting you say this. I have a Corsican dish (with juniper) to write up which if you search on line usually uses red (bell) peppers. When I tasted it I thought to myself I should have used green - for the exact reason you cite. Subsequently I found an old Elizabeth David recipe for the dish in one of my cookery books and she specifies using green peppers.
 
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