Mandel och-kanellängder
Mandel och-kanellängder are the best “buns” for a crowd. The same sweet yeasted dough (vetedeg) we all know but in a slightly different format!
What is a längd?
Längd translates directly into length. So these are just “lengths” of buns. Instead of a bunch of individual buns, the dough is made into a long, kind of flat loaf.
When are they eaten?
Längder are a popular choice for get-togethers and the office fika. Everyone can take as big or as little of a piece as they want. They also dry out less quickly than a bun by itself, so they can sit out during the day, and everyone can take a piece as they will.
Learning to make them
When I first learned to make längder, I thought it would be most efficient to cut all the “leaves” and then move them side to side, creating the braid. I had been taught to move each “leaf” after cutting, but I wanted to try this other way and see if it worked better for me. I happened to try my way in front of my boss, and he got sooo mad at me. Apparently, the only efficient way was his way, moving as you cut. I was just trying to find out what would work best for me. But he was pissed and he wanted to yell at me, so that’s what he did. His level of anger was completely ridiculous for the small mistake. This is not unusual in the restaurant/bakery industry, but I’m still irritated about it, which is why I’m telling you this story.
Different things you can do with them
The great thing about längder is that they are just a shape; they can have any filling you want! While these are made with cinnamon and almond, they would also be great made with cardamom, plain cinnamon, blueberry, or butter/sugar. Choose any bun recipe you’d like and, instead of shaping into buns, just shape into längder!
Mandel och-kanellängder
Ingredients
- Dough:
- 200 g butter
- 550 g milk
- 1100 g flour
- 200 g sugar
- 15 g salt
- 23 g cardamom optional
- 70 g fresh yeast or 23g dry yeast if preferred
- Filling:
- 400 g almond paste
- 240 g butter room temperature
- 18 g cinnamon
- 30 g water
- Topping:
- Flaked almonds
- Pearl sugar
- 1 egg beaten
- Simple syrup equal parts sugar and water boiled together
Instructions
- Dough Preparation:
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine butter, milk, flour, sugar, salt, 23g cardamom, and fresh yeast (or 23g dry yeast).
- Attach the mixer’s hook attachment and mix on low speed for 5 minutes to bring the dough together.
- After 5 minutes, increase the speed to medium/medium-fast and continue mixing for about 30 minutes to build gluten strength. To check readiness, wet your fingers and stretch a piece of dough; it should become thin without tearing.
- Divide the dough into 5 equal portions (about 420g each).
- Shape each portion into a round ball and cover them with a tea towel. Let them rest for 20-30 minutes until fully relaxed while making the filling.
- Filling Preparation:
- Paddle almond paste in the stand mixer, gradually adding room-temperature butter until no lumps remain.
- Mix cinnamon and water to form a thick paste, then add it to the butter mixture. Paddle until homogeneous. Keep at room temperature.
- Assembly and Baking:
- Take one dough ball and roll it out into a flat, thin rectangle using a rolling pin.
- Repeat this step for all dough portions.
- Divide the filling equally among the dough pieces, spreading it in a thin, even layer.
- Roll each piece of dough into a log one by one.
- Using scissors, cut the logs at an angle to create “leaves” of dough, and arrange them alternately to the left and right.
- Let the logs proof for about 1 hour or until they double in size.
- Brush the beaten egg over the logs and sprinkle with pearl sugar and flaked almonds.
- Bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes.
- As soon as they come out of the oven, brush them with simple syrup.
- Enjoy your Mandel och-kanellängder!