Cozy Bakes
You may have seen that last week, we posted a new blog post entitled “Cozy Recipes for Sunday Baking.” We were inspired by our love for chilled out and relaxed Sunday baking. It is a great way to unwind and also prepare lots of delicious baked goods for the week ahead. I, for example, love a Sunday where I have time to bake both bread and a dessert. Not only do I save time over the next few days, but I’m also not tempted to spend money on store-bought things. My go-to bread recipe is probably our recipe for landbrød, or country bread (recipe here!), because it is no-knead and so easy. But, as loaves can sometimes go stale over the course of a week, I also love baking rolls!
Comfort in a Bread Roll
In my opinion, rolls are easier than loaves to store in the fridge or freezer. Plus, you can easily and quickly heat them up in the microwave for a nice warm breakfast or snack! This brings us to today’s recipe, which is for a very cozy apple bread roll perfect for your Sunday to-do list.
These are certainly not our invention, as many Danes make them. Basically, Danes love to find any and every way to add fruits and veggies into bread, which is our favorite thing in the world. But, this recipe is based on our recipe for gulerodsboller (carrot rolls). We add cinnamon to enhance the flavor of the apple and channel some autumnal vibes, one of our favorite times of year. We do squeeze out some liquid from the grated apple, just so that the dough isn’t far too wet. However, the moisture that is left makes these rolls so incredibly soft and pillowy. You can’t resist one of these, fresh out of the oven and smothered in butter!
How to Make Æbleboller
The recipe is simple! As I have already mentioned, do make sure to squeeze out some moisture from your grated apple before making the dough. Otherwise, simply bloom your yeast, combine your ingredients, and knead together well (for about 10 minutes). The dough should, at the very least, be smooth and not sticky. If you are patient enough, you should continue kneading until it passes the windowpane test. Let this rise until doubled in size. Then, shape your rolls (the recipe below has instructions for how to shape them so you get perfectly round and smooth buns). Let these rise another 30 minutes or so. Then bake, let cool for a bit, and enjoy! Any toppings will be delicious – we would highly recommend the Scandi classics: butter, jam, cheese. Leave us a comment below if you try them!
Æbleboller (Apple Bread Rolls)
Ingredients
- 200 ml (~3/4 cup + 1-2 tbsp) milk
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active dry yeast, 17.5g fresh yeast)
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 150 grams grated apple (about 2 medium apples) *the grated apple was weighed after squeezing out the liquid! see the recipe for details.
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 475 grams (~4 cups) bread or all-purpose flour
- 42 grams (3 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg for egg wash
Instructions
- Heat the milk, in the microwave or a saucepan, until it is “fingervarm” (finger warm), meaning it should feel warm to the touch but not hot. Add your yeast and one tablespoon of the sugar, stir, and leave it for 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble up, meaning your yeast is alive and not expired.
- Grate the apple; place the apple into a clean cloth or sturdy paper towel; squeeze liquid out of the apple over the sink – try to get as much liquid out as possible!
- Add the remaining two tablespoons of sugar, egg yolk, grated apple, cinnamon, and salt to a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) and mix well. Once the yeast mixture has bubbled up a bit, add it to the egg mixture. Mix well.
- Slowly add the flour and softened butter, mixing with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together. You can also do this in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.
- Knead with your hands until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky; it should be soft and smooth, not too sticky nor too dry. Use a stand mixer to knead the dough if you would prefer!
- Cover the dough with cling film or a clean dishtowel and place in the fridge overnight for 8 hours, or let rise at room temperature (if room temp is very cold wherever you are, put it in a warm place, i.e. under a light) for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Once your dough has doubled in size, prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. To shape the rolls properly, you should first divide your dough into 12 equal portions.
- Take a portion, pinch together into a ball shape, then cup it in your hand with the top of the roll touching your palm. Place your hand on an unfloured surface with the seam touching the table. Move your cupped hand in quick, tight circles – this will cause the seam to come together and create tension on the surface of the dough, meaning it will rise upwards in the oven, instead of flattening.
- Repeat with the 12 remaining portions of dough!
- Cover and let rise for another 45 minutes to an hour. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C)
- Once the buns have risen, brush with egg wash.
- Bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack, then enjoy!
I inhaled the first two hot out of the oven with butter and jam and the rest I made into iced buns – divine! :-p
Yay, so happy to hear it! Iced buns sounds amazing – will have to do that next time I make these! Thanks for your comment 🙂