Original Recipes
Over the past almost 2 years, we have posted a total of 135 recipes including this one! That means that we have nearly covered most of the basics of Danish baked goods. There are, of course, some more recipes that we are working on and some that we may not cover. Sadly, some of the very complex desserts and cakes in Danish bakeries are slightly above our level of expertise. But, now the fun really begins! While our recipes are always our own, we have not come up with the idea of the baked goods on our own. With the basics covered, we now get to put our own twist on things. So, we want to share recipes that are original, as well as recipes that are a combination of our favorite things, like this one!
Kanelsnegle & Bread
Can you guess the two other recipes that combine to create this one? Hint: it’s in the heading! 😂 Yes, this loaf of bread combines our favorite pastry, cinnamon rolls (kanelsnegle – find the recipe here!), and a loaf of soft white bread. This is definitely not “original,” since you can buy cinnamon swirl bread in many grocery stores here in the US. But we were inspired by two of our favorite Danish foods, kanelsnegle and franskbrød! When you combine the two, you end up with slices of soft and fluffy bread that have a delicious cinnamon flavor and a slight sweetness. You can eat the bread on its own but you can also top it with butter, jam, Nutella, peanut butter, etc. However you eat it, it is absolutely delicious!
Making Kanelbrød
If you have ever made a loaf of sandwich bread or any kind of cinnamon swirl or roll, this will be a very simple process for you! If not, don’t worry – it’s really easy! Once the dough is made, kneaded, and has risen once, roll it out into a rectangle. Brush with egg (this helps the cinnamon and sugar stick and means the final bread will have fewer gaps in it) and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Then, roll this up into a loaf, pinching the ends together and making sure the seam has been pinched together as well. Place this into a loaf pan to rise again before baking it! We love this recipe and we hope you try it out. Leave us a comment down below if you do!
Kanelbrød (Cinnamon Swirl Bread)
Ingredients
Dough
- 200 ml (3/4 cup + 1 tbsp) milk
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active dry yeast, 17.5g fresh yeast)
- 1.5 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg yolk (keep egg white for the filling!)
- 1 tsp salt
- 350 grams (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose or bread flour
- 42 grams (3 tbsp) butter, softened
Filling
- 1 egg white (leftover from the dough)
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) sugar
- 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
- 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 sugar, stir, and leave it for 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble up, meaning your yeast is alive and not expired.
- Add the egg yolk and salt to a large bowl 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 mix the dough in a stand mixer.
- Knead 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 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 loaf pan (we used a medium sized loaf pan) by buttering the sides of the pan and cutting a piece of parchment paper to lay across the pan.
- To shape the loaf, dump the dough out on a clean surface. One of the shorter sides should face you.
- Using your hands or a rolling pin, stretch it out into a rectangle, with a width equivalent to the size of your loaf pan and to a thickness somewhere around 1/2 inch.
- Brush the dough with the egg white (which you can whisk with some water to get a less gloopy consistency).
- Then, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top. Leave small gaps without filling on each of the four sides so you can pinch together the dough.
- Start rolling from the end closest to you, keeping the roll very tight. Once you have rolled it up, pinch together the ends and the seam, and roll the loaf against the countertop lightly to create surface tension and help close the crease on the bottom of the loaf.
- Place the loaf in the loaf pan seam side down. Cover the loaf and let it rise for another 30 mins to an hour, until doubled in size. While it is rising, preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C).
- Once the loaf is ready, brush with egg wash.
- Bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when you tap it. Let it cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing and enjoy!
Brilliant recipe.
Thank you so much!
Hi ! What a great recipe you have !
I’ll definitely try it, but what the size of the pan do you use?
Hi – yay, so happy to hear it! It’s a medium-sized loaf pan, which is about 8.5 by 4.5 inches. You could also use a large loaf pan (9 by 5 inches) but the loaf just won’t be as tall. Hope that helps 🙂