Norwegian School Bread | Skolebrød
A tasty childhood treat from Norway, these cardamom buns are filled with pastry cream, dipped in icing, and sprinkled with coconut. They are perfect with a cup of coffee for adults too!
Ingredients
Pastry Cream Ingredients
- 5 egg yolks
- 100 g granulated sugar ½ cup
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 250 ml whole milk 1 cup
- 250 ml heavy cream 1 cup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Sweet Bun Dough
- 500 ml whole milk 2 cups + 2 tbsp
- 150 g unsalted butter 10½ tbsp
- 2 tbsp ground cardamom
- 800 g bread flour 5¾ cups, strong flour (UK)
- 1 tsp salt
- 90 g granulated sugar ½ cup
- 17 g instant yeast 6 ½ tsp, if using active dry yeast: 20g/7 tsp, if using fresh yeast: 50g
Icing Ingredients
- 240 g powdered sugar 2 cups
- 2 tbsp water
Egg Wash
- 1 egg whisked with ½ eggshell's worth of milk
Garnish
- unsweetened shredded coconut as desired
Instructions
Making the Pastry Cream
- Begin the pastry cream at least 4 hours before making the buns because it needs to be fully chilled before using it in the recipe. You can make it a day or two in advance, if you prefer.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Cover the bowl and set aside.
- In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat, add the milk and cream to the pot and heat it gently until bubbles form around the edge, stirring often so it doesn't burn. Turn off the heat.
- Now, you're going to temper the eggs with the hot milk. This means that you will add a little bit of the hot milk to the egg mixture to prevent curdling when they are added to the pot. Put ⅓ of the hot milk in a pourable, glass measuring cup. Uncover the bowl and begin whisking the egg mixture, in a very slow but steady stream, whisk the eggs while drizzling in the milk. Whisk continuously to prevent curdling. Once fully mixed, pass it through a fine mesh sieve to catch any curdles that may have formed. Whisk the mixture into the rest of the milk in the pot.
- Turn the heat back to low / medium-low, and whisk the mixture continuously until it becomes thick. You're looking for a pudding-like consistency. Once it thickens, let it bubble and burp for 5 minutes over low heat, stirring continuously. Then remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Pass it again through a fine mesh sieve to strain out any curdles that may have formed during cooking.
- Transfer the mixture to a food storage container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pastry cream. Make sure the plastic wrap is touching the surface of the cream, so that a skin doesn't form on the pudding. Refrigerate the pastry cream until it is fully chilled through. This takes about 2-4 hours.
Making the Dough for the Buns
- In a small saucepan, gently heat the milk with the butter and the cardamom. Don't simmer or boil the mixture, just gently heat the milk to melt the butter and steep the cardamom in the warm liquid. This will help to bring out a stronger cardamom flavor in the finished buns.
- Transfer the warm mixture to a bowl to cool down to about 98℉ / 36℃ before moving on to the next step.
- Now, add the cooled milk mixture to a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Add in the yeast and sugar, and stir them in to dissolve. If using active dry yeast, let the mixture sit for 5 minutes to bloom the yeast before adding in the other ingredients.
- With the machine mixing on low speed, gradually add in the flour and salt. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl once all of the flour is incorporated. If the dough is too wet, add in 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough reaches the right consistency. Knead the dough on medium speed for 10 minutes, or until it can pass the windowpane test, which is where you stretch a small piece of dough and if it doesn't break and you can see light through it, then the gluten has properly developed.
- Put the dough in a large bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a damp towel and set it in a warm spot to rise for 30-45 minutes, or doubled in size.
- Once doubled in size, punch down the dough and then divide it into 20 equal pieces. You can eyeball the dough sizes, or you can weigh your dough in grams and then divide that number by 20. That number is the amount of grams each dough ball should weigh. Cover the balls of dough with plastic wrap while you shape them, so that the ones you aren't working on don't dry out.
- Form each piece into a ball by pulling in all sides towards the middle and pinching them together. Then put the seam side down on your work surface and roll the ball of dough under your hand in a circular motion to seal the seam. Place the formed balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet spaced a couple of inches apart. They fit best arranged 3 x 3. Cover them with plastic wrap and let them rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Make a well in the center of each risen bun by pulling it gently in a circular motion with your thumb. The well should be quite large because they spring back while baking. Cover them again with the plastic wrap again, while you prepare your pastry cream.
- Remove the pastry cream from the refrigerator and whisk it vigorously to loosen it up. Spoon it into a piping bag and cut a 1 inch opening at the tip of the bag. Pipe a couple of tablespoons of pastry cream into the well of each bun, evenly distributing it amongst all 20. Whisk together the egg wash and brush it onto the dough of the buns.
- Bake the buns in a 425℉ / 220℃ for 12-15 minutes, or until puffed up and golden brown. Cool them completely on a rack before icing them.
Decorating the Buns
- Whisk together the powdered sugar and water to form a thick but pourable icing. Spoon the icing around the edges of the buns (don't ice the custard center), and generously sprinkle the iced buns with the shredded coconut. Let the icing and coconut set for an hour or two before serving. This will prevent the icing from sliding off when eating them. These are best enjoyed the day they are made because they go stale quite quickly.