Ingredients
Buns
- 600 gplain flour
- 250 mlmilk
- 100 gbutter, softened
- 80 gsugar
- 1egg
- 12 ginstant yeast
- 1 tspsalt
- 2 tspfreshly ground cardamom
Custard
- 400 mlmilk
- 4egg yolks
- 80 gsugar
- 30 gcornflour
- 1 tspvanilla
- 20 gbutter
To finish
- 200 gicing sugar
- 2 tbspwater or lemon juice
- 100 gdesiccated coconut
To glaze
- 1egg, beaten
Directions
- Make the custard first so it has time to chill. Heat the milk to just below a simmer. Whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour together until smooth. Pour the hot milk onto the yolks in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Hot milk tipped onto yolks all at once scrambles them instantly.
- Return it to the pan and cook, whisking, until it thickens and boils. Let it boil for a full minute, which cooks out the starch and stops it thinning again later. Beat in the butter and vanilla, then press cling film onto the surface and chill it. Film against the surface stops a skin forming, and a skin becomes lumps.
- Warm the milk to blood heat and mix with the yeast. Add the flour, sugar, salt, egg and cardamom and mix to a dough. Knead for 5 minutes, then add the softened butter piece by piece and keep kneading. Add the butter after the gluten has started to form.
- Butter added at the beginning coats the flour and the dough never develops properly. Knead 10 minutes in total until smooth, glossy and elastic. Prove for about an hour until doubled. Divide into 12 and roll each into a tight ball.
- Roll them tight, cupping your palm over the dough and moving it in circles on the work surface, which builds surface tension and gives a round high bun. Set them well apart on lined trays and prove 45 minutes. Press right down and make the well wide, because it rises and closes up considerably in the oven. Pipe or spoon a generous amount of the cold custard into each well.
- Fill them properly. Brush the exposed dough with beaten egg, keeping it off the custard. Bake at 200°C (390°F) for 12 to 15 minutes until golden. The custard should be just set and lightly coloured on top. Cool them completely before icing. Ice on a warm bun simply runs off and melts away, so wait.
- Make it thick rather than runny, so it sits on the bun instead of sliding down the sides. Now the finish, which is done in a particular way. Brush or spread the icing in a ring around the custard, leaving the custard itself bare.
- Dip the iced ring into the desiccated coconut, or scatter coconut over the icing. Do the coconut while the icing is still wet, or it will not stick at all. Serve them the day they are made, which is when they are best.
Technique
- Ready-made custard powder is widely used in Norwegian home baking and is entirely acceptable.
- They are best fresh and go stale within a day.
- The Swedish and Danish bakeries have their own close relatives.
Substitutions
- Custard powder made up thick, in place of a scratch custard.
- Ground cardamom if whole pods are unavailable, using more of it.
Variations
- Made without coconut, which some prefer.
- With a thicker layer of icing.
- Made large, as one sharing bun.
History
A Norwegian bakery standard whose name means school bread, long a packed-lunch treat.
Frequently asked questions
What is Skolebrød?
Skolebrød is a bread & pastry from Norway: cardamom bun with a vanilla custard centre, iced and rimmed with coconut. A Norwegian bakery standard whose name means school bread, long a packed-lunch treat.
How long does Skolebrød take to make?
Skolebrød takes 40 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 buns. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Skolebrød?
Yes, within limits. Custard powder made up thick, in place of a scratch custard. Ground cardamom if whole pods are unavailable, using more of it.
What is the most important thing to get right in Skolebrød?
Butter added at the beginning coats the flour and the dough never develops properly. Knead 10 minutes in total until smooth, glossy and elastic. Prove for about an hour until doubled. Divide into 12 and roll each into a tight ball.
