Norwegian Boller Recipes

NORWEGIAN BOLLER

Steps:

• Mix the warm milk (about 100F), melted butter, sugar and yeast together in a large bowl. Let it stand for 10 mins unntil the yeast is foamy. Add the salt and cardemon. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, stirring to mix after each addition. Stir in the raisins if you are using them. The dough will be pretty sticky at this point.
• Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
• Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a floured surface. Sprinkle top with flour and knead briefly (for just a couple of minutes) Make sure you flour hands a lot to be able to do the next step. Break off pieces of dough about the size of a large golf ball and roll in your hands to make them round and smooth.
• Place the balls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet and cover. Let them rise for about 30-40 minutes.
• Brush the tops with beaten egg white and bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Cool about 15 minutes before eating and then enjoy with butter, or chese and meat, or just plain!

SWEET "SCHOOL BUNS" WITH CUSTARD AND COCONUT (SKOLEBOLLER/SKOLEBRøD)

Steps:

• Make the buns and pastry cream as directed.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• After the 12 buns have completed their second rise, use your thumb or a small spoon to make a depression in each ball and spoon in a tablespoon of the pastry cream. Brush with the beaten egg.
• Bake in the center of the oven, one sheet at a time, for about 10 minutes, or until golden on top--watch carefully as they can quickly turn too dark. Rotate if needed for even baking. If they're browning too quickly and the insides need additional time, cover the tops with a sheet of foil. Remove the buns from the oven and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
• While the buns cool, make the icing. In a medium bowl, gradually whisk the milk into the confectioners' sugar until you have a smooth, thick icing. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla extract.
• Brush the top of each bun, around the pastry cream, with the icing, then dip into the dried coconut. Set aside to dry, then serve.

NORWEGIAN SKILLINGSBOLLER (CINNAMON BUN PASTRIES)

Steps:

• Mix all the dry ingredients (minus cardamom) in a bowl. Put the yeast and salt on separate sides of the bowl, because the salt can mess with the yeast's ability to activate.
• In a small saucepan stir together the butter and milk until the butter melts, and add the cardamom as well. Heat it up to around 98.6 degrees---keep a close eye, because you don't want it to boil!
• Once the milk and butter mixture has cooled a bit (it needs to be at least below the 98.6 F temp), add it to the dry ingredients and mix it all together. I prefer to do this in my stand mixer and add the liquid slowly while the mixer is on low. Put cling wrap over the bowl and let it rise at least 30 minutes in a lukewarm place (the dough should double; for me this is more like an hour).
• Once the dough has doubled in size, sprinkle some flour on your counter and roll out the dough. It helps to make the dough into a rectangle shape to begin with, then use the rolling pin to keep it that way as you roll it out decently thin. You can see in my pictures the thickness I used---there's no rule for what it should be, I just like a lot of filling so wanted thinner dough.
• Soften some butter until it's spreadable and spread onto your rolled-out dough. Sprinkle on the cinnamon and sugar to your own taste (I like mind to be super gooey), then roll it up. On one of the long sides, tack the dough to the counter with your fingers, then start rolling from the other side (keeping it long). Try to get a nice, tight roll with no gaps. Once it's rolled up, make sure the dough sticks to seal the roll, then use a sharp serrated knife or a scraper to cut pieces about 1 inch apart.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the dough pieces, leaving plenty of spaces between them. Cover with a large plastic bag (or kitchen towel) and let them sit in a lukewarm place for about 30-45 minutes for additional rise. Preheat your oven to 435 F (or 225 C). Right before popping them in the oven, mix up a quick egg wash and use a pastry brush to add a layer to the top of the buns.
• Bake for 13-15 minutes, until they are golden on top. Let them rest for 10-15 minutes after you take them out of the oven before eating.

NORWEGIAN CARDAMOM ROLLS SJOKOLADEBOLLER

Steps:

• Warm the milk to lukewarm (about 20°C). Crumble the fresh yeast in the milk and stir to dissolve.
• Combine the flour, sugar and finely ground cardamom in a mixing bowl. Pour in the milk and yeast mixture. Mix with an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook for 10 minutes.
• Add the softened butter little by little, always mixing to incorporate.
• Stop the mixer and add the chocolate chips. Stir them in with a rubber spatula. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 1 1/2 hour.
• After the first rise, take the dough out of the bowl. Divide it into 9 smaller balls aiming for the same weight. It is easy to weigh the dough and divide its weight by 9.
• Place the 9 balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, gently flattening their bottom. Let proof for 45 minutes.
• Gently brush 3 tbsp milk on top of each ball to moisten them before baking. Alternatively you can use eggwash, which will give the buns a shinier finish.
• Bake in the pre-heated oven at 225°C (440°F) for 12 minutes.