Korvapuusti is a kind of pulla, which is basically cardamom-flavoured bread with stuff. This particular one is with a lot of cinnamon, and shaped like a weird thing. In fact, the original name means "slapped ear", which is very, very descriptive. Not about the taste, though. Not that I would know how a slapped ear would taste..
They are eaten in abundance in Finland, but also in Sweden and Norway, where they are known as Kanelbulle and Skillingsbolle respectively, and they have slightly different shapes (but very similar).
ingredients
for dough:
1 cup (~250ml) luke-warm milk
1 sachet (7-11g) dried yeast (or even better, 50g of fresh yeast)
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1+ tbsp cardamom
4-5 tbsp sugar
about 700g regular or fine wheat flour (or just plain flour, if you can't find)
3-4 tbsp warm, melted butter
for filling:
2 tbsp warm, melted butter
brown sugar (or normal, but brown tastes better), cinnamon and vanilla-sugar.
1 egg (for brushing on top before you put them in the oven)
For the filling it really depends on how much you want and how many rolls you're making - but as a guideline, I use more sugar than cinnamon, and more cinnamon than vanilla sugar/extract.
for dough:
1 cup (~250ml) luke-warm milk
1 sachet (7-11g) dried yeast (or even better, 50g of fresh yeast)
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1+ tbsp cardamom
4-5 tbsp sugar
about 700g regular or fine wheat flour (or just plain flour, if you can't find)
3-4 tbsp warm, melted butter
for filling:
2 tbsp warm, melted butter
brown sugar (or normal, but brown tastes better), cinnamon and vanilla-sugar.
1 egg (for brushing on top before you put them in the oven)
For the filling it really depends on how much you want and how many rolls you're making - but as a guideline, I use more sugar than cinnamon, and more cinnamon than vanilla sugar/extract.
1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk, and then mix in the salt, cardamom and sugar, and whisk in the egg.
2. Start mixing in the flour (I use a plain knife to mix around the mixture as I add the flour, until I get a consistent texture with which I can work with my hands - otherwise it gets quite messy for my hands), and before you add all of the flour, also add the wet butter and mix well.
3. Knead on a lightly-floured surface for about 5 minutes, and keep adding flour if necessary, until you get a not-so-sticky dough.
4. Oil the bottom of a bowl with a bit of butter, and put the dough in there. Also spread/brush some melted butter on the exposed surface of the dough, cover, and let in a warm place to rise to twice the size (about 30-45').
5. Re-knead the dough for another 2-3 minutes, and split in half. Roll out each of the halves (use a wine bottle if you don't have a rolling pin) to a rectangle/square, until the dough is quite thin (less than 1 cm).
6. Spread some melted butter on the surface, but don't go quite all the way to the edges. Then, start sprinkling the mixture (I use a LOT because I like my cinnamon a LOT), but contain the sprinkled area even more than the buttered area.
7. Roll the dough, starting from the wider end to a narrower end, pressing firmly, and once you've rolled it, cut the dough using a non-serrated knife in the shape shown below. Vary the angle at which you cut the pieces to get different shapes (I make about 6 korvapuusti per half the dough).
8. Turn the korvapuusti so that the thin side is on top, and squeeze slightly on top to give them the shape and make sure they STAY PUT. Place the korvapuusti on a tray, but leave space between them because they will rise. Cover and let rise for another 30-45', or until they've doubled (again) in size.
9. Brush the top of the korvapuusti with some beaten egg, and then you can sprinkle sugar on top of them (even better, use coarse or rock sugar).
10. Put in a pre-heated oven at 225˚C (or 440˚F) (200˚C/380˚F for fan ovens) (and gas mark 7 for gas ovens), and bake them for about 8-10 minutes, or until they look DELICIOUS!
You can always serve them with jam or honey, or you can just throw them out of the window. But I think throwing them out of the window might annoy people walking below it. If you have a garden you can throw it out in the garden. But that would also be a waste. Well, not really, because it will decompose and become food for the plants in your garden. If you don't have plants in your garden, you suck.
