I have dreamed of having a nice, soft cardamom roll for as long as I have stopped eating gluten. I have tried many recipes and they work, somehow, but mostly, the result is either a soft but a flat, really flat, version or then a beautifully shaped, hard, rock-type of a ball.
In my childhood, cardamom rolls were the type of homey treat I guess cookies are in the States or scones in Britain. The usual version (originally a combo of milk, yeast, cardamom, sugar and wheat - give or take eggs and a dash of salt, sprinkled with sugar) were baked often and devoured as a snack or with tea.
In February, during Laskiainen, Shrove Tuesday, the same roll is filled with whipped cream and yam or marzipan. The marzipan version is a Swedish tradition and a tradition I followed as a child - and I still think that is the only proper "laskiaispulla".
During Christmas, the rolls were made more posh with saffron. The seasoning gave them a beautiful colour and a lovely taste, as well as a bit more luxury.
Yesterday, I dove head into the bun thing. Earlier on, I discovered this recipe:
http://keliakia.blogspot.fi/2011/02/nyt-se-onnistui-pulla.html
It seemed good, but I had some concerns.
See, before my gluten-free life began, I loved making bread. I dare to say I was really good at it. I enjoyed the feeling of creating gluten in the dough. It was a full-on process, chemistry. And it was good. And that is why it took me so long to realise that gluten-free baking is not such a vivid, fun process. Once I adapted and turned my thinking upside-down, baking bread, rolls and other (often yeast) bakes got a lot easier.
Here´s my list:
1. In a normal dough, you create gluten with your kneading. This, together with yeast, will make the bread/roll inflate with air and give you nice, soft results.
In a gluten-free dough, you need to whisk the dough (I know, sound silly) to create the air bubbles, because there is not gluten to help you out with it.
2. When making a normal dough, you will let it rise twice. In the middle, you will smash out the air bubbles and wake up the dough with a bit more kneading. Then you let the dough rise again.
In a gluten-free dough, you must not let it rise more than once. You can not knead the dough even once. After you have swelled the psyllium (if you are using any) and the flour (yes, that too, because gluten-free flour tends to be a lot drier than what flour) you have to gently form the dough into balls, or whatever is your desired shape, and then let them rise, rather quickly.
For me, these 2 thigs were the most important lessons to learn.
And ta-daa, on to the recipe, finally!
Cardamom rolls with saffron
Ingredients:
5 dl milk, at aroun 45 degrees Celsius
2 tsp Psyllium
1 small container of saffron (about 1-2 grams)
½ tsp salt
2 dl sugar
1 tbsp ground cardamom
2 eggs
7 dl flour (gluten-free mix)
2 dl of rice flour
2 bags of yeast
Method:
Heat the milk up to about 45 degrees Celsius. It needs to be hotter than your hand, because it will sit for a while until the yeast is added. Add the salt, sugar, cardamom, saffron and psyllium and whisk shortly with an electric mixer. Leave to sit (and swell) for about 2 minutes, whisk again and give it another 2 minutes.
In the meantime, mix together the rice flour, yeast and the gluten-free flour mix. (The original recipe suggest putting in only half of the flour mix at this point and the rest after the swelling time. You choose and tell me how it went)
To the milk, add the eggs. whisking well. Next, add the flour mix. Whisk well, for at least 3 minutes. Then, let the dough stand (and swell) for about 10 minutes. No more than 15, though, you do not want to kill the yeast.
Then, flour your hands and scoop out the dough. It will be a bit looser than a standard dough, but you should be able to manage it in your hands nonetheless. Gently roll them into balls in your hands, place them on a lined baking tray. You will probably need to flour your hands before each rolling session.
Cover the rolls/buns with a cloth and let them rise for about 30 minutes.
Before placing the rolls in the oven, gently brush them with a lightly mixed egg and sprinkle with sugar. (On a Christmas roll, raisins are typically used but they are not my cup of tea.)
Bake at 200 degrees Celsius, for about 10-12 minutes, until nice and golden brown.
This recipe will make about 15 rolls.
Let me know if it worked out for you!
