Swedish Cardamom Coffee Bread

I spent my 21st year nannying is Sweden and absolutely loved my time there. There were challenges of course, but it's such a beautiful country. The people are gentle and kind, most everyone has a high tolerance for American's and are very patient with us English speakers. AND the food! Marked with plenty of seafood and toasted with Aquavit, meals in Sweden are almost always a celebration of some sort. One of Sweden's best food traditions is Fika, which is "coffee break" and they do take it seriously with a daily ritual of strong coffee, and a pastry of some sort that is most often marked by liberal amounts of almond paste and cardamom. This recipe fits both of those qualifications.

Every year, I make this coffee bread for Christmas breakfast. One year I almost did not make it because I was so busy with other things, but everyone was so outraged that I ended up staying up until midnight on Christmas Eve to finish it. The ruination of Christmas was almost on my head. Can't have that people...no bueno!

Dough:

3 cups bread flour 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup crisco shortening 2 Tablespoons yeast 3/4 teaspoon Salt 1 teaspoon ground cardamom 1/2 cup milk powder (I prefer whole if you can find it) 1 Large egg 2 cups hot water (110-115 degrees) 3 cups bread flour

Filling:

2/3 cup sugar 2/3 cup ground almonds or 1/2 cup almond paste and 1/2 ground almonds. 1/3 teaspoon almond extract 3 Tablespoons butter 1 egg

Directions:

Divide your flour in half and set one half aside. In a mixing bowl, place one half of the flour and the remaining "dough" ingredients. Turn your mixer onto medium speed and mix until a slimy liquid is formed. Remove your whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Gradually add the remaining flour until a soft dough is formed. It should just stick to your fingers slightly when you touch it.

Turn the dough into a greased bowl, grease the top of the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place to rise. Let rise until doubled in volume.

Meanwhile, mix together all of your filling ingredients until a thick paste is formed.

Once dough has doubled in size, place a generous amount of flour on your counter top or a large cutting board. Divide the dough in half and place one piece of the dough on the floured surface. Roll out into a large rectangle with a floured rolling pin.

Take half of your filling mixture and spread it onto your dough rectangle, leaving a 1/4 inch of dough around the edge with no filling. With one long side, start rolling your dough into a log. Just like you would do for cinnamon rolls. Pinch the dough at your long seam to seal the edge closed. Make sure it's sealed well, as you don't want it to open in the cooking process and lose all of your yummy filling.

Once you have rolled and pinched the dough, Place your log onto a parchment covered baking sheet and form the log into a large ring, like a wreath. pinch the ends together and cover loosly with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place to rise. Repeat process with second piece of dough and remaining filling mixture.

Let both rings rise until almost doubled in size. While they are rising, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Before baking, remove the plastic wrap and place in the center of your oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely. If you are not serving immediately, cover it with foil or place in tupperware to store. When ready to serve, reheat it in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes.

I like this bread with a light glaze on top, to sweeten it up a bit more. You can make this by combining one cup of powdered sugar and a 1/3 cup of water or heavy cream. Add in a dash of vanilla and drizzle over the top.

enJoy!