Serves: Makes ~30 Kringlor
Cost: ~€0.90
Preparation and cooking time: ~25 minutes
Calories: ~150 per Kringla
Greetings everyone. Before I forget – if you didn’t already, please remember to play along with my little game to celebrate my 2-year anniversary in blogging. Suggest some ingredients to me and I’ll make a dish and even name it after you! The suggestion form can be found in my previous post – it’s going to be lots of fun… I’ve already had some great suggestions so I’m really looking forward to seeing which one I’ll end up making!
Today I’m going to be making kringlor, which many of you may know as kringles (apparently the name comes from the Old Norse word “kringla”, meaning “circle”). This scandinavian pastry has various forms over the world, and apparently in the US they’re rolled out of Danish pastry dough. The basic Swedish one is rather more simple. A slightly sweetened dough, traditionally leavened with Baker’s Ammonia, topped with pearl sugar and baked.
Despite their history they’re surprisingly uncommon, especially when compared to other pastries and cakes. A quick Google search for kringlor yielded around 11,700 results. Conversely, a search for kladdkaka, another Swedish delight I’ve posted about a while back, returned 203,000 results – quite a difference in popularity! I’d like to say that I’m going to present to you “traditional” Swedish kringlor, but there’s three problems with that. First – they’re often made with something like filmjölk, an absolutely divine, sharp-tasting, pourable yoghurt-like substance which I’ve never found outside Scandinavia. At the least, one should normally use yoghurt, but I had none either, so I used milk. Secondly – I had no Baker’s Ammonia. Another ingredient which isn’t that common outside of Scandinavian countries as far as I can tell. Just as well really, since I had no yoghurt, so I swapped it out for baking powder. Finally – as I found out, I am really bad at rolling and shaping kringlor. At one point I burst into uncontrollable (and childish) giggles, because the “thing” I had made looked remarkably like something a dog leaves on the side-walk, but I persevered and finally had some trays of something worth baking!
While not exactly low-carb or low-gluten they do make a nice snack. Barely sweet, they make a lovely accompaniment with a cup of tea or coffee during those times when you don’t feel like something too sugary, but don’t want something completely savoury – this will really hit the spot. If you’re thinking of making these then don’t worry if you can’t find pearl sugar. Find the coarsest sugar you can and just roll the tops of these bad-boys in it before baking. Alternatively, if you wanted to make them that little bit sweeter then you can ice them when they were baked.
I do hope everyone had a great weekend – I’ll be back in a few days when I’ll be going nuts with a new recipe (chestnuts, that is! :)) and this one’s a real beauty, swiftly followed by my two year anniversary post – yay!
Kringlor
Ingredients
- 680g Plain Flour
- 400ml Milk
- 200g Butter
- 100g Caster Sugar
- 20g Baking Powder
- 1 Vanilla pod or 4tsps Vanilla Sugar
- Pearl sugar, or coarse sugar to decorate
Instructions
- Start off by preheating your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Next, add the flour, milk, caster sugar, and baking powder to a bowl. Add in the vanilla sugar, or, if using, cut the vanilla pod down its length and scrape out the seeds using the blade of a knife and add to the bowl.
- Melt the butter in a pan and then make a well in the flour and milk in the bowl. Pour in the butter and then mix together well to form a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Add a bit of extra flour if you need, but keep the dough as moist as you can while still being manageable.
- Tear off lumps of dough which are a bit larger than a golf ball in size. Roll out the lumps to a length of about 25 – 30cm and then form into a pretzel shape. I opted for a slightly easier version which you can make by simply bringing the ends of the length around to the mid-point, crossing over each other as they pass the middle.
- Place the kringlor face down into a bowl of pearl or coarse sugar and carefully transfer them (face up) to a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes until just starting to brown. Allow to cool and enjoy!
Charles, I’m always so thrilled to see such names as “kringlor” or “kladdkaka” on yoru blog! It is always an announcement of a new exotic discovery! These sweet buns look fabulous and I can assure you they are beautifully shaped and very appetising! I love slightly sweet, soft buns… I could eat them forever. Is filmjölk similar to kefir? If yes, it can be found in every organic shop in France. Kefir is more sour than yogurt, so maybe it would be a better substitute. What do you think? I have already read about filmjölk at Three Cookies blog I think a long time ago.
I haven’t had my breakfast today so I feel extremely hungry now!
Thanks Sissi! Filmjölk (or usually just called “fil”) isn’t like kefir – it’s much thicker. I don’t really know a way to describe it adequately. It’s like a runny yoghurt, but with a sour, but also creamy flavour. If you ever have a chance to go to Sweden I hope you have a chance to try it. We once found something like it – they were selling little muesli bowl snacks in my local lunch shop called “Rumblers”. Half the pack was crunchy muesli and half the pack was something which was almost identical to fil. Unfortunately it was only enough for one (tiny) portion, so not really suitable for other uses!
WHat you describe makes me think of something I buy here all the time and which is called “lait acidulé” and which is low-fat compared to sour cream, but almost as thick as yogurt… I have read that bacteria in filmjölk are different, so it’s not the same alas. I have to wait for Swedish holidays to taste it 🙂
I’ve been denied fresh bread like this for a while now (the nephew bought a loaf of some healthy multi-grain whole wheat stuff while out shopping) so I’m ready to reach through the monitor for a few of these goodies with a softened cream cheese spread. 🙂 Yummy.
Hi A_ – I hope you’ll be able to satisfy your fresh bread craving soon… there’s nothing like a good bit of warm, crusty bread!
I do know these as Kringles and I love them. They are such a beautiful sweet treat and that sugar on the top is a favourite of mine. Well done on making these – it’s something I’ve never attempted xx
Hi Charlie – they’re really easy (and fast!) to make. I’d definitely give them a try 🙂
What an interesting treat Charles. Are they kind of chewy like a pretzel or just soft like bread? Maybe I will have to give a recipe a try and find out for myself.
Hi Bam – they’re more like bread, but not quite as stretch. Half-way between bread and cake I think.
What a fun series of posts you have coming up! I can’t wait! 🙂 These look really tasty. They look like the pretzels my mom used to make for us. But those have yeast and are topped with salt, so the similarities end at the looks I think. I bet we would really enjoy these. They look delicious and like they would be easy to go a little crazy on (at least I know I would). Your giggle fit made me giggle too! I have no doubt the kids would have said the same thing! 😉
Hi Kristy – initially I was planning on making only one, but actually some of the suggestions I’ve received looked like so much fun that I’m going to make at least one “random” one, and then pick another one or two 🙂
yes what a wonderful snack they would be! Similar texture to a pretzel right? I would to have a shot at making these
Hi KB – the texture is actually more like a cross between bread and cake. Not very chewy – very tasty though 🙂
Like Sissi I also thought of Kefir. Kefir its probably closer to fil in terms of taste but not consistency/viscosity. Maybe mixing kefir with greek yogurt? Or keep it simple and use milk:)
They sell something here called “Laban” (it’s not the same as labneh… it’s sold in bottles and drunk like milk)… I think actually I could use something like that – I’ll have to give it a try, but definitely, milk works too, haha, but I think it’s the bacteria in the fil (or yogurt) that “activates” the baker’s ammonia or sodium bicarbonate.
Or the baker’s ammonia or sodium bicarbonate is activated due to acidity
Ah, of course, you’re right – my wife even said the same thing when I was asking her if we had any “hjorthornssalt” in the house (Baker’s ammonia) but I forgot and got it confused with the bacteria I guess.
Or the baker’s ammonia or sodium bicarbonate is activated by the acidity present in fil/yogurt
I’m always amazed when you are able to just simply change a recipe.. “no filmjölk,I will just use baking powder”.. I would be sitting stunned and phoning every shop in town trying to find the exact ingredient. Your switching out of ingredients worked perfectly, even if shaping them gave you a bit of a trial. I would love one of these for tea, as I am not a big fan of sugary treats at the moment!
Hi Barbara, it was a bit of a gamble 😀 The baker’s ammonia, which is an old-school style raising agent, and I think it’s activated by the fil, so swapping it out with baking powder instead I figured should work, since baking powder is activated differently. I can’t testify how “well” it worked, as I never tried kringlor made the old-fashioned way, but they didn’t last long, so that should count for something 😀
They do look wonderfully tasty Charles, I would love one of these for breakfast in the morning. I would probably warm it up too! I had no idea baking powder was baker’s ammonia, sound quite strange.
Hi Eva, sorry – maybe I wasn’t clear enough. Baker’s Ammonia is different to baking powder. There’s at least four leaveners which are commonly used in baking – baker’s ammonia, baking soda, baking powder and of course yeast. Baker’s ammonia is quite old-fashioned and not seen so much now – at least not in France. It’s still very common in Sweden, and I think it’s activated by the bacteria in fil or yogurt, hence the usage of it. As I had only milk I decided to switch up to a more moden leavener.
They look great Charles! I love slightly sweet things especially like this. Perfect with tea or coffee.
Nazneen
Thanks Nazneen – it’s nice to dip them in the coffee a bit I find 😀
I’m not familiar with kringlor or kringles, but these do look like pretzels except pretzels are topped with coarse salt, not sugar. I’ve never made them so other than the look, I’m not sure if they are close or not. These do look very tasty and a nice accompaniment for my afternoon tea.
Thanks MJ – they’re definitely worth a try. Really nice as a little afternoon snack.
These kringlor look deliciously golden! Looking forward to your upcoming posts – sounds like fun!
Thanks Laura 🙂
You gave a me quiet a giggle imagining you giggling uncontrollably. I get that too when whatever I shape turns out weird …. sidewalk product? Hehe … sometimes.
They look pretty good to me! You must have had plenty of fun!
Hi Ping – glad you had a chuckle – they actually took much less time to make than I thought they would which was nice. Meant we had more time for eating 😀
Firstly congratulations on 2 years! 😀 Love that little project you’ve got going, sounds like a lot of fun. 🙂
I haven’t had this kind of sweet bread in such a long time, you’ve put this huge craving in me now…must get myself some…
Thanks Jenny 🙂 I hope you get a chance to give them a try – they’re really nice 🙂 The batch I made is all gone now 🙂
Those look scrumptious Charles! I love snacks that are n between sweet and savoury to go with tea or coffee. And these look perfect. Another stellar post.
Thanks Minnie 🙂
I would love to drizzle some garlic and butter on top 🙂
I’m not sure how well the garlic would go with the sugar on top to be honest :p
I always learn something new when I go to your blog Charles! Love hoq these kringlors or kirngles or whatever you may call them look.They kind of remind me of pretzels. Always been a bit fascinated by the look of plaited breads and this looks just gorgeous!
Hi Shuhan – they are quite similar in shape… or at least should be. I didn’t find the pretzel shape the easiest to reproduce, haha 😀
I’ve never heard of these and from just looking at the pic wasnt expecting them to be like a Danish, as in the US. At first, I thought heavy, but they seem more delicate and the vanilla running through must perfume each little bite so beautifully. I enjoy learning of these new foods (to me). Im a huge chestnut fan..so can’t wait to see what you’re up to!!
Hi Linda – I might even up the dose of vanilla next time because it was amazing, especially with fresh vanilla pods (well… vanilla pods… not sure how “fresh” they are, haha).
I’ve never heard of these, but then again, you’re constantly introducing me to new things =) Looks fab!
Thanks Angie – I do try 😀
These look really delicious, Charles! 🙂 Id like to make them, but maybe I’ll use sesame seeds to decorate (I dont mind them with ‘sweet’ pastries.
I missed the submissions from the last post, but I’ll put something here if there’s still a chance at it 🙂 I hope you’re up for a bit of sweet, sorry though I can only think of 3 ingredients, but can we make a deal that these are the minimum (and you can have other things with them?) 🙂
– Sweetened, condensed milk
– Strawberries (or any berries)
– Puff pastry
If I win, I can’t wait to see what you come up with 😀
Hi Fati, thanks for your submission – you were in luck – I hadn’t yet done the draw, so I added your entry in. You can see who “won” in my most recent post 🙂 Sesame seeds sounds like a fine idea, although the dough really isn’t very sweet at all, so you may want to consider increasing the sugar in the dough a bit if you do try it with sesame seeds!
These look like something I would like to eat — we have recipes for them in an old regional cookbook but I have never made them.
Hi Sharyn – my wife loved them… they vanished in just a few days, haha, and actually she’d never had them – even though she’s Swedish. They’re *that* uncommon over there!
Charles, kringlor must go in my queue – any not-too-sweet bready thing that looks like it would go well with a cup of tea is right up my street!
Hi Jean – do let me know if you get a chance to give them a try – they’re so simple to make and perfect with a cuppa 🙂
At first I thought these are Pretzels but you said it’s more like Danish. Interesting. I think I’ve never tried before and Wiki mentioned the Danish town in Solvang California where I’ve been to. I’ll definitely remember to check this out when I visit Solvang again. Lately it’s hard to remember names but I think the Pretzel-like shape seems like the common shape. You always make baking so easy and give me hope. Hehee. 😉
Hi Nami – you shouldn’t worry so much about baking… especially when every baked thing you post (I know it’s not “so” common for you, but you have some things) seems to be a huge success every time! These are super easy to make… simple and tasty 🙂
Low gluten – lol – I’ll have to share that term with my celiac clients. Nice twisty buns Charles and they do sound like just the right combination of savoury/sweet. Very pretty too! (I think you did a bang-up job with the dough 😉 – is there a video clip of you giggling uncontrollably?). Looking forward to the chestnuts!!
LOL, you just made me realise what a silly thing that was to say actually… I wasn’t thinking at all… I just automatically added in “low-” I guess because I’d been talking about carbs. “Low gluten”… ha! I won’t bother editing it out… I’ll keep it as testament to my writing fail this time! Sadly no video of me giggling. I’ll remember next time though! 😀
We are able to buy filmjolk and bakers’ ammonia in my area. We live in rural Western NY State.
Grocery store, Wegman’s ( large northeast US chain) carries Iggy brand filmjolk, which is very good.
Local bakeries and some pharmacies carry the bakers’ ammonia. We use both for many other baking/cooking projects
I’m surprised – but happy! I didn’t ever hear of fil being sold outside Scandinavia before so it’s great if you can get it!
I got your message by the way about not being able to email the post… really strange. I’m not sure what’s causing that, so I’m still looking into it! Thanks for letting me know 🙂