Finnish

Laskiaispulla

Traditional Lenten buns

What is Laskiainen?

Laskiaistiistai is the same as Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday. In Finland laskiainen is nowadays celebrated as a mid-winter festival with outdoor activities such as skiing, sliding with the sled, or ice-skating.

Ingredients

Milk Fresh yeast Sugar Butter Ground cardamom. Salt Flour Egg. Confectioners sugar

Make the buns

Melt your butter. Mix your yeast with lukewarm milk. Add the sugar, cardamom, salt, and 1-2 cups of flour. Beat it to make a batter.

Add in the rest of your flour and start kneading. Once you have some elasticity in the dough, you can add your butter.

Keep on kneading for additional 7-15 minutes. Knead until the dough is firm enough so it does not break when you stretch a small piece between your fingers

After kneading, you need to let your dough rest and rise. Cover your bowl with a cloth and let the dough rest in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Form the dough into 15-16 round buns by kneading them against the surface in your palm.

Let your buns rise to double the size Brush the buns with beaten egg. Bake at 400 (200C) F for about 14 minutes

Filling

Slice the buns in half and fill 1-2 tablespoons of jam or marzipan in the middle and add whipped cream on the rim.