Recipe

Gluten-free semla recipe

Av Semmelguidens redaktion · Publicerad

Soft, fragrant semlor that actually hold together. It works perfectly without gluten flour if you choose the right flour mix and give the dough time to rise properly.

Semla

Soft, fragrant semlor that actually hold together. It works perfectly without gluten flour if you choose the right flour mix and give the dough time to rise properly.

Ingredients

Dough: - 2.5 dl milk (3%) - 25 g fresh yeast - 75 g butter, room temperature - 1 egg (medium) - 0.5 dl caster sugar - 1 tsp ground cardamom - 0.5 tsp salt - 1 tsp xanthan gum - 450 g gluten-free bread flour mix (e.g. Finax or Semper's blue)

Filling: - 150 g almond paste - 1 dl whipping cream (for the almond paste) - 3 dl whipping cream (for whipping) - 1 tbsp icing sugar (for the whipped cream) - 8 tsp icing sugar (for decoration)

Method

  1. Heat the milk to 37 °C. Crumble in the yeast and stir until fully dissolved.

  2. Add the egg, sugar, cardamom, salt and xanthan gum. Stir together.

  3. Add the room-temperature butter in pieces and stir it into the liquid.

  4. Pour in the flour mix and work the dough with a hand mixer fitted with dough hooks for 4 minutes. The dough should be sticky but hold together. It will not be shapeable by hand like ordinary wheat dough.

  5. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to rise at room temperature for 60 minutes. The dough rises but does not puff up as dramatically as wheat dough, which is normal.

  6. Set the oven to 200 °C (top and bottom heat).

  7. Lightly wet your hands with water. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (about 100 g each) and shape round buns directly on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

  8. Cover the buns with a clean kitchen towel and leave to proof for 30 minutes.

  9. Bake in the middle of the oven for 12–14 minutes until the buns are golden brown. Core temperature 98 °C.

  10. Let cool completely on a wire rack, at least 45 minutes. Never cut into them while warm; they set as they cool.

  11. Mix the almond paste with 1 dl whipping cream until you get a smooth, pipeable cream.

  12. Cut off a lid (about 1/4 of the bun) and scoop out a little of the crumb. Mix the crumb into the almond paste if you want more filling.

  13. Pipe or dollop the almond paste into the hole.

  14. Whip 3 dl cream with 1 tbsp icing sugar to a firm foam and pipe it on top of the almond paste.

  15. Put the lid on, sift over plenty of icing sugar and serve straight away.

Tip: Gluten-free semlor dry out faster than regular ones. Best flavour and texture the same day, ideally within 4 hours of baking.