Semla Braid With Pistachio Paste & Blood Orange
Photo by Nea Arentzen
- Serves
- 1 semla braid
- Prep Time
- 15 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 Hour 45 Minutes
You may have heard of a semla bun, a Swedish cardamom-flavored wheat bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream. In this twist, I shape the dough into a single long braid and fill it with pistachio paste instead of almond. I also add a hint of orange blossom to the whipped cream. While I usually leave the cream unsweetened, it felt fitting to add a little sugar in this recipe to help balance out the flavor. To finish it off, I layer on slices of blood and tangelo orange before adding the top of the braid. The flavors of this semla were inspired by a bakery in Sweden called Haga Bageri.
Tips & Tricks:
- To speed up the proofing process, place the bowl in the oven and turn on only the oven light. It adds just the right amount of warmth and acts as a DIY proofing box.
- Make sure to knead the dough until you can accurately perform the windowpane test. This might take you upwards of 20 minutes depending on your mixer.
- To make ahead, shape the braid and place it in the fridge overnight for it’s second rise. Return to room temperature 30 minutes before baking.
- To keep the orange slices from leaking liquid onto the cream, place them on a paper towel-lined plate to soak up any excess liquid.
- Supreming an orange means removing the peel, pith, and membranes to get clean, juicy segments. Start by trimming off the top and bottom so it sits flat on your cutting board. Using a sharp knife, stand the orange upright and carefully slice downward, following the curve of the fruit to remove the peel and white pith. Once the orange is fully peeled, hold it over a bowl to catch any juice. Identify the thin membranes separating each segment, then slide your knife along the inside of each membrane to release the clean, juicy segments. Repeat until all the segments are free.
- IF the above supreming sounds too annoying, just cut the peel off the orange and slice it into regular thin pieces.
Ingredients
Semla
- 1/2 cup (125 grams) whole milk
- 2 teaspoon (6 grams) active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoon granulated white sugar
- 2 teaspoon green cardamom seeds, ground
- 1 large egg
- 4 tablespoon (56 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (255 grams) all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 small blood oranges, supremed (see tip)
- 2 small tangelo orange (or naval), supremed (see tip)
Pistachio Filling
- 1/2 cup (60 grams) pistachios
- 1/3 cup (66 grams) granulated sugar
- A pinch kosher salt
- 1 egg white
- WHIPPED CREAM
- 2 cup heavy whipped cream, divided
- 2 tablespoon powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
- 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom essence (optional)
- A pinch of kosher salt
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Directions
Instructions
- Step 1
Make the dough: In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the milk and sugar until it reaches 97ºF/36ºC (or body temperature if you don’t have a kitchen thermometer). If it gets too warm, let it cool down before proceeding, as adding hot milk to yeast can kill it.
- Step 2
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine yeast, sugar, and warm milk. Stir to dissolve the yeast. Let it sit until small bubbles appear on the surface, indicating the yeast has been activated, about 5 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the egg, butter, flour, cardamom, and salt to the bowl. Mix on low speed until all the flour is incorporated, then increase the speed to medium or medium-high and knead the dough until smooth and tacky, 15 to 20 minutes. (Depending on the power of your mixer, you may need to knead longer.) If the dough still looks rough or breaks easily when stretched, continue kneading.
- Step 4
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (To speed it up or if your kitchen is cold, let the doughproof in the oven–turned OFF–but with the light on).
- Step 5
Meanwhile, prepare the pistachio filling. In a food processor or blender, combine the pistachios, sugar, and salt until very finely ground. (If you’re using a regular blender, transfer the ground pistachios to a bowl; if you’re using a food processor, continue using that.) Add the egg white and pulse until combined into a paste. It doesn’t have to be completely smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
- Step 6
Heat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC with a rack in the center position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Step 7
On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into thirds. Roll each piece into a 12-inch cylinder, then connect the ends on one side, pressing together slightly to adhere. Shape into a braid, pressing the ends of the braid strands together to adhere, then transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Tuck the ends of the braid underneath. Brush all over with 1 tablespoon of the heavy cream, then bake until golden brown and a kitchen thermometer inserted into the center of a bun reads at least 190ºF, 22 to 25 minutes.
- Step 8
Once the braid is fully cooled, use a serrated knife to slice the top third of the braid off. Scoop out some of the bun from the bottom part and add it to the pistachio paste along with 3 tablespoons of the heavy cream; stir until the bun pieces are completely mixed in and you have a spreadable paste.
- Step 9
In a large bowl, combine the remaining heavy cream, powdered sugar, orange blossom (if using) and salt; whip into soft peaks. Soft peaks is key here because it will stiffen more as you work with it. If you whip it to stiff peaks, it will look separated and overworked once you go to pipe.
- Step 10
Pipe or spoon the almond filling into each bun. Pipe or spoon the whipped cream over the almond filling. Divide the blood and tangelo orange slices across the cream (see tip for avoiding liquid spreading out onto the cream). Add the top bun layer, then dust with powdered sugar and serve.