Fluffy, soft, and usually topped with a sugar glaze, cinnamon buns are a classic of the pastry canon. Here are five quick facts about their origins.
The cinnamon bun’s origin is a hotly debated topic
The Swedes claim it originated there in the 1920s, though ask any Nordic country in Europe and they’ll tell you the sweet roll was actually their invention. Regardless of its exact birthplace, the bun is a staple of Scandinavian baking and commonly enjoyed during FIKA, a get-together with friends.
It goes by many names
And we mean many: kanelbulle in Sweden, kanelsnegle in Denmark, kanelboller, skillingsboller or kanelsnurrer in Norway, and korvapuusti in Finland. In Austria and Germany it is called zimtschnecken. But its English variations are countless too: roll, bun, bunny, swirl, snail...As long as it has cinnamon in it, we’ll eat it.
Cinnamon rolls in Sweden are not as sweet and heavy as they are in the United States
In Sweden, the dough contains hints of cardamom and it’s baked in muffin wrappers to make a more delicate treat. Also, it doesn’t feature icing (or cream cheese) on top, but just granulated sugar. Like the one we make at The Sussex Kitchen!
In the UK, the bun got big over the last few years
At a British Society of Baking’s Spring Conference in 2018, the cinnamon bun was declared to be “the new doughnut.” It’s only recently, in fact, that the cinnamon treat’s popularity has surged in the country. We like to think we have something to do with that.
The largest cinnamon bun ever created weighted 521.5 kg (1,149.7 lb)
You read that right. Wolferman's gourmet bakery in Medford, Oregon, USA, broke a Guinness World Record for creating the largest cinnamon bun, weighing in at an astounding 1,149 pounds, in 2018.