An adventure in Scandinavian baking, from starter to finish

In Scandinavia, people are crazy about cardamom buns. They’re usually much drier than I’d like, and after much testing I’ve found that the secret to making a much moister bun is underproofing the dough. Normally, baking something that’s underproofed is nothing but disappointing, but in this instance it’s the way to go. A slightly underproofed centre lets the dough hold on to that sticky, gooey texture you want in a cardamom (or cinnamon) bun.

This is an edited extract from Bread, by Richard Hart, published by Hardie Grant at £28. To order a copy, go to guardianbookshop.com