Norwegian Crescent Rolls

Yesterday I realised that I have completely neglected Weegie-food on Ferdakost, and that is completely unacceptable. Norwegian food is highly interesting (Norway, too, for that matter), and deserves more credit. It's just I've been quite busy lately. The past week was brilliant, but quite busy too, firstly with the interview, and then I was offered a small job in the same newspaper. In between I completed all my school assignments, and watched rather a lot of Downton Abbey. With all this commotion, you're probably thinking, ''When did she have time to eat?'' Not to worry, my friends, not to worry. I have been eating well and even had time to make a few delights myself.

And so, to celebrate everything that's happened, I decided to make something Norwegian. Only it's not just Norwegian, but personal too. My mum's crescent rolls (horn in Weegian), in fact; my childhood staple weekend chow. Jolly good, jolly good. One of my earliest memories is of baking these rolls. I was about four (or maybe five), and I remember helping mum make these crescent rolls. She prepared the dough, while I sprinkled sesame seeds on (rather eagerly, I might add). It's a long time ago.

If you're not particularly hungry when you wake up, you can actually make these before breakfast, but I usually serve them for lunch. It's such a simple recipe, just a regular yeast-and-flour mixture rolled into crescents and sprinkled with either poppy or sesame seeds. Traditionally, the crescents are made purely with white flour, but I like to substitute half of the white flour with whole-wheat flour to convince myself it's healthy. And if you're in the mood for something slightly more savoury, you can stuff the crescents with a filling of your choice.

Many Norwegians go for the simple ham-and-cheese stuffing, but my mum (and I!) prefer the pizza variety.  Again, this takes little time to prepare – just mix some ground beef with chopped onions, sprinkled cheese and tomato sauce with a small dash of garlic and thyme. If you're in the adventures mood, add some capers or sliced olives. Oh, and just a small note: generally Norwegians sprinkle poppy seeds on plain crescents, and sesame seeds on the savoury versions, but it's not important. 

Anyway, not to dust off clichés or anything, but these are really, really good. They're soft and tasty, without being too sweet. Now I won't lie and say we eat these every day (at least in my family, don't know about yours...), but they're perfect for the odd breakfast/lunch. Try them out and let me know how it went! 

Lukke til! (Good luck).


I'll be submitting these crescent rolls to Yeastspotting.

Crescent Rolls Recipe from here *Ingredients* 600 g. flour 50 g. fresh yeast 200 ml. water, tepid 200 ml. whole milk 4 tbsp. vegetable oil 2 tsp. sugar 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1 egg, for glazing Poppy seeds, for sprinkling or Sesame seeds, for sprinkling 1.Pre-warm the oven to 200 C.   2.In a bowl, mix the yeast with the tepid water, oil and milk. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend and knead together. The dough should not stick to the bowl. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. 3.Divide the dough in two, and roll and shape each part to a circle. Divide the circle in eight triangular pieces (like pizza-triangles). If you're making the pizza version (see recipe below), add a tablespoon or two on the long side of the triangle. Sprinkle with cheese. Starting from the long side of the triangle, roll the dough into the traditional crescent shape. Make sure the tip is beneath the crescent, like croissaints. 4.Place the crecents on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Let the rise for 30 minutes. Brush with the egg and sprinkle with either poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden.

Horn Oppskrift frå here *Ingrediensar* 600 g. mjøl 50 g. fersk gjær 200 ml. vatn, lunka 200 ml. heilmjølk 4 ms. planteolje 2 ts. sukker 1 1/2 ts. salt 1/4 ts. bakepulver 1 egg, til eggvask Valmuefrø, til å strø med eller Sesamfrø, til å strø med 1.Varm opp omnen til 200 C.   2.Bland gjæren med vatnet, olja og mjølka i ein bolle. Ha i mjølet, sukkeret, bakepulveret og saltet. Bland og kna saman. Deigen skal ''sleppa bollen''. La deigen heva i 30 minutt. 3.Del deigen i to like store emne, og kjevla kvar emne til ein sirkel. Skjer sirkelen i åtte stykke (slik som ein pizza). Lagar du horn med fyll kan du ha ei matskei med fyll på den breiaste delen av deigen. Strø med ost. Rull kvart stykke saman. Start med å rulla den breiaste delen og avslutt med spissen på utsida.  4.Legg horna på eit par steikebrett med bakepapir. La horna heva i 30 minutt. Pensla horna med eggvasken, og strø på valmue- eller sesamfrø. Steik i 12-15 minutt.