Skolebrød Recipe

A Norwegian custard bread.
Reading Time: 6 minutes
By Cappy Tosetti
IMAGINE A STUDENT’S SURPRISE opening their lunchbox to find a delicious, custard-filled skolebrød bun topped with vanilla icing and grated coconut. Such a discovery would delight any youngster, especially knowing the homemade dessert was not just something served for a special occasion.
The yummy treat has been a regular item on cafeteria menus for many schoolchildren in Norway beginning in the 1930s, though some locals say it began in the 1950s. But, like many regional stories, details tend to vary as time passes.
Most folks agree the bun originated in the capital city of Oslo when a local mom, Gerda Nielsen, added one to her young son’s lunch. She was always looking for recipes to use up the many eggs laid by the family’s hens, and it was important that Jen had a hearty meal.
Not only did the happy youngster gobble up his dessert, but other students wanted something just as tasty in their lunchboxes. Word spread, encouraging Mrs. Nielsen to share her recipe and set up shop at local bake sales so others could purchase some for their family.
A Tasty, Sweet Bun
Since that humble beginning, the sweet bun has become very popular throughout the country, served in bakeries, cafés, and neighborhood street markets. It’s a favorite treat accompanied by a steaming cup of coffee or mug of varm sjokolade (hot cocoa). The name of the delicacy is Skolebrød (“sku-lah-brewd”) in the northern and eastern parts of the country and Skolebolle in the western region. It translates in English as “school buns” or “school bread.” Norwegians describe it as looking like snowfall on a sunny day.
The main structure of Skolebrød, or Skolebolle, is the bun itself, known as boller or bolle throughout the country. It’s basically a soft and round yeast bun made with milk, eggs, melted butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, and an added ingredient, ground cardamom, a favorite spice in Scandinavia.
A Meeting of Cultures
Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) was first discovered in the rainforests of southern India in a region now known as Cardamom Hills. It’s a perennial shrub, a member of the ginger family, with shoots stemming from the base of the plant. They’re harvested and dried just before ripening and bursting with small, oval, three-sided pods with an alluring scent of camphor, mint, and lemon. The pods can be used whole or ground for various purposes such as flavoring curries, gingerbread, coffee, tea, cakes, cookies, and breads.
There are two varieties: green and black. Green cardamom grown in India, Guatemala, and Sri Lanka has a sweet taste with a hint of lemon. Black cardamom, also known as “brown” or “large-sized cardamom”, comes from Eastern Nepal, Sikkim, and the Darjeeling district of India. It has a pungent aroma of smokiness and camphor.
Legends from long ago in Norway have been passed down through the generations, saying the Vikings first brought the aromatic spice to Scandinavian shores in their ships during the Middle Ages after discovering cardamom in the bazaars of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey).
Many cooks like to add raisins or bits of chocolate to a recipe of bolle buns, creating a mouthwatering treat. Often, they’ll break open the bun, adding a bit of butter, a spoonful of lingonberry jam, or a slice of Geitost, Norwegian brown goat cheese. Morning, noon, and night, bolle buns grace many a table and lunchbox in Norway.
A Visit to Norway
On a recent visit to Norway, I had the delightful experience of meeting Nevada Berg, an author, gardener, photographer, and cook specializing in Norwegian cuisine. With her husband, Espen, they live on their 17th- century farm with their son. There’s something quite special about stepping into a Norwegian kitchen and learning about creating traditional recipes shared from one generation to the next.
Baking is something Nevada enjoys year-round, explaining that Norway has five seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and two distinct parts of winter. The first half from October through early January is called mørketiden, the dark time when it’s wet and stormy. Then, there’s the light, white winter with the arrival of the new year. Torrential storms and dark skies move on, providing a cheerier outlook on life because of the light reflecting off the snow.
Skolebrød is a year-round family favorite, especially if one has access to farm-fresh eggs at one’s doorstep. Nevada believes they make a difference in any recipe, acting as the main thickener in traditional custard recipes where the yolks give it a buttery-yellow color and a smooth, creamy consistency.

The three-part recipe may seem a bit complicated or time-consuming, but it’s easy to follow by viewing Nevada’s North Wild Kitchen website with step-by-step instructions, plus an online video link where she demonstrates each step. It’s like sitting at her kitchen table with a cup of coffee while the aroma of cardamom drifts through the room.
The first step is making the dough for the boller, followed by whisking together the ingredients for the custard while the dough is rising. It’s a simple recipe: egg yolks, sugar, corn starch, whole milk, and half a vanilla pod.
Meanwhile, Nevada stirs up the ingredients for the glaze. The dough is divided, cut into pieces, and formed into balls. After proving (rising again), she makes an indentation in each, filling them with a spoonful of custard, and brushes the sides of each bun with a lightly beaten egg to give the bun a golden and shiny-brown color. After baking and cooling, she gently spreads the glaze on the sides of each bun.
Who can resist? Covered in powdered sugar, Nevada takes a big bite: “Yum! If this had been in my lunchbox at school, I’d be the happiest kid on Earth!”
Skoleboller
Norwegen Buns with Custard and Coconut
Recipe courtesy of Nevada Berg
Yield: 12 skoleboller
INGREDIENTS
BOLLER
• 1-1/4 cups milk (use whole, 1% or 2%)
• 1 egg
• 3-1/4 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon on salt
• 25 grams (0.88 ounces) fresh yeast or 8.5 grams (0.29 ounces) dry yeast
• 1/3 cup butter, cut into pieces
VANILLA CUSTARD
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 vanilla pod
GLAZE
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 teaspoons egg white
• 3 teaspoons water
• 1-1/2 cups shredded coconut
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- To make the boller, start by warming milk in saucepan. You want it to be a little more than lukewarm. In food mixer with dough hook, place all dry ingredients. If using fresh yeast, just break it up with your fingers first. Make sure salt and yeast don’t touch. Add warmed milk and egg.
- Turn mixer on low and knead for about 8 minutes without stopping.
- Stop mixer and add butter to dough. The reason for adding butter now, rather than at the beginning, is because fats can slow down the gluten process as it can hinder water absorption that the proteins need to form gluten. By adding butter after the dough is kneaded, you’ll get better gluten development, resulting in better-quality dough that’s light and airy. And because dough will be warm from kneading, butter will melt into dough. Once you’ve added butter, turn machine to medium speed for 5 more minutes. Dough will be very elastic and somewhat “moist.” This is exactly what you’re looking for!
- Place dough in greased bowl, cover with tea towel, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size.
- While dough is rising, make custard by whisking together sugar and egg yolks in bowl (save the egg whites for later use in glaze). Add cornstarch and blend until mixture is pale yellow and thick.
- Place whole milk in saucepan and add vanilla by scraping inside of pod.
- Warm milk just before it begins to boil, without letting it boil. Take it off heat.
- Steadily and slowly, add milk to bowl with sugar mixture, whisking constantly to avoid any curdling of eggs. When you’ve mixed everything together, pour back into saucepan and return to stove. Over medium heat, cook mixture until thickened.
- You’ll want custard to be more on the thick side since it’ll be placed inside buns. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. If you wish, you can transfer custard to a strainer and push gently through to remove any bits of curdled egg. Place plastic wrap over top until you’re ready to use it.
- When dough has finished rising, take out and place on lightly floured surface. Form dough into a large “sausage” and cut into 12 pieces.
- Roll each piece into a round bun and place half of buns on one prepared baking sheet and other half on another prepared baking sheet, leaving good amount of space between each bun. Cover each sheet with tea towel and let buns prove for another 30 minutes.
- While buns are proving, make glaze. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar, egg white, and water until a nice glaze forms. In separate bowl, wide enough to fit buns, place coconut.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (225 degrees Celsius).
- When buns are ready, make indentation in center of each. I like to use the back of my pestle (from my pestle and mortar), but you can use a spoon or anything else that’ll work. Make sure to press down all the way, as dough will spring back when baking.
- Fill each indentation with 2 to 3 tablespoons prepared custard, making sure not to overfill as custard might flow over bun while baking.
- Brush sides of each bun with lightly beaten egg.
- Place one of cooking sheets on middle rack in oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes (I found 12 minutes to be perfect for me). Repeat for second batch. Allow buns to cool completely.
- When buns have cooled, glaze around custard center. I find using a small spatula helps with this. And after you’ve glazed a bun, immediately press glazed area into coconut and rotate until glaze is completely covered by coconut. It’s perfectly fine if some of the coconut gets onto the custard. I think this adds to the homemade look.
- Serve immediately! Buns will last up to 2 days, but they won’t be as good as when they were freshly baked.
CAPPY TOSETTI lives in Asheville, North Carolina with her three rescue dogs that help her with Happy with Cappy Pet Sitting. She’s putting things in motion to someday crisscross the country in a vintage travel trailer visiting draft horse and goat farms. cappyt@att.net
Originally published in the August/September 2023 issue of Backyard Poultry magazine, and regularly vetted for accuracy.