Varme hveder recipe | Easy, soft, luxurious buns

Hveder, a traditional Danish bread roll with a soft and fluffy texture, a slightly sweet taste, and a rich cultural significance, has been a beloved staple in Danish cuisine for centuries and continues to hold a special place in the hearts and homes of many Danes today. This is my varme hveder recipe.

While hveder are delicious, they are now shrouded in the Danish people’s sadness. The current government of Denmark has decided to cancel the holiday that is tied to this delicious treat. In this article, I will give you an insight into the history and the controversy of the Danish holiday store bededag, and, of course, the recipe for this delectable treat.

If you rather make an amazing soft bread instead, I can recommend my recipe for Shokupan.

If you are just here for the recipe, you can press the button underneath to be automagically transported to the recipe:

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

From Reformation to Abolition: The Fascinating History of Denmark’s Great Prayer Day

The history of Denmark’s Great Prayer Day, also known as Store Bededag, is both long and fascinating. It originated in the 16th century with the Reformation, which saw Denmark convert from Catholicism to Lutheranism. As part of this shift, many Catholic holidays were removed, but over time, they were reintroduced into the Danish church.

To address this issue, King Christian the Fifth took action in 1686 by creating Great Prayer Day. He combined all former Catholic holidays into one significant day of prayer. This annual holiday falls on the fourth Friday after Easter, between mid-April to late May.

Traditions associated with Great Prayer Day

Three traditions are associated with Great Prayer Day. The first tradition began in 1747 when the Church of Our Lady received new bells. It became customary for the bourgeoisie to walk along the ramparts. However, as the ramparts were dismantled in the 1800s, people of all classes now walk along the harbor at Langelinje, Christianshavn, and the Citadel, Kastellet.

The second tradition is to eat hveder. Before the holiday, bakers couldn’t work from sundown the day before until the next day. People would buy bread the day before, and it became a tradition for bakers to bake hveder. People would eat them warm the day before the holiday and then toast the remaining hveder the next day.

The third tradition is that Great Prayer Day is one of the biggest days for confirmation. Confirmation is where young adults confirm their relationship with God, which was established when they were baptized.

What happened in 2023?

However, in recent times, Great Prayer Day faced an uncertain future. In 2022, a new government was formed in Denmark, and one of its goals was to abolish the holiday to increase work productivity and generate more taxes. Despite pushback from unions, the church, and citizens who signed a petition against abolishing the holiday, the government abolished Great Prayer Day on February 28, 2023.

The dough composition in this hveder recipe

Vitals

Total weight	876 grams
Hydration	56.3%
Yield	8 hveder

The dough

The dough for these hveder are highly enriched with sugar, whole milk, eggs, and lots of butter. It will make the making of the dough a bit harder if done by hand, so I’ve opted for making it in the stand mixer.

The flour of choice is all-purpose flour for soft, fluffy buns, but enough gluten to keep everything together. Be sure to use some good fresh and quality cardamom. You could opt for grinding it yourself. It will make vastly better buns.

Weight	Ingredient	Baker's Percentage
460g	all-purpose flour	100%
9g	salt	2%
5g	instant yeast	1.1%
12g	sugar	2.6%
200g	whole milk (3.5%)	43.5%
90g	egg, whole	19.6%
100g	butter, unsalted	21.7%

If you want to play around with the recipe, change the quantity, or other things, you can do that with my bread calculator.

The conclusion of this hveder recipe

What, in my opinion, makes a good hvede? Well, of course, I have a whole list of things that are important.

• They should be extremely soft and, in no way, dry.
• Have a distinct flavor and taste of cardamom.
• Deliciously browned and have a glistening top
• The hveder needs to be baked so that they pull apart. That is just so satisfying.

I think that these buns deliver on all of those parameters. They are just so incredibly soft and taste amazing with a good slathering of butter and a piece of Danbo cheese.

If you’re up for a treat, go for it!

Please share this hveder recipe on social media

Ad links! The links for equipment and ingredients in this recipe are affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase the product.