Choose your favourite bolle

Warning: highly addictive

Sweet wheat buns .
Photo: Sara Johannessen / Matprat.no

Travelling? Birthday party? After work snack? A little reward on a tough day?

The bolle is always there for you.

In Norway, we love this little gooey wonder of a yeast bun.

Do you sense a hint of cardamom?

Sweet wheat buns .
Photo: Sara Johannessen / Matprat.no

Sometimes we add more butter, sugar, and loads of cinnamon …

Cinnamon buns .
Photo: Godt Brød

… and voilà! You get the famous kanelbolle (spiral) or kanelsnurr (knot).

Cinnamon buns .
Photo: Mari Svenningsen / Matprat.no

Buns can seduce a stone

“Norwegian buns are simply irresistible”, says Bodil Nordjore, a Norwegian cookbook author and bun enthusiast who has won several awards for her work with Norwegian food culture.

“The small wonders can seduce a stone, and they make the world a little better for a few minutes”, she says, and continues the praise: “They do not stick and do not crumble. They smell heavenly and get the taste buds going.”

What’s not to like?

“You find some sort of sweet baked buns all over the world, but the Norwegian ones are special and have less fat than for instance the french brioche”, Nordjore explains.

Although now an integral part of our culture, it wasn’t until the white wheat first came to Norway in the 19th century, and people got stoves in their private homes, that buns became a favourite treat.

Today, you can get your bun fix with raisins, chocolate, caramel, pistachio, brown cheese …

… or a feast of berries.

Berry buns .
Photo: Elisabeth Storaker / Making Waves

Always by your side

Traditionally, Norwegian bun eaters divide into two groups: with or without raisins. Bodil Nordjore prefers hers with loads of raisins and as soft as possible.

You can eat your buns in a cafe or on the go. And the good news is that no matter how or when you want them, they are literally available on every corner, from bakeries and cafes, shops – even petrol stations. In 2017 Norwegian petrol stations alone sold more than 40 million buns, according to TV2.no.

In fact, the petrol station Shell Espa in Eastern Norway has taken buns for travellers to a whole new level: They sold 1.5 million buns in 2019 and are famously known as Bolleland (yes, it translates to “bun land”). A stop here is mandatory when you travel from Oslo to popular skiing destinations like Hafjell, Sjusjøen, Kvitfjell, and Trysil.

In the mountain village of Lom, situated between Eastern Norway and Fjord Norway, the bakery has become a destination in itself. Especially in the summertime, travellers are more than happy to queue up for buns and other sorts of baked goods.

Hot tip!

A fresh, warm bun tastes delicious with butter and brown cheese! So does the Norwegian waffle – literally the king of kos!

Here comes the sun!

Buns can also be a rite of passage, and in Northern Norway, the sun’s return after winter is celebrated with solboller (sun buns).

Sun buns .
Photo: Elisabeth Storaker / Making Waves

Every December, we add something special to the bolle dough: saffron!

We call the S shaped saffron buns for Lussekatter, and they're made for the celebration of Saint Lucy’s day on 13 December.

They are so yummy, it’s difficult to eat just one. But who says you have to limit yourself?

Saffron buns .
Photo: Matprat.no / Esten Borgos

Another favourite is skolebrød – big buns filled with velvety vanilla custard and decorated with icing dipped in grated coconut.

Skolebrød .
Photo: Esten Borgos / Matprat.no

Skolebrød .
Photo: Sara Johannessen / Matprat.no

A bun can even be a fashion statement. Oslo girl Nicoline Lysholm’s pink glazed cinnamon buns called Skillings quickly became an Instagram hit when she launched them in the spring of 2020.

Skillings in Oslo .
Photo: Fredrikke Wiheden

Within days, a line of people were waiting for fresh buns.

Skillings in Oslo .
Photo: Fredrikke Wiheden

How do the experts like their buns?

It’s safe to say that you can enjoy the bun culture anywhere in Norway – even at the Michelin star phenomenon Maaemo. The restaurant is widely regarded as Norway’s best eatery and at the forefront of Nordic cuisine. After their reopening in trendy Bjørvika in Oslo, the chef added cinnamon buns to the menu.

After being served the meal of their lives, guests are shown into a new room where coffee and cinnamon buns are the crescendo. Even after a 15-course dinner, no one can resist a freshly baked cinnamon bun that feels like a hug for your taste buds.

How would you like yours?

A family easting buns in Oslo, Eastern Norway

Norwegian buns.
Photo: Marte Enger / Making Waves

Get your buns right with our dictionary

Hveteboller – sweet buns.
Rosinboller – sweet buns with raisins.
Sjokoladeboller – sweet buns with chocolate.

Kanelboller/kanelsnurrer/kanelknuter – large buns baked with a cinnamon and sugar filling.

Skillingsboller – cinnamon buns from Bergen in Fjord Norway, first brought there from Germany in the Hanseatic period 500 years ago. Still widely available, and a must-eat when in Bergen.

Skolebrød – translates as “school buns”. Large buns with custard and grated coconut.

Solboller – large buns with a “sun” of custard that serves as a rite of passage when the sun is back after the polar night in Northern Norway.

Fastelavnsboller – sweet buns filled with cream or jam and served to mark the beginning of the forty days of Lent (fasting is optional, though …)

Prinsessekake – a dream of a cake made of buns with cinnamon swirls, custard, and a thick icing.

Berlinerboller – fried doughnut-like buns with no central hole, filled with jam or chocolate (Berliner).

Get your buns right with our dictionary Show Less

Make wheat buns at home

Get the recipe from our Norwegian Cookbook and make these soft fluffy, delicious sweet buns at home.

Travel green with NOR-WAY Bussekspress and taste your way through the country’s weird and wonderful food!