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This Danish Morning Bun Is Our New Favorite Thing

With just three ingredients, this Danish Morning Bun recipe may be the best thing since sliced bread. Ironically, slicing bread is the most difficult part of our recipe.

Danish Morning Bun on Yellow Tray
Image: ©2foodtrippers

Our exploration of the Copenhagen food scene was sensational. Not only did we enjoy world-class gastronomic cuisine, but we also ate smørrebrød sandwiches piled high with caviar and buttery layered pastries that tasted like heaven.

We also started every morning with cheese sandwiches.

Bun at Hart Bageri in Copenhagen
We enjoyed Hart Bageri’s morning bun so much that we returned and ate two more. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

To be clear, those breakfast sandwiches weren’t just processed Kraft singles stuffed inside Bimbo white bread. They were sandwiches born out of the Danish commitment to producing artisan bread in every corner of Copenhagen. And, due to the latest wave of bakeries in the city, we found racks filled with some of the best natural yeast boules in the world.

It was easy, during our excursions to Copenhagen bakeries like Hart, Collective, Juno and Lille, to eat plenty of kanelsnagels, cardamom buns and spandauers. However, ordering an entire loaf of bread wasn’t on our agenda. Thankfully, these bakeries bake plenty of small rolls – a practical option for those like us who can’t eat a loaf of bread in one sitting.

Sourdough Boules at Meyers Bageri
Copenhagen bakeries like Meyers Bageri bake sourdough boules every day for a city of hungry bread eaters. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

But Copenhagen’s bakeries offer a bigger gift, otherwise known as the morning bun – a simple creation involving a marvelous flavorful sourdough roll, Comté cheese and local Danish butter (otherwise known as just “butter” in Denmark.)

The morning bun is a fine flavor vehicle – one where funky, French alpine cheese and creamy butter provide a mildly sweet yet funky yin to the wonderfully yeasty, crusty bun’s yang.

Sure, while our dinner at the intergalactically famous Noma wowed us with its extraordinary culinary feats, Denmark’s simple breakfast sandwich stands out in our minds when we think about the terrific food in Denmark.

Morning Bun at Lille Bakery in Copenhagen
Our tour of Copenhagen gave us numerous opportunities to eat Danish morning buns. We at this one at Lille Bakery. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

After connecting to the simple breakfast bun and declaring it “My new favorite thing!” Daryl was committed to recreating it in our home kitchen. Once he did, we both exclaimed “yippee” and promptly gobbled it down.

Seriously, we’re going to be eating Danish morning buns for a long time now that they’re in our lives. We anticipate you will too. How could you not?!!

What Is A Danish Morning Bun?

Danish Morning Bun on White Plate
A Danish morning bun is easy to make with just three ingredients | Image: ©2foodtrippers

A Danish morning bun is a portable breakfast sandwich that demonstrates the power of top quality ingredients.

Magnificent artisan sourdough bread provides a stage for excellent aged alpine cheese (in this case Comté from France) and butter. While these three ingredients stand on their own, the morning bun makes them even better.

Pro Tip
The Danish morning bun pairs well both with coffee and orange juice.

Ingredients

Pink Plate with Danish Morning Bun Ingredients
High quality sourdough bread, excellent butter and world class cheese are all you need to make a Danish morning bun at home. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

You only need the following three ingredients to make a Danish Morning Bun at home:

  • Comté Cheese
  • Sourdough Bun
  • Butter

Cheese

Comte Cheese
We like to use world-class Comté cheese in our Danish Morning Bun recipe. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

We recommend using high quality aged Alpine cheeses for this recipe since Alpine cheeses taste great with butter. While we typically use Comté, you could use a number of great cheeses like Gruyere, Appenzeller or Beaufort depending on availability where you live. An American domestic cheese like Pleasant Ridge Reserve would also be an excellent choice.

However, there are certain cheeses that we don’t recommend for this recipe…

Cheddar? Too acidic (a.k.a. sharp). Blue cheeses like Roquefort? Too weird. Brie and camembert? Too mild. American singles? Get outta here!!

Sourdough Bun

Sliced Sourdough Bun
Since it’s the vehicle for the Danish morning bun, we use the finest available sourdough roll in our recipe. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

The bread or roll you use is the raison d’etre for this sandwich. In other words, one reason why we ate so many of morning buns in Copenhagen was to sample the amazing breads those bakeries were producing.

If you live in a big city with a recent culinary renaissance like Portland, Nashville, or even here in Lisbon, you should have access to artisan loaves and rolls. If not, there are excellent sourdough tutorials and recipes available online.

Pro Tip
You can make your own sourdough bread if you’re an over-achiever.

Butter

Rectangular Block of Butter
You can use any butter you want in this recipe but the higher the quality, the better. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Just like the cheese and bread, you get out what you put in this sandwich.

We won’t say that generic supermarket butter is a no no but there’s certainly nothing wrong with using the best quality Irish or French butter. Since we’re in Lisbon, we usually source Azorean butter. You get extra credit if you use Danish butter!

How To Make A Danish Morning Bun

Cheese Inside Danish Morning Bun
A Danish morning bun is simple thing of Beauty. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Making this breakfast bun may be the most easy and satisfying recipe you’ll ever make in your home kitchen and, while we won’t say it’s the healthiest thing you’ll eat, it’s a heck of lot better for you than sugar-filled American cereals.

The key is to make sure you thinly slice your cheese and your roll evenly. You also must make sure that the butter has softened before you start.

The first step is to slice the cheese with either a cheese planer or a cheese knife about 1/8″ thin.

Pro Tip
Create enough slices to cover the surface of the bread.

Slicing Comte with Plane
You can either use a cheese planer, like we did, or a cheese knife to slice thin slices of cheese. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Next, slice the roll by placing the flat side of your palm on the top of the roll and slicing it evenly in half with a bread knife.

Slicing Bun for Danish Morning Bun Recipe
Daryl used the flat part of his palm and sliced this roll horizontally to split it evenly. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Spread the softened butter evenly on both sides of the sliced roll with a butter knife.

Pro Tip
You can soften the butter either by leaving it at room temperature 30 minutes before making the recipe or by swirling and agitating it with a butter knife on a small dish for about two minutes. Here’s a good video with more ways to soften butter.

Buttering Bread for Danish Morning Bun Recipe
Softened butter is a key element when preparing a Danish morning bun at home. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Once your roll is buttered, place the cheese evenly on the bread, close the bun.

Placing Cheese on Danish Morning Bun
Spreading cheese slices makes every bite a joy. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

All that’s left to do is bite into your tasty sandwich and enjoy a great day ahead.

Daryl Eats a Danish Morning Bun
Danish morning buns, Daryl’s ‘favorite new thing’ make him as happy as a new day! | Image: ©2foodtrippers

This Danish Morning Bun is part of a nutritious breakfast. (Those of a certain age will get the joke.)

Danish Morning Bun with Coffee and Orange Juice
A Danish Morning Bun is part of this nutritious breakfast. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

We recommend pairing your Danish Morning Bun with coffee or orange juice. Better yet, pair it with both.

Did you make this recipe? If so, please rate it below.

Danish Morning Bun on White Plate from Above
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5 from 2 votes

Danish Morning Bun Recipe

This Danish Morning Bun is one of our favorite things to eat and it only requires three simple ingredients.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Danish
Servings: 1
Calories: 294kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 sourdough bun
  • ½ ounce butter (softened to room temperature)
  • 1 ounce Comté cheese (thinly sliced)

Instructions

  • Slice sourdough bun in half with a bread knife.
  • Smear butter on to both sides of the bun's interior.
  • Place cheese slices inside the bun. Close bun.
  • Serve with coffee and/or orange juice.

Pro Tips

  • Thinly slice the cheese with a cheese planer or cheese knife before you start the recipe.
  • We like to use Comté cheese but you can substitute another Alpine cheese.
  • Eat immediately for maximum freshness.

Estimated Nutrition

Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 447mg | Potassium: 58mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 638IU | Calcium: 219mg | Iron: 1mg
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About The Authors

About The Authors

Daryl & Mindi Hirsch

Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers their unique taste of the world.

Disclosures

Article Updates
We update our articles regularly. Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.

Funding
We purchased the ingredients and tools used to create this recipe.

Original Publication Date: November 4, 2021

Recipe Rating




Jason

Saturday 19th of August 2023

You're right. For all the great food in Copenhagen, this is the one I truly want to make part of my regular routine.

Bob

Tuesday 4th of January 2022

I waded through this laborious description and there is no recipe for the bun. Time waster!

Daryl and Mindi Hirsch

Sunday 30th of January 2022

We DO provide a link to a sourdough bread recipe. You can shape and bake the rolls from that. Also - Excellent bread bakeries are emerging all over the USA. We recommend buying the rolls from one of those bakeries.

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