cardamom bread

A traditional recipe for Pulla - a buttery Finnish Cardamom Bread that tastes and smells heavenly. Think of this as Finnish Coffee bread- perfect for mornings or afternoon tea. This makes 2 extra-large braided loaves, feel free to halve the recipe. Allow 3 hours rising time (30 mins hands-on time)

Pulla (Traditional Finnish Cardamom Bread) 

milk

active dry yeast

½ cup sugar

eggs

tsp salt

-7 cups all-purpose flour,

butter

egg egg wash)

sugar

If using whole cardamom pods, crack open the pods and lightly toast the seeds in a dry skillet for 45-60 seconds, stirring over medium heat until fragrant. Grind down to the consistency of sand with a mortar and pestle. You could do this step ahead, or use ground cardamom.

Heat milk to a simmer, let cool to lukewarm (you don&#8217;t want it over 110F which can kill the yeast) pour into a small bowl. Add a pinch of sugar and stir in yeast and let stand for 7 minutes. Check that yeast is dissolved and frothy.

In a stand mixer or large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until lemon colored. Add the milk and yeast, cardamom and salt and beat until smooth. Mix in 2 cups of flour cup by cup, mixing until smooth and no lumps.  Add the softened butter and mix well &#8211; the dough will get beautifully glossy. Continue adding the flour, a 1/2 cup at a time, mixing to incorporate, adding flour until stiff enough to knead, yet still soft about 6 cups. Knead using a dough hook adding a little more flour as needed until the dough pulls away from the edges, and is satiny, about 5 minutes.  (The key here is to use as little flour as possible.) Alternatively, kneed by hand on a well-floured surface, for  6- 7 minutes,  adding a little flour at a time, dough will be slightly tacky but not sticky.  At this point, if you wish, you could knead in some raisins and almonds. Shape into a ball.

Place in an oiled bowl, turning to coat the top,  cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm area (80F)  until it doubled in size. (I like to turn my oven on at the very start at the lowest setting, then turn it off, letting the dough rise inside, or place it on top of the stove.)*** Having a warm spot for it to rise is imperative here.

After it has doubled,  divide it in half. This will make two extra-large loaves. (or make rolls see notes)

To make 2 braided loafs, divide each half into 3 pieces.  Roll each piece into long ropes about  1 1/2- 2 inches thick. Braid the 3 ropes and tuck under the ends. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or in lightly greased, or parchment-lined loaf pan-see notes).

Beat the egg with tablespoon water. Brush the loaves with the egg wash.  Sprinkle with pearl sugar over the top and sliced almonds if you like.

Let rise again until doubled. Place in a preheated 375-degree oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until skewer or toothpick pulls out clear (or internal temp is 200F) and the top is nicely golden.

If baking in a loaf pan, bake at 350F for 40-45 mins.

Pull it out of the oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Slice and slather with butter.

I was drawn to click on this recipe because my mom taught me how to make pulla, and I have always loved it. I read what you wrote about your mom, which reminded me so much of my Finnish grandmother, Kaarina, who passed away this summer. Come to find out, she was born 2 years after your mother and grew up on a farm in Ruokojarvi, 50 minutes away. She had to evacuated to Suonjenjoki during the war. Her life experience was similar as well. Her father was a Seventh-Day Adventist and so was she throughout her life. She went to nursing school in England where she met her husband, who was Japanese, and they moved to Loma Linda in southern CA. She moved throughout the country many times with her family, and even traveled to Kenya once. The similarities here are eerie to me! Thank you for sharing your mother's story. I wonder if they ever knew each other.

What a wonderful post filled with love, emotion and deep connections. It stirs me so. My Grammy made us Pulla and I can still see her hands kneading the dough. Braiding the dough. Your Mom is beautiful. She reminds me of my Grammy and Auntie from Finland. 
You are a wonderful writer.

I have not yet made the recipe but wanted to say as I read about your mother and the Cold Solace poem included here I had tears in my eyes.  My grandfather was Finnish.  I so loved him and miss him in particular as the holidays approach.  He was a great cook and baker and made the most wonderful treats, we called them tarts but they were filled with apricot or walnuts and prunes and sort of triangular shaped butter rich pastry, every Christmas.  Cardamom rolls were also a favorite of my grandmother, who was Swedish, on the other side of the family.  I will think of both of them when I make this recipe as rolls. Thank you for sharing.

Dear Sylvia, 
I'm so glad I found this site. And the way you introduce your Mom, to me. I must admit that it made me very lonesome for mylate Mom. I grew up with an elderly finish, couple and Moomoo, would make the most yummiest Pulla. As she would sit me down at the table, and hang my winter jacket on the back of their wooden kitchen chair. And then pull out the Pulla, freshly baked out of her wood stove. As she refused to cook or bake on anything else. 
I was just a little gaffer and I would watch her big strapping husband chop, wood in the shed. Where he had placed me on a great big stump, to watch him chop the wood. When done this is when we would go in, and have the fresh pulla. And they would have it with their coffee.  And I, a tall glass of milk. It's a memory I'll cherish my whole life.

Correction:
I didn't grow with as persay in the same home. We were neighbors.....

thank you for sharing this lovely story of your mom’s understandable obsession with Pulla. We made two loaves today and devoured 1/2 of the first loaf, just the two of us! I took a photo but can’t seem to find a way to include it in this email. We did reduce the sugar amount to 1/2 cup; we’re also thinking of trying black cardamom next time. Love your website, your recipes and pictures, and background stories. Thanks again for this inspirational Zopf (German word for it)

First I would like to say the memory you shared of your mom is beautiful. My husband is Finnish  but unfortunately doesn’t have any of his grandmothers recipes. 

I was hoping this recipe would bring back memories for him. Unfortunately it never got that far. I tried this recipe twice, I could not get it to work. I thought it was me or maybe the yeast but the yeast was fine and both batches failed. Upsetting. 

I read another comment that the recipe was updated at one point. Is there a reason why?

I decided I wanted to try making Pulla after trying a loaf from a local bakery. After comparing quite a few recipes I settled on Sylvia’s and the results were better than I expected. I decreased the sugar to about 1 cup and added raisins to one loaf. They baked up beautifully in 30 minutes and taste incredible. I will definitely make this again!

I've had the same problem as Cindy!  I'm now on my third batch and hope this one works!  The dough will not rise!  The yeast is active, the oven warm, directions followed to the letter, yet almost 5 lbs of flour and 1/2 jar of expensive cardamom and I have not had success....yet.  I promised my daughter I would make this for her today.  One of her clients gave her a loaf over the holidays and she has raved about it.  It was served with honey butter and she said it was to die for.  I sure hope the 3rd time is the charm for me!

I gave 5 stars in advance because the story about your mom and memories was simply beautiful!  Thank you for sharing her and your memories with us.

Wow this is incredible! My sister suggested I try to make Cardamom Bread and I had to Google it. I've never heard of it, nor had I ever tasted cardamom.  After some research, I fell in love with the story of your Mom! I lost my mom too, so I get it. But as I was making this today,  I had your mom in my thoughts and I wanted to make her proud! I imagine she would have given me flack for using ground cardamom, but I kneaded this beauty by hand from start to Finnish (ha!). It was WORTH IT! Because oh my goodness I'm in love!

Wonderful! Made sure it didn’t over-brown, tastes great! My loaves were a bit sunken in the middle, but still delicious.

Your story reminds me of my Finnish grandmother, Mummi. This recipe turned out wonderfully for me as well! I just made one loaf and halved the ingredients but it was fantastic. Mine ended up very light and fluffy.

Pulla, a soft and fluffy cardamom bread recipe from Finland, is easy to make without a bread machine or mixer.  This authentic sweet treat tastes great with coffee on a cold day!  This beautiful braided loaf will disappear quickly among family and friends.

Pulla: Finnish Cardamom Bread

+ 1 tablespoon whole milk

unsalted butter

cardamom

salt

fast-action yeast

bread flour

egg white (lightly beaten)

pearl sugar

Warm Liquids

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, then pour in the milk and stir until the mixture reaches 115°F.  Remove from the heat.

Wet Ingredients

Crack the eggs into a large bowl and add the milk mixture, sugar, cardamom, and salt.  Whisk until well combined, then sprinkle in the yeast and whisk again.

Add Flour

Gradually mix in the flour with your hand until a soft, somewhat sticky dough has formed.

Knead

Knead the dough briefly in the bowl, then turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes until the dough is no longer so sticky and is smooth and elastic.

Prove #1

Shape the dough into a ball, place in a lightly buttered bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Place the dough in a warm place and let it prove until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Making the Dough

Prep Pan

Line a large, light-colored metal cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Roll into Ropes

Punch down the dough, then divide it into 4 equal pieces (243g each), using a kitchen scale for accuracy.  Roll each piece of dough into a rope 2 feet long.  Be sure not to use a floured surface during this step.  If the dough isn&#39;t rolling easily, let it rest for a few minutes, then come back to it.

Braid

Place the four strands side by side and join them together at the top, then start a four-strand braid.  Think of the strands of being numbered from 1 to 4, from left to right.  Bring 4 over 3, then bring 2 over 1.  Cross the new strand 2 over strand 3.  Repeat this sequence until the whole loaf is plaited.

Prove #2

Tuck the ends of the plait underneath the loaf and transfer it to the prepared cookie sheet.  Cover and let it rise until the dough springs back quickly when gently prodded with a fingertip, about 30 minutes.

Preheat

About 15 minutes before the dough has finished proving, preheat the oven to 375°F.

Shaping

Decorate

Brush the loaf with the lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with pearl sugar.

Bake

Bake at 375°F for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 300°F and bake for another 10-15 minutes.  Cover the loaf with a piece of aluminum foil once it is nicely browned.  The bread is done when it has an internal temperature of 190°F.

Cool

Let the bread cool completely on a wire rack before eating.  Slice and serve with salted butter and coffee.

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