pulla

Finnish Cardamom Rolls, this Finnish version is also called "Pulla" - a delicious sweet roll perfect for the holidays!

Finnish Cardamon Rolls ( Pulla) 

milk

sugar

active dry yeast

cardamom seeds crushed or 1 1/4 tablespoons ground cardamom

salt

Cup butter, very very soft

eggs

all-purpose flour

Filling

cardamom

butter, softened

egg, for egg wash, whisked.

Turbinado sugar, sugar

Combine the milk sugar and yeast in a bowl, give a stir and let stand 10 minutes until yeast starts to bubble.

Add the eggs, the soft butter, cardamom and salt to your stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, mix everything together, then pour in the yeast mixture, mixing until well combined. Switching to the dough hook, add a cup of flour at a time and mix until all the flour is added. If the dough is very tacky add a bit more flour, but continue mixing until the dough separates from the bowl and forms a ball.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and  let it rise for 1 1/2 &#8211; 2  hours until it has doubled in size.

Mix the sugar and cardamom together in a small bowl for the filling.

Cover the work surface with  flour.  Punch the dough gently and place it on your work surface. Cut the dough in 4 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, cover the other rolls so that they don&#8217;t dry out. Roll each piece about as thin as you can, should be about 12 inches by 18 inches. Brush some soft butter onto it. Make sure it&#8217;s nicely buttered. Sprinkle some of the cardamom sugar over the entire surface, as much as you want. Roll it into a tight log starting from one of the narrow ends. With the seam side down, line up the dough log in front of you and cut it on the diagonal, alternating up and down, so that the slices are fat &#8216;v&#8217; shapes, with the point of the &#8216;v&#8217; about 3/4 wide and the base about 2 inches wide.

Place each on parchment lined baking sheet and turn so the narrow tip of the ‘v’ is facing up to the ceiling.

Let the rolls rise again for about 30-40 minutes.  Don’t skip this step. Brush the rolls with egg wash and then sprinkle with course sugar. Bake for about 18- 20  minutes and check  to see if its cooked through, continue baking for a few more minutes if necessary. let cool and store in air tight bags to keep them soft. To serve, heat them in the oven for just a few minutes, serve with butter.

To make a traditional Finnish braided loaf, visit “Pulla for Lea”.

What a treat. I had the day off and thought I would try something different. I normally don't do much with baked goods. They are not as pretty as the ones pictured above but were still quite delicious. I like that I can store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and warm a couple for a little snack.

These turned out great. I almost didn't put in the full 1 tablespoon of cardamon because it sounded like so much. It was fine! I made the full Pulla bread recipe and it made about 20 rolls and then I used the rest to make buns with a pepparkakor -type cookie on the top of each. The texture is more bready than a brioche but super tender and moist. Don't leave them out for too long as they start drying quickly, especially the rolls. Thanks for the recipe. It made us remember our wonderful trip to Finnish Lapland.

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) 

½ cup sugar

tsp salt

-7 cups all-purpose flour,

butter

egg egg wash)

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.

A recipe for Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns)! These golden, cardamom-scented buns have a center bursting with butter and sugar.

Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns)

unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)

Pearl Sugar

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk. Stir and allow to sit until the yeast is frothy, about 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough attachment or a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cardamom, and salt.

Mix in the softened butter, egg, and yeast with milk to form a dough. Add a little more flour if too sticky (just enough to remove the stickiness- don&#x27;t add too much or it will create tougher rolls) and a little more milk if too crumbly.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until soft and smooth. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a towel, and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour (this may take closer to 2 hours in cooler kitchens).

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or lightly grease.

On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 20 equal pieces, each about the size of a golf ball (45 grams/1.5 ounces). Roll each piece into a smooth ball and place on prepared baking sheets around 2 inches apart. Cover with dish towels and allow to rise until puffed, about 30 minutes.

Use a finger to make a depression in the center of each roll. Cut the chilled butter into 20 equal cubes. Place a cube in each depression.

In a small bowl, beat the egg and brush it over each roll. Pour 1/4 teaspoon of granulated sugar directly over each cube of butter in the bun. If desired, sprinkle pearl sugar around the edges.

Bake the voisilmäpullat in the preheated oven until golden, about 12 minutes.

Allow to cool on a wire rack and they are best served warm.

Tanskassa leivotaan joulun aikaan tätä ihanaa taatelipullaa. Viinerimäisen pullataikinan kierteissä maistuu appelsiinilla maustettu taatelitäyte. 

Tanskalainen taateli-appelsiinipulla

150 g voita (kuutioituna)

dl vehnäjauhoja

rkl sokeria

g hiivaa

¾ dl kylmää maitoa

munaa

g voita

1¾ dl tomusokeria

tl vaniljasokeria

appelsiinin kuori

rkl hillottua appelsiininkuorta

75 g kivettömiä taateleita

muna

ripaus suolaa

raesokeria

Nypi voi ja jauhot murumaiseksi. Lisää sokeri. Murenna hiiva kylmään maitoon, sekoita huolella ja lisää jauhoseoksen joukkoon.

Lisää kananmunat ja sekoita taikina tasaiseksi.

Vaahdota täytteen voi ja tomusokeri. Pese appelsiini huolella ja raasta kuori (vain keltainen osa, valkoinen on kitkerää). Hienonna taatelit.

Lisää vanilja, appelsiininkuori, hillottu appelsiininkuori sekä hienonnettu taateli voi-sokerivaahtoon ja sekoita tasaiseksi.

Kauli kohottamaton taikina ohueksi, suorakaiteen muotoiseksi levyksi ja levitä täyte. Täytettä on taikinaan nähden niukalti, mutta se riittää maustamaan pullat.

Kierrä levy tiukalle rullalle. Leikkaa noin kolmen sentin viipaleita ja nostele ne paperivuokiin. Peitä pullat leivinliinalla ja anna kohota huoneenlämmössä reilu tunti.

Sekoita voitelua varten kananmuna ja ripaus suolaa. Voitele pullat ja ripottele päälle raesokeria. Paista 225-asteisessa uunissa 10–12 minuuttia.

Cardamom Bread, or Finnish Pulla, is a great bread for the new bread baker that makes two loaves and is an excellent dough for cinnamon rolls.

Braided Cardamom Bread (Finnish Pulla)

whole milk

instant yeast (or active dry yeast)

flour

sea salt

Tablespoons pearl sugar

Add milk and sugar to a small saucepan...

Add milk and sugar to a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until the sugar dissolves.

Add the butter and stir until the butter...

Add the butter and stir until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat.

Allow the milk to cool down to the...

Allow the milk to cool down to the temperature of a warm bath (not too hot and not too cold) and stir in yeast. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, you should see bubbles on the surface and it should grow in volume.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with...

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached, add milk mixture, 2 cups flour, salt, cardamom, and 1 egg. Mix until combined. (You can also make this bread by hand.) 

Add 3 more cups of flour and mix...

Add 3 more cups of flour and mix until completely incorporated. Add remaining 1 cup flour a little at a time until the dough forms a ball and is no longer sticky to the touch. (You may not need the whole cup of flour.)

Transfer the dough to a large bowl that...

Transfer the dough to a large bowl that has been lightly oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in a size, about one hour. 

Punch the dough down and knead by hand...

Punch the dough down and knead by hand for 1 to 2 minutes on a well-floured surface. Let rest for 10 minutes. 

Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Roll...

Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Roll each piece into a skinny rope about 15 inches long. Line 3 ropes side by side on the counter in front of you. Pinch the three pieces together at the top and braid the three pieces into a loaf. When you reach the end, pinch the remaining dough together and tuck it under the loaf. Repeat with the second loaf. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and rise for 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 375°. 

Make an egg wash by whisking the remaining...

Make an egg wash by whisking the remaining egg and 1 tablespoon of milk together. Brush the tops and sides of the loaves with egg wash. Sprinkle each loaf with pearl sugar. 

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the loaves...

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the loaves are browned on top. Let them cool before slicing. 

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/emxg1nrtnl5knna7jmfi.mp4

Braided Cardamom Bread

These Finnish Cardamom Rolls are the Finnish version of cinnamon rolls. These beautiful buns come with a heavenly cardamom scented dough with a cinnamon sugar filling. They are are sweet, flaky and delicate treasures that can be enjoyed at only 152 calories per roll.

Finnish Cardamom Rolls

milk (lukewarm)

dry yeast

butter (unsalted, softened)

cinnamon

butter (softened)

Turbinado sugar (for sprinkling over the rolls, or regular sugar)

Prep the yeast: In a small bowl combine the milk, 1/2 cup of sugar, the yeast and stir. Let the yeast mixture sit for about 10 min until it froths up and bubbles.

Make the dough: In the bowl of your mixer add the eggs, butter, cardamom, salt. Using the paddle attachment, mix everything together. Add the yeast mixture and continue mixing until well combined. Change to the dough hook and adding a cup of flour at a time mix until you add all the flour. If the dough is too sticky add a bit more flour, but continue mixing until the dough separates from the bowl and forms into a ball.

Let the dough rise: Grease a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise until it doubles in size.

Make the cinnamon sugar: In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon together for the topping. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Assemble the rolls: Add a bit of flour to your work surface. Punch the dough gently and place it down on the work surface. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, cover the other rolls so that they don&#x27;t dry out. Roll each piece about as thin as you can, should be about 12 inches by 18 inches. With a brush or a knife smear some butter onto it. Make sure it&#x27;s nicely buttered. Sprinkle some of the cinnamon sugar over the entire surface, as much as you want. Roll it into a tight log starting from the narrower side. Line up the dough log in front of you and cut it slightly on the diagonal, alternating up and down, so that the slices are fat &#x27;v&#x27; shapes, with the point of the &#x27;v&#x27; about 2 cm (3/4 inch) and the base about 5 cm (2 inches). Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough pieces.

Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees.

Bake: Let the rolls sit for about 30 minutes to rise. Brush the rolls with egg wash and then sprinkle with Turbinado sugar or plain sugar. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.

Top 6 pulla recipes from across the web

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Finnish Cardamon Rolls ( Pulla)

Pulla (Traditional Finnish Cardamom...

Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye B...

Tanskalainen taateli-appelsiinipull...

Braided Cardamom Bread (Finnish Pul...

Finnish Cardamom Rolls

Top 6 pulla recipes from across the web

The most viewed pulla recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Finnish Cardamon Rolls ( Pulla)

Pulla (Traditional Finnish Cardamom...

Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye B...

Tanskalainen taateli-appelsiinipull...

Braided Cardamom Bread (Finnish Pul...

Finnish Cardamom Rolls

The most viewed pulla recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine