Pulla (Finnish Cardamom Bread)
Pulla is a traditional Finnish cardamom bread known as Pullapitko. The braided look of this sweet bread recipe makes a stunning treat for the holidays, whether for breakfast or for afternoon tea. This recipe makes 2 extra large loaves.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 30 cardamom pods or 1 tbsp jarred ground cardamom
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 2 cup warm milk
- 4 tsp instant yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 8 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup raisin optional
- 4 tbsp pearl sugar
- egg wash 1 egg + 2 tsp water
Instructions
For freshly ground cardamom
- Put cardamom pods in the mortar and pound them a few times to separate the skin from the seeds. Pick out and discard the skin. Continue pounding the seeds with the pestle until they are finely grounded. Set 2 teaspoons of freshly ground cardamom aside for later.
To Prepare the Pulla dough
- In a stand mixer with flat attachment, or in a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Then mix in milk, yeast, salt, and cardamom.
- Gradually add 7 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing until smooth, on medium low speed, about 4-5 minutes. Add the raisins and the last 1 cup of flour. Change the flat attachment to a dough hook. Continue kneading the dough for 2-3 minutes over low speed until the dough frees itself from the sides of bowl.
First rise
- Cover the dough and let it rise until double in volume, about 1-2 hours. Punch down. This recipe makes 2 extra-large loaves.
Braiding with 4 strands
- Divide the dough in half. Then, divide each half into equal pieces depending on how many strands you desire (3 is too simple and 5 is a bit complicated, so I prefer 4 strands).
- Roll each piece into long ropes about 1 1/2-inches thick (about 20 inch long). Braid the ropes loosely using 4 strands technique - watch the tutorial video for this. Tuck under the ends.
Second rise
- Place the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the loaves with the egg wash, and let rise again until nearly doubled, about 30-45 minutes.
Baking Pulla loaves
- Brush the loaves with egg wash again and sprinkle with pearl sugar. Place in a preheated 375˚F degree oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Take the loaves out of the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes.
- This bread is best served warm with a slather of butter. To cool, transfer the loaves onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
Video
Notes
Storage Tip: Once completely cooled, store the bread in a plastic bag. Pulla will stay fresh at room temperature up to 3 days. When it starts to go stale after that, Pulla makes a great French toast!
Pulla also freezes well. Put sliced Pulla bread in a zip bag and freeze up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 467kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 253mg | Potassium: 277mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 463IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 4mg