For several years now, we've had a recipe for pulla, or Finnish cardamom bread, sitting in our cupboard. One of my Canadian relatives gave it to us a few years ago. I've slightly changed the original recipe, and I think it's a keeper for sure!
If you love Scandinavian breads, make sure to try julekake and kanellängd too.
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Questions
Pulla bread is a soft, fluffy cardamom dessert served with a hot cup of coffee. The dough is braided into a large loaf or rolled into buns, and can be sprinkled with sliced almonds or pearl sugar. This is just as popular with coffee in Finland as donuts are in the United States!
Want to pronounce "pulla" correctly in Finnish? It's pronounced POOL-ah.
Serve a large braided pulla cut in thick slices with a cup of coffee. Spread a little butter on each slice if desired. Although this is non-traditional, you can also tear the pulla with your hands, like you would with challah.
Pulla is similar to challah and brioche, two other types of sweet yeast breads. Pulla contains milk, butter, eggs, and sugar, while challah contains water, olive oil, eggs, and honey. Since this bread must be kosher, it does not contain dairy. Brioche contains larger quantities of milk, butter, eggs, and sugar than pulla does, making it even richer.
Yes, you can definitely freeze pulla. It's best to freeze it once it has been baked and fully cooled. Seal in a zip-top freezer bag or wrap it tightly in layers of plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost in at room temperature for an hour or two, toast individual slices, or microwave until warm.
How to Braid Pulla
Feel free to braid it in a simple three-strand braid, or another pattern, such as the four-strand braid that I use in this recipe. Check out this video tutorial on how to braid several different kinds of braids. Here's how I did my four-strand braid, with the photo tutorial below.
- Think of the strands being in positions 1-4, from left to right.
- Cross the strand in spot 4 over the one in spot 3.
- Cross the strand in spot 2 over the one in spot 1.
- Cross the strand in spot 2 over the one in spot 3.
- Repeat this pattern until the whole loaf is braided.
How to Make
Gather the ingredients. You'll need bread flour, fast-action yeast, salt, eggs, sugar, cardamom, butter, and milk.
Melt the butter in the saucepan, then add the milk and heat to 115 F on a thermometer. Remove from the heat.
Whisk together the butter/milk mixture, the eggs, cardamom, salt, and sugar until well combined. Sprinkle the yeast on top and whisk until smooth.
Gradually add the bread flour, mixing with your hand as you go, until a slightly sticky dough has formed. Make sure to pick up all the flour from the sides of the bowl.
Knead the dough on a floured surface for 10-15 minutes, until it's smooth and much less sticky. A piece of dough should be able to stretch thin enough for you to see light through it. This is called the windowpane test.
Place the dough in a buttered bowl, cover tightly, and let it prove in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Punch down the dough and divide it into 4 equal pieces, using a kitchen scale to make each piece the same weight. Roll each piece of dough into a rope about 2 feet long.
Lay the four strands side by side and squeeze them together at the top. Mentally label the strands 1-4, from left to right.
Start the four-strand braid by crossing strand 4 over strand 3, as in the photo below.
Cross strand 2 over strand 1, then cross the new strand 2 over strand 3. Repeat this pattern until the loaf is beautifully braided.
Squeeze the ends of the braid together to seal, and cut off the extra dough on the ends with a bench scraper. You can use the offcuts to make a mini 4-strand loaf. It will give you extra practice with braiding.
Place the loaf on a cookie sheet, cover, and let it prove until it springs back quickly when prodded with a fingertip, about 30 minutes.
Once the bread is proved, brush the dough with a lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle generously with pearl sugar.
Bake the loaf at 375 F for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 300 F and bake for another 10-15 minutes. It is done when it has an internal temperature of at least 190 F. If it's getting too dark during the baking, cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil. The mini loaf will bake faster, so keep an eye on it.
Let the pulla cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and serving with a hot cup of coffee. Enjoy!
Pro Tips
- Be sure to use bread flour and not all-purpose flour. The additional gluten in bread flour gives the dough strength to rise higher and makes it more chewy.
- Speed up the rise by placing the bowl of dough on the middle rack of a cold oven, and put a pan of boiling water on the rack below the dough. Keep the oven door shut to trap the steam inside.
- Don't stretch the strands of dough when you're braiding the loaf. This will make the loaf skinnier at one end than the other.
- Don't have pearl sugar? Make your own. Put ½ cup of granulated sugar in a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon of water, and stir until the sugar forms clumps. Add water ¼ teaspoon at a time if not all the sugar clumped. Set the pan over medium-low heat and stir frequently until the sugar clumps have dried out and you can pick them up easily with a spoon. They will continue to harden as they cool.
- Place an extra cookie sheet under the loaf while it's baking. The air trapped between the two cookie sheets insulates the bottom, keeping it from browning too quickly.
- Use a thermometer to check when your bread is done baking. The loaf should be a rich golden brown and have an internal temperature of 190°F.
Other Sweet Breads You'll Love
- Kanellängd (Swedish Christmas Bread)
- Swedish Cardamom Buns
- Julekake (Norwegian Christmas Bread)
- Swedish Tea Ring
- Italian Panettone
- Challah
- German Stollen
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PrintRecipe
Pulla: Finnish Cardamom Bread
- Total Time: 3 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: 20 slices 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
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.
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon whole milk (250 ml)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (32g)
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (75g)
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cardamom
- 2 teaspoons fine salt (10g)
- 3 teaspoons fast-action yeast (10g)
- 5 cups bread flour (600g)
- 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons pearl sugar
Instructions
Making the Dough
- 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 ½ to 2 hours.
Shaping
- 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'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.
Decorating & Baking
- 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.
Notes
- Be sure to use bread flour and not all-purpose flour.
- Speed up the rise by placing the bowl of dough on the middle rack of a cold oven, and put a pan of boiling water on the rack below the dough. Keep the oven door shut to trap the steam inside.
- Don't stretch the strands of dough when you're braiding the loaf. This will make the loaf skinnier at one end than the other.
- Don't have pearl sugar? Make your own. Put ½ cup of granulated sugar in a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon of water, and stir until the sugar forms clumps. Add water ¼ teaspoon at a time if not all the sugar clumped. Set the pan over medium-low heat and stir frequently until the sugar clumps have dried out and you can pick them up easily with a spoon. They will continue to harden as they cool.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Proving Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Finnish
Keywords: cardamom bread, pulla bread, finnish recipes
This recipe was originally published on December 8, 2017.
Lisa
Hi. How do you roll out your strands so even? Is it a commercial machine?
Emma
I roll all the strands by hand. I've made a lot of braided loaves, so smooth ropes come with experience and practice!
Celi
Hi 🙂
You do have a beautiful blog, filled with amazing recipes!! 🙂
I'm sure that your version of our Pulla is delicious as it is - but I'm sorry to say, that it is not like the traditional Pulla we bake here in Finland.
I can share the more traditional amounts with you - the procedure is quite the same. Except that we usually form the dough into buns or cinnamon rolls. You can google pictures "pikkupulla" or "korvapuusti" 🙂
The measurements are (I always make double sized batch)
250 g milk (250 ml)
25 g fresh yeast (It's the one I use, but I suppose that 1 tbsp of dry yeast would be ok)
100 g granulated sugar (about ½ cup)
5 g ground cardamon (1½ tsp)
6 g salt (1 tsp)
50-60 g eggs (1 egg, basically)
500 g wheat flour (about 3½ cups? I trust you to know what flour is best to use there)
100 g butter, softened, not melted (a little less than a stick or ½ cup)
Again, thanks for the beautiful blog.
I wish happy and safe days for you all!! 🙂
Emma
Thank you for your information, Celi! I actually based my recipe here on a handwritten recipe I received from a Finnish friend. I'm sure there are many variations of pulla made throughout the world. Thanks for stopping by our blog!
Jemina
Pulla is actually just a blanket term for sweet breads like the one in this recipe in Finland, as well as korvapuusti, voisilmäpulla etc. This particular one is called pullapitko. 🙂 I'm looking forward to trying this recipe, as well as your kanellängd!
Emma
Thank you!
Mts
There is nothing better (imho) than a slice of pülla, toasted and lightly smeared with jelly (ligonberry or blackberry, never cloudberry) and allowed to be dipped into a china coffee cup of hot milk with some sweetened coffee. This was my breakfast when as a child, I lived with my Finnish grandmother and great grandmother. One large loaf lasted a week. Great grandma baked once a week everything for the week in her tiny apartment in L.A. Even on those unbearable hot days. Sometimes she used ground up sugar cubes, sometimes pearl sugar, but always there were slivered almonds on top. In our family recipe, we heated the freshly ground cardamom in the milk first. I think we use a lot more cardamom, too. I make pülla for Christmas gifts and for St. Urhu's day.
★★★★★
Emma
Thank you for sharing these sweet memories of you and your grandmothers! I'm so glad that you like this recipe, too. I hope it can remind you of these happy memories!