Finnish Cardamom Sweet Bread – Pulla

By MeanJean

This recipe makes 3 loaves, which seems like a lot but works out quite splendidly because 1 is to show your Scandinavian hospitality and give it as a gift, 1 is to eat immediately – which you will – and the last you can tuck in the freezer until you’re ready, which will likely be in 2 days time.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 cups milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
• 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 whole cardamom pods or 1 tsp of ground
• 5 eggs, 1 off to the side
• 8 – 9 cups sifted white flour
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup slivered almond

Preparation

Step 1

Microwave your milk for about 2 minutes, and then take it out and let it cool on the counter.

While it cools, find a smallish bowl and dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Now you may ask, “what does WARM mean?” Warm means that it’s hotter than room temperature, but not scalding. Warm is like the bath that you were sitting in which was blistering hot 20 minutes ago and is now just making you sleepy. Let the yeast wake up in it’s warm bath and start to bloom/froth for about 5 minutes.

I use a mixer to make this dough because I’m lazy. However, if you don’t have a mixer and you DO have a particularly strong arm, feel free to make this in a large bowl. Pour in the yeast, milk (which should be mostly cooled by now), ONE (1) cup of sugar, the salt, cardamom (I used ground because I did not have whole), FOUR (4) eggs and only TWO (2) CUPS of the flour.

Beat this mixture into a batter, or combine it on low speed in your mixer. Add 3 more cups of flour as well as your melted butter and stir this until it is combined.

Finally, you can add your remaining 2 – 3 cups of flour. So how do you know how much to add? The dough will tell you. Start by adding 2 cups, and let it mix for a few minutes. If it is still sticking to the beater and the sides and looks a bit like a thick batter, you need more flour.

Maybe the Finns have moister houses than I do, because I needed all 9 cups of flour to make my dough. You can tell that there is enough flour when the dough comes together in a ball and has a relatively smooth surface. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, and knead it for about 10 minutes. You will feel it change in your hands, becoming smoother and more elastic. It will have an almost silky sheen and then you know you’ve done your job and it’s ready.

Lightly oil a bowl all over, and drop the dough in there to rise. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel so that it can breathe.

After about an hour the dough should have doubled in size. I know, the pictures aren’t great today. I usually use Mike’s camera (aka, The Good Camera) but since he’s away right now you get my little Sony point-and-shoot which is perfect for taking candids at a party, but maybe not so great for a cooking site.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface (again) to punch it down. Punching down is basically a nice way of saying, “and knead again for another 3 minutes”.

Let this rise, with a cloth cover, for another 30 – 60 minutes until it has doubled in size again.

Turn the dough out (last time, I promise) onto a very lightly floured surface and divide this into 3 parts.

Divide each part into 3 more parts.

Roll each part out into a tube about 18 inches long. Braid 3 strips together. Pinch the ends together to seal them, and tuck them under the loaf.

Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets and transfer your loaves. It will be one sheet with 2 braids, and one sheet with 1 braid. Let this rise for about 20 minutes until it is larger but not doubled in size. While it rises, preheat the oven to 400.

Has your dough risen a bit? AWESOME! Beat the last egg, and have your slivered almonds and sugar handy.

Brush each loaf thoroughly with egg, sprinkle 1/3 of the almonds on top of each one, and then sugar each loaf.

Bake in a hot oven for 25 – 30 minutes until they are slightly brown on the darkest parts, mostly golden, and still a light fawn color where the dough was creased. If you overbake the loaves they will dry out, and you want a cooked but moist loaf.