It’s baking day, and in light of the upcoming festival of Brigid I thought I would share my favorite recipe for Pulla. Traditionally a Finnish sweet bread, there are tons of variations on texture and spice blend. This one happens to be my grandmother’s. Technically, you can prep Pulla into any shape, but I was taught by braiding and I’ve always kind of stuck to that. Since Brigid is frequently associated with Braids and crosses, I somehow always associate the two.
This particular loaf is delicious with coffee, or a bit of honey or butter; not that that is particular shocking since it is traditionally eaten with coffee. It is soft and chewy with an aromatic blend of spices that will always warm my heart.
The Not So Secret of Making Pulla
In my humble opinion, what really makes your pulla next level is the quality/ type of your spices. In this case- spring for green cardamom, especially if you can get whole pods. Black cardamom will work- but green is in its own class. It take only the work of minutes to grind fresh pods into the most amazing flavor you’ve ever tasted. Bread takes hours too make correctly anyways- its worth the 3 minutes with a mortar and pestle/ molcajete. Some grocery stores now sell pods, additionally I know world market sells it and you can also get it online and from some smaller specialty stores.
But enough chat. On to the bread!
Mis en Place (Get Your Shit and Get it Together):
- 2 cups milk
- 1 Tbsp Yeast
- ¾ Cups granulated sugar
- ¼ Cup water
- 2 whole eggs, beaten lightly
- 1 Tbsp cardamom, ground
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 7-7 ½ Cups All Purpose flour or bread flour
- ½ Cup butter, melted
- 1 egg, beaten separately for egg wash
- Baking sheet or stone wear (I am partial to stone wear as it leads to better crust).
Pulla Prodecure:
- Begin by Scalding your milk in a small, heavy bottomed saucepan. You can scald milk in any saucepan- but its easier if its double bottomed as there is less chance of burning. You want small bubbles to be forming around the edge of the pan but not boiling. It will sometimes develop a small film on top- this is okay. Remove milk from heat. Add half of your cardamom to the milk and let it steep as it cools (this step is not necessary but definitely helps increase the flavor). Milk will need to cool to just above room temperature. Warm is okay- but hot will kill your yeast.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle (or a large bowl if you plan on mixing by hand) combine yeast with 1 tsp of the sugar. Add the warm water and let sit 5 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom. DO NOT RUSH THIS STEP.
- Add milk, remaining sugar, remaining cardamom, eggs, and salt.
- Begin adding flour, one cup at a time until you reach 5 cups. Let mix 1-2 minutes until mostly smooth. It is important that the dough have a few minutes to mix and develop gluten strands before you proceed to the next step, butter impedes the formation of gluten so if you add the butter to soon you will end up with tough, dense bread.
- With the mixer still mixing, slowly pour in melted butter and continue to mix until dough is smooth and shiny. Once butter is completely absorbed, add the remaining flour ½ cup at a time until smooth again.
- Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a tea towel. Let sit in a warm, humid place until doubled in size (roughly 45 minutes).
- Gently deflate and empty out onto a lightly floured surface. Break dough into 3 equal chunks.
- Working with one third at a time, split each third into either halves or thirds again and braid in a 3 or 4 strand braid (2 chunk= 4 strand braid; 3 chunks= traditional braid).
- Gently move braided loves to baking pans and let rise again 20 minutes.
- Brush with egg wash.
- Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool Fully before eating. Do not skip the cooling step. I know that it can be tempting to cut into a loaf of bread fresh out of the oven, and you CAN eat it still warm, but it needs to be 90% cool. This is where gluten cells solidify, air cells set, and most of your crust development occurs. Cutting bread early can leave you with collapsed, structureless, and gummy bread.
Feel Free to play with spice blends and amounts. Some people will top their Pulla with sliced almonds or include raisins or dried berries. If you’re looking for more bread tips and tricks, check out the rest of our bread 101 series here!
Have fun and go make a mess!
All the best, Always,
Mikaela