Pulla is the ultimate Finnish bread dough. Feeling sad? Shape it into a teardrop. Feeling confused? Twist the heck out of it. Feeling like Pippi Longstocking? Braid it! Feeling creative? Shape it into men, women and children. Feeling pregnant? Just make little buns, baby!
There’s also plenty of choice in regard to flavorings. Pulla always tastes of glorious cardamom. After that? You can leave it plain or fill it. Sweeten life up with a bit of brown sugar, butter, and spices (that’s what we opted for in this recipe), or get things movin’ with some prune filling. You can even fill it after baking with a bit of jam and whipped cream. Usually this is assembled “hamburger style” with a bun sliced in half and whipped cream gilding the outer edges of a jam-burger.
What to expect: No matter how you handle it, pulla should not be anywhere as sweet as a cinnamon roll. The soft, rich dough is quite a bit more subtle than that. The dominant flavor will be cardamom, with a background zing of cinnamon and the barest drop of ground cloves. Sugar remains a delicate background flavor.
Note: For a slightly lighter (but less rich) dough, try replacing 1/4 cup of the milk with water.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 1 giant loaf | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 25-30 minutes | 2 hours |
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Pulla is the ultimate Finnish bread dough. Feeling sad? Shape it into a teardrop. Feeling confused? Twist the heck out of it. Feeling like Pippi Longstocking? Braid it! Feeling creative? Shape it into men, women and children. Feeling pregnant? Just make little buns, baby!
There’s also plenty of choice in regard to flavorings. Pulla always tastes of glorious cardamom. After that? You can leave it plain or fill it. Sweeten life up with a bit of brown sugar, butter, and spices (that’s what we opted for in this recipe), or get things movin’ with some prune filling. You can even fill it after baking with a bit of jam and whipped cream. Usually this is assembled “hamburger style” with a bun sliced in half and whipped cream gilding the outer edges of a jam-burger.
What to expect: No matter how you handle it, pulla should not be anywhere as sweet as a cinnamon roll. The soft, rich dough is quite a bit more subtle than that. The dominant flavor will be cardamom, with a background zing of cinnamon and the barest drop of ground cloves. Sugar remains a delicate background flavor.
Note: For a slightly lighter (but less rich) dough, try replacing 1/4 cup of the milk with water.
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Ingredients
For the dough:
- 4 1/2 – 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp instant dry yeast
- 4 Tbsp butter , softened
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 Tbsp ground cardamom
- 4 cardamom pods , shelled and seeds crushed lightly
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cup milk , warmed
For the filling:
- 4 Tbsp butter , softened
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- pinch ground cloves
For the top:
- 1 egg , beaten
- 1 tsp sugar
Servings: giant loaf
Units:
Instructions
Prepare the dough:
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl (proof yeast if desired).
- Mix with a dough hook for 10 minutes on medium speed. This dough cleans the sides of the bowl, but sticks to the bottom until kneaded for the full ten minutes. If after 10 minutes it still hasn’t cleaned the bottom of the bowl, add a bit more flour and mix it in. Let rise for about 1 1/2 hours.
For the filling:
- Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.
To assemble:
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 16″ x 12.” Spread the filling in a strip down the center.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut strips on each side (you need the same number of strips on each side). Try to keep the cuts about a 3/4 inch from the filling.
- Cross the strips of dough over in a herringbone pattern. Be sure to lift the sides of dough up as you go. This will give the loaf “walls” to keep the filling from leaking out. If any of your cuts dips down too low, pinch the dough back together or your filling will ooze out.
- Pinch the last strips and fold them under. Do the same with the other end.
- Let rise about 20 minutes, then preheat the oven to 350F. Brush liberally with a beaten egg. And sprinkle with a happy snowstorm of sugar.
- Bake 25-30 minutes NOTE: You could also bake this at 375F, but it darkens up quite a bit faster. Play around and see what works for you. Let cool a few minutes before slicing or it will fall apart.
- Serve immediately with a cup of hot coffee.