Pulla (Finnish Cardamom Sweet Bread)
Pulla is a traditional Finnish sweet bread that is flavored with the unique scent of cardamom. It makes a stunning loaf, or can be baked into individual rolls for easy eating.
Finnish Pulla
A traditional Nordic bread, this soft and rich treat is called 'pulla' in Finland and 'bulle' in Sweden.
It is traditionally eaten with coffee and tea, the perfect bread for nibbling while sitting around chatting with friends over a warm cup.
The bread is lightly sweetened, incredibly soft and fluffy, and wonderfully unique in its flavor.
Cardamom Bread
At first glance, this loaf might look like an almond-studded challah or brioche, but Finnish pulla has something extra that makes it stand out from these two rich breads.
Cardamom.
We were a bit surprised to find cardamom used in a bread, but it turns out that cardamom is actually quite a common spice in Nordic baking.
These guys are definitely on to something.
The subtle flavor and warm spice notes from the cardamom really are present in each bite of this tender bread. If you're not used to eating cardamom, you might not be able to pick out the flavor, but you will definitely notice that there is something very tasty and slightly different about the flavor of each bite.
Making Our Finnish Pulla Bread Recipe
After the flavor and soft texture of this bread, we also love how versatile the dough is.
It can be made into a braided loaf, like we did, if you're looking for a wonderful table centerpiece. These loaves could also be braided with a filling, like cinnamon sugar or jam, for something extra special.
It can also be made into individual rolls, which can either be left as just the bread, or can be filled with jam or custard, making for a delicious breakfast treat.
Finally, and this one we REALLY loved, the dough can be packed up in an air-tight container and brought along with you on your next camping trip. To bake the bread, wrap snakes of dough around a stripped piece of wood. Then bake your pulla over the fire.
Seriously. We're trying that one the next time we go camping!
Pulla (Finnish Cardamom Bread)
Ingredients
- ¾ c milk, warmed to 110F
- ¼ c water, warmed to 110F
- ⅓ c sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast (1 package)
- 4 ½ c unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water (for egg wash)
- Coarse sugar and sliced almonds (for topping)
Instructions
- In a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), combine milk, water and sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over top and let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy.
- Add 2 cups of flour, eggs, cardamom, and salt. Mix until smooth.
- Add the butter and mix until combined.
- Knead the dough in the bowl, adding enough of the remaining flour to keep it from sticking, until the dough comes clean from the sides of the bowl and doesn’t stick to your hands.
- Shape the dough into a ball in the bowl and cover it with a damp tea towel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft free place for 1 - 1 ½ hours, or until doubled.
- Once risen, knock back the dough and divide it into 3 strands for a braid.* Roll each strand into a 20 inch snake. Braid the strands and place the braided loaf on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash and sprinkle it with sugar and almonds, if desired. Let the loaf rise for 30-40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
- Near the end of rising time, preheat your oven to 375F.
- Bake the bred for 25-30 minutes, until golden and hollow sounding when tapped.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool slightly on a wire rack before cutting.
- Bread will keep for 1 week on the counter in an air-tight container.
Notes
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
Excellent bread and good looking recipe. My mother, Finnish, ordered 24 loaves of pulla every Christmas from a Finnish Co-op in Fitchburg, MA. She give away half and freeze the rest so she had some on hand for visitors the rest of the year. My wife learned how to make it and does 18-24 loaves ever year, for gifts and for ourselves. The key is getting unground cardamon seed pods for maximizing the odor and wonderful taste. Toasted or not, with butter or some jam, it's great!
Thank you for sharing! The cardamom gives such a wonderful aroma!
I've started making this pulla. Made it exactly as stated in your recipe. Hubby is Finnish and grew up on pulla. He said it was close, but he asked for more cardamom so put in 4 tsp and buried raisins in each of the 3 strands. He said it tastes just like he remembers it! But your original recipe is great too.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks for the great recipe. Finland is not in Scandinavia though, it is a Nordic country.
Yes. Thank you Erana.
One of the best buns recipes, I tried it the very first time and it's come out so impressive, delicious and the fragrance of cardamom is divine,topped it with almonds and pearl sugar. I served with whipped cream to which I had added maple syrup and some cardamom powder. Thank you!!!
PS:I tried this because I had been watching a lot of Finnish series and pretty much every series they mention buns!!! Wish I could send a photo to you of my Pulla!
Hi Nandini. Wonderful! What a delicious way to serve them. You can always email us pictures or share them with us on social media. We are always happy to see them!
I've made this many times now and it's just lovely. Sometimes, I'll even use oat milk if I don't go buy cow's milk specially for this (a house full of lactose intolerant folks haha) and it's always great regardless. Excellent recipe!
So glad you enjoy it! And good to know it works just as well with a non-dairy milk. Thanks for sharing!
This came out amazing! I didn't read closely enough and had added all of the flour into the bowl with the salt and cardamom. It was the perfect consistency for me. The butter concerned me as I was trying to evenly disperse it through the dough but I trusted the process after kneading and let it rise. It rose beautifully. I shaped it into rolls and followed your instructions. I topped with almonds and brown sugar because I don't like coarse sugar. For me, it was lightly sweet, airy, and so delicious. The cardamom came through amazingly, just a right balance. I was googling sweet buns when I learned about Pulla. I love trying recipes from different places and looked through a lot of recipes and decided on yours. I'm so excited, it was exactly what I wanted. Thank you so much for your recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing!
My son and I made this recipe and it came out excellent
Thank you for sharing
All the best from Canada ??
So glad you enjoyed it!
Can this recipe be converted for gluten free dairy free use?
Hi Bonnie, We are not very well versed in gluten free or dairy free cooking. I would suggest starting with your favorite gluten free flour substitute for baking and using your favorite milk alternative. With the different flour and different liquid, there is a chance that the amount of flour you will need to add will be different than the recipe calls for, so just pay attention to the consistency of your dough as you're mixing it. We'd love to hear what you use and how it turns out for you.
Add "enough of the remaining flour"? I added ALLof the remaining flour and the mixture still stuck to the bowl and my hands. I am not an experienced baker so I have no idea whether the additional flour I had to add will ruin the bread.
Hi Jude, You can go ahead and add more flour until your dough gets to a good consistency. Different flours (even different all purpose flours) will absorb liquid differently, so there is always a possibility that you need a little extra flour. We hope you enjoy the bread.
Tried your recipe, since the family recipe is squirreled away somewhere. Your loaf was certainly softer than the local pullas made by our Finn bakery, and I like that, but I think they are more generous with both the sugar and the cardamom. I may increase those next time.
Thanks for trying our recipe and for your notes Ed!
I grew up with my mom, and mummo (grandma in Fin) making this delicious sweet bread. It has been years since I have made it - and I hope it is ok to share this on my blog entry for “10 favourite foods”! I’ve participated in a 31 Day Blog Challenge, and Foods is on Day 7! I absolutely love this stuff - and we would have rolls made over with the leftover dough! Yummmm!
Hi Shari, What a great bread to have such fond memories of! We're happy for you to share a link to our recipe. I see you used our image on your site. We would appreciate if you would use the image as-is, without cropping off our watermark, and if you would give us an image credit as well. Thanks!
Another Finn here! I suggest you omit the eggs (you can use two tablespoons of applesauce if you want to) for the dough to be much softer and fluffier, since eggs actually make it a bit stiff and are not necessary for pulla! Also another tip: aside cardamom, add a little bit of cinnamon as well. Try it, you'll love it! 🙂
Thanks for your tips! We look forward to trying them!
@Mari, I was wondering about the eggs. My pure Finnish mother and my husband's Finnish grandmother made the most wonderful, dense pulla. I don't remember if either used eggs. The pulla we buy here are dry and not as flavorful and I'd love to surprise my husband with what he (and I) grew up with.
My family is Finnish and we make this all the time, delicious. Typically we will frost it with a buttercream vanilla forsting, sprinkle chopped walnuts and decorate with candied cherries. The everyday version is to brush with coffee after it cools and then sprinkle sugar over the top, then eat it buttered. The plain loaf also makes incredible french toast.
Ooh! Both versions sound delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Did you use a mixer with a dough hook for this?
Yes. If you're using your mixer, a dough hook would be the best way to go. You can do it by hand, but the dough is quite soft. Enjoy!
Can I let this rise overnight then bake in the morning? Would I keep it in the fridge or on the counter?
Sure! If you shape it the night before, I would keep it in the fridge to rise overnight. Then, let it come to room temperature (might take an hour or so) before baking in the morning. Enjoy!