Finnish Pulla Bread
 Source All Recipes Recipe Added: 12/11/2011
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Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the lukewarm milk, sugar, salt, cardamom, 4 eggs, and enough flour to make a batter (about 2 cups). Beat until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add about 3 cups of the flour and beat well; the dough should be smooth and glossy in appearance. Add the butter, melted, and stir well. Beat again until the dough looks glossy. Stir in the remaining flour until the dough is stiff.
Turn out of bowl onto a floured surface, cover with an inverted mixing bowl, and let rest for 15 minutes. Knead the dough until smooth and satiny. Place in a lightly greased mixing bowl, and turn the dough to grease the top. Cover with a clean dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down, and let rise again until almost doubled. Turn out again on to a floured surface, and divide into 3 parts. Divide each third into 3 again. Roll each piece into a 12 to 16 inch strip. Braid 3 strips into a loaf. You should get 3 large braided loaves. Lift the braids onto greased or parchment-lined baking sheets. Let rise for 20 minutes. Brush each loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350° F for 25 to 30 minutes. Check occasionally because the bottom may burn easily. |
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| Notes Option 1: add 1 1/2 cups of raisins to the batter and sprinkle slivered almonds on the top of the egg wash/sugar before baking. Option 2: make a glaze of powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla Over a thousand years ago traders carried cardamom along the spice routes from India and eventually made its way through Constantinople brought by the Vikings to Scandinavia where it became very popular among the Finnish and Swedish in baking bread and pastries. I made this for my college Finnish class Christmas party and it was delicious. | ||||
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