Braided Cardamom Bread, or Finnish Pulla, is a great bread for the new bread baker with a special herbal, citrus character. It makes two delicious loaves, but the dough is excellent for cinnamon rolls, too.
I always feel so accomplished when I can say that I baked my own bread.
There really isn’t much that is more rewarding than making your own bread. And nothing compares to how it makes your house smell – especially this sweet scent of Cardamom Bread.
Plus, the dough also makes incredible cinnamon rolls. This recipe makes two loaves. Feel free to make one roll of bread and use the other half for cinnamon rolls. This recipe comes from the book Scandinavian Gatherings by Melissa Bahen.
What is Finnish Cardamom Bread? What is Pulla?
Cardamom bread, Pulla or nisu is a type of braided sweet bread or pastry flavored with cardamom.
It is popular among Nordic countries (Sweden and Finland).
What Does Cardamom Bread Taste Like?
Cardamom is very strong and aromatic. It has a slightly herbal, spicy, citrusy flavor that goes well with orange or warm spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg.
Ingredients //
There are two ingredients in this Braided Cardamom Bread that you might not have on hand but are worth having in your spice cabinet and pantry.
Gather together whole milk, sugar, butter, instant yeast, flour, sea salt, ground cardamom, eggs and pearl sugar.
Cardamom. The first, not surprisingly, cardamom. Cardamon is a spice that is used in a lot of European baking, particularly Scandinavia. I love it and have been using it more and more. It’s wonderful in Swedish Cardamom Buns, too.
Pearl Sugar. The other is pearl sugar. Have you ever had a liege waffle or one that has some crunch in it? The crunch is from pearl sugar. I bought pearl sugar from King Arthur Flour, but have also seen it in the grocery store. You can find it with the sugar, but on the top shelf.
Tip: If you don’t want to buy it, you can use sugar cubes. Put the cubes into a Ziploc bag and crush them with the back of a big spoon. You want chunks, so be careful not to completely crush them.
How to Make // The Steps
Making homemade bread might seem hard, but it really isn’t. It is really more about being patient than anything. A few simple ingredients, and some time, yield loaves of the most delicious bread.
This Finnish pulla bread can be made in the stand mixer or by hand. Simply:
- Add 2 cups milk and sugar to a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Whisk until combined and add butter.
- When the butter has melted, remove from the heat and stir in yeast. Let cool until the mixture is the temperature of a warm bath. Too cool and the yeast will not activate, and too hot and the yeast will die. I use a thermometer and like it to be in the 100° to 118° range. You will know that your yeast has activated when bubbles begin to form.
- While the yeast is cooling, add 2 cups flour, salt, cardamom, and one egg to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached.
- Pour the milk mixture into the bowl and stir until combined.
- Put in 3 more cups of flour.
- Stir until completely incorporated.
- Add the remaining cup of flour, a little at a time.
- Stop when the dough forms a ball and is no longer sticky to the touch.
- Transfer the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. I like to go an extra step and put the bowl inside of an extra large Ziploc bag. It creates a draft-free rising environment. Let rise until doubled, about one hour.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board. Punch the dough down, knead by hand for one to two minutes, then let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. (I weigh the dough using a kitchen scale and then divide the weight by six to get the correct amount of dough.)
- Roll the pieces into a skinny rope about 15 inches long.
- Line up three pieces of dough and pinch the top together. Braid the three pieces into a loaf. Pinch the bottom and tuck underneath. Repeat with the other three ropes.
- Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make an egg wash by whisking the remaining egg and one tablespoon milk. Brush the sides and top with wash and sprinkle pear sugar all over.
- Bake the loaves for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool before slicing.
What Makes This Cardamom Bread So Good?
As mentioned, nothing beats homemade bread. I make this on lazy weekend afternoons because:
- It’s great for a new bread baker as it’s very forgiving and versatile.
- Two special ingredients expand your baking repertoire.
- It’s a double-duty dough best for bread and cinnamon rolls.
Serving Suggestions
I make a batch of this bread on Saturday, bake one loaf and reserve the other half of the dough for cinnamon rolls the next morning.
In Finland, the bread is traditionally served as a treat with coffee or tea.
The bread is wonderful lightly toasted with butter. The cinnamon roll version gets a heavy dose of sweet glaze when they are fresh from the oven.
How to Store
Leftover bread makes wonderful French toast. But it also freezes beautifully wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to 1 month.
Simply defrost for a few hours on your countertop and rewarm in a low oven.
More Bread Recipes //
- Cinnamon Twists
- Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Orange Sunshine Coffee Cake
- Almond Breakfast Rolls
- Panettone Muffins
- No-Knead Challah
Originally published in January 2018, updated December 2020 with updated images and updated recipe card.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to know how it goes! Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, too!
Braided Cardamom Bread (Finnish Pulla)
Cardamom Bread, or Finnish Pulla, is a great bread for the new bread baker that makes two loaves and is an excellent dough for cinnamon rolls.
Ingredients
- 2 cups plus 1 Tablespoon whole milk
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 packets instant yeast (or active dry yeast)
- 6 cups flour
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tablespoons pearl sugar
Instructions
- Add milk and sugar to a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the butter and stir until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat.
- Allow the milk to cool down to the temperature of a warm bath (not too hot and not too cold) and stir in yeast. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, you should see bubbles on the surface and it should grow in volume.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached, add milk mixture, 2 cups flour, salt, cardamom, and 1 egg. Mix until combined. (You can also make this bread by hand.)
- Add 3 more cups of flour and mix until completely incorporated. Add remaining 1 cup flour a little at a time until the dough forms a ball and is no longer sticky to the touch. (You may not need the whole cup of flour.)
- Transfer the dough to a large bowl that has been lightly oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in a size, about one hour.
- Punch the dough down and knead by hand for 1 to 2 minutes on a well-floured surface. Let rest for 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Roll each piece into a skinny rope about 15 inches long. Line 3 ropes side by side on the counter in front of you. Pinch the three pieces together at the top and braid the three pieces into a loaf. When you reach the end, pinch the remaining dough together and tuck it under the loaf. Repeat with the second loaf. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Make an egg wash by whisking the remaining egg and 1 tablespoon of milk together. Brush the tops and sides of the loaves with egg wash. Sprinkle each loaf with pearl sugar.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the loaves are browned on top. Let them cool before slicing.
Notes
Pearl sugar can be ordered online.
This bread can be made by hand, a stand mixer is not required.
Leftover bread makes excellent French toast.
This bread freezes well. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 1 month.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 48 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 91Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 52mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 2g
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This Post Has 27 Comments
This looks incredible! Do you think it would work okay with a different flour? I’m gluten free but don’t want to miss out!
I wish that I could say I know for sure, but I don’t. I would try it with GF cup for cup flour.
This bread was fabulous! I only made half of the recipe but should have made both loaves. Your recipe was well written and the pictures really helped. Thank you for sharing.
I am so glad you liked it! And yes, it freezes really well, so I always make both loaves.
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Hi
Can you specifiy in grams or spoons the amount of yeast , active and dry
I’n from Mexico
And our dry yeast , the pocket has 7 grms
Thanks
Our packet is 7 grams.
I just finished making the Pulla Bread. (lots of work). However, there’s hardly any taste of the Cordamom spice. Very disappointed:(
You might want to check how fresh your cardamom is. If you are using a spice that has been sitting in your cabinet for a long time, the flavor isn’t going to be as present.
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Made this for Easter. Was delicious! I had to add more yeast, as I think I killed the first batch with too-hot milk and butter mixture (didn’t bubble and grow). Also I had trouble telling when it was done, since the egg wash makes the loaf brown sooner ( I think). But all worked out, and we all loved it! I live in a community where nisu is popular, and I’ve learned to love the cardamom taste. Thank you for this recipe!
I use a thermometer to be to sure, it is really hard to tell with bread sometimes. I am so happy that you liked it!
My dough did not rise. I attempted to use honey instead of sugar. Could this be why? Otherwise followed the instructions.
The honey shouldn’t have made a big difference. It could have been a lot of things, but my first guess is that you killed your yeast – either your water was too hot or too cold. Or you might not have let your dough proof long enough.
Do you bake this in a convection oven or regular oven? If so, what rack position do you use?
Regular. In the US, we don’t normally have convection ovens.
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Can this be made with bread flour?
I’d try it, I’ve never made it with bread flour, but I think it would.
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This is a great recipe, and super easy to make. My hubs is Finnish and grew up on this bread so I was glad to find this. I’ve made it 3 days in a row and panicked the day Bree’s site was down keeping me from accessing it. She was so responsive and got it up and running quickly!
I am so glad that you love it so much. I love it too. The house smells incredible when it is baking. And sorry about that. I broke my site by accident that morning and my host had to fix it for me. Never good timing for something like that to happen.
This was a much, much easier version than the classic one I’ve used for years. I wasn’t sure about using two packs of yeast but I just got the bread out of the oven and they look beautiful. I made three loaves instead of two and the baking time was the same. The original recipe I’ve used before went through three risings so took much longer. The instructions are clear and I will plan on using it in the future. There are variations for the braiding that can be usec for fun and the traditional Finnish coffee tanle
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe and found it to be useful. Happy Holidays!
Huge recipe. Ended up with three large loaves of bread. Best cardamom bread I’ve made. Easy recipe the flavor wasgreat. I used whole cardamom pods. Crushed them and removed tiny seeds. Ground the seeds in spice grounder. The best flavor so far. I added one more egg a bit more sugar and little extra ground cardamom.
Fresh cardamom is so worth the effort. You can buy the seeds out of the pod but not ground, and that has been a game-changer for me.
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