My Finnish Pulla is a sweet, festive, and delicious braided cardamom loaf that is a suitable treat for any holiday or event. It is made with simple, easy-to-find ingredients and features ground cardamom, and is topped with pearl sugar. Ready to eat in under 3 hours, this sweet braided loaf is the perfect addition to your next holiday party.
My family and I like to enjoy Finnish Pulla all year-round, but this is extra special on holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The robust, cozy cardamom flavor screams Christmas and wintertime!
Ingredients
This sweet braided bread uses simple ingredients that you might already have on hand! If you are missing some of the ingredients, check my substitutions and variations sections below for swaps!
- All-purpose flour
- Baker's yeast
- Sugar
- Water
- Milk
- Eggs
- Unsalted butter
- Salt
- Cardamom
- Pearl sugar (for topping)
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
This Finnish Pulla cardamom bread is easy to make, especially if you have a stand mixer!
- Step 1: Proof yeast and mix all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Knead until it can pass the windowpane test.
- Step 2: allow to rest covered until doubled in size. Split into 3 equal sized pieces.
- Step 3: Roll the dough balls until they're roughly 12 inches long. Pinch the top of the three of them together (pictured) and begin to braid the dough tightly. When you reach the end, tuck the end under and pinch it together.
- Step 4: When the dough is lightly puffy (after 30 mins or so) brush it with heavy cream.
- Step 5: Top with pearl sugar.
- Step 6: Bake on the top rack at 375F for 25-30 mins or when the bread is golden and fully cooked. The internal temperature should be 180F. Alow to cool before cutting!
Hint: this bread can brown easily on the bottom. Avoid this by placing it on the top rack of your oven (allowing for space to proof) and place an additional pan on the rack below to block some of the direct heat.
Substitutions
Some of the listed ingredients do not work for you? Here are a few of my tried and true substitutes!
- Heavy cream - in place of a heavy cream wash, you can use milk or make an egg wash.
- Pearl sugar - if you don’t have Pearl sugar, use regular cane sugar on top of make a glaze with milk and powdered sugar to drizzle on top. Sprinkles would also be a fun idea although I haven’t tried it myself! For more ideas, see the variations section below.
- Cardamom - see my variations section below for ideas!
- Milk: Use high-fat non-dairy milk if you don't want to use dairy! I highly recommend Oatly oat milk (full fat or regular would be ideal).
- Butter: Use a non-dairy butter like Country Crock's plant butter. A neutral oil (like coconut oil) would work well here too!
Variations
While I wouldn't change anything about this classic loaf, I think there are fun things you could do to switch it up!
- Cinnamon sugar - Top with cinnamon sugar instead of pearl sugar.
- Glaze it - Top with a sweet glaze instead of the pearl sugar.
- Make it chai - add chai spices to the dough such as ginger, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Only add ¼ of a teaspoon of all except the cinnamon which can be bumped up to ½ a teaspoon.
Equipment
Storage
Store at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can freeze Finnish pulla for up to 6 months; just be sure to thaw it in the fridge to prevent them from getting soggy from condensation.
Top tip
Weigh your ingredients! I can't recommend this enough. Kitchen scales are easy to find, affordable, and beneficial to your baking journey. It is the best way to make sure your recipes turn out as accurate as possible. See my "equipment" section above for links to scales I recommend.
FAQ
Yes! Just use non-dairy butter and milk. See my "substitutions" section above for my recommended dairy-free options!
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Finnish Pulla Braided Cardamom Bread
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Kitchen Scale
- Baking sheet
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup warm water 110-120F
- ½ cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar divided
- 2 ¼ teaspoons dry active yeast 0.25-ounce packet
- ⅔ cup warm whole milk 110°-120°F
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 5 ¾ to 6 cups all-purpose flour 690g to 720g divided
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cardamom
- Pearl sugar to taste
Instructions
Make the dough
- Proof baker's yeast in warm water and 1 teaspoon of sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer or mixing bowl. Allow the yeast to bloom before adding in butter, milk, remaining sugar, and eggs. Mix lightly before adding the flour, salt, and cardamom. For best results, mix the dry ingredients separately before adding. However, I add them in directly all the time with no issues.Add in the flour slowly as you might not need all 6 cups.
- Mix the dough in your stand mixer until it fully combines and forms a uniform dough. Allow it to knead in the mixing bowl using the dough hook until it can pass the windowpane test. Some people like to use the paddle attachment in the beginning before switching to the dough hook. However, I prefer to use the dough hook from the start and have great results.
- Allow the dough to rest covered until doubled in size. Use either cling wrap or a clean wet towel to prevent the dough from drying.
Shape the dough
- Once the dough has risen, split it into three equal balls of dough. Gently roll the dough balls until they're roughly 12 inches long.
- Pinch the top of the three of them together (pictured) and begin to braid the dough tightly. When you reach the end, tuck the end under and pinch it together.
Bake the dough
- Place the braided dough on a prepared baking sheet and cover to rest. Preheat your oven to 375F while you’re waiting.
- When the dough is lightly puffy (after 30 mins or so) brush it with heavy cream* and top with pearl sugar**.
- Bake on the top rack at 375F for 25-30 mins or when the bread is golden and fully cooked. The internal temperature should be 180F if you have a thermometer to check with!
- Remove the baked bread from the pan and place on a cooling rack. Allow it to cool fully before cutting for the best results.
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