My twist on Pulla...

Pulla is a Finnish sweet cardamom flavored bread (also finnish sweet rolls). What makes this really awesome is the cardamom flavor that is inherent in the bread – it’s not sickly sweet and would make you come back for more.

I can’t tell you how long I have been waiting to make this bread but never had an opportunity. It’ s a braided bread and I found out that there are couple of techniques to get them braided (thanks to youtube). Though the technique I followed is not an easy one, I still could pull this one off. If you are someone, who can make bread without a sweat then there will be no concerns for you. However, for people like me, who have to think this like a big project here are couple of pointers- the trick is kneading the dough to let the yeast work it’s magic and giving enough rest time for the dough to rise.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Milk
• 1 pkt dry yeast (about 7 to 8 gms)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp salt (can skip if you use salted butter)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp crushed cardamom seeds
• 4-5 cups flour (all purpose)
• 1 stick melted unsalted butter
• 1 egg mixed with a bit of water for egg wash
• for filling-
• 2-3 tbsp softened butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Instructions

• Heat milk till it is lukewarm.
• Pour milk into large bowl and stir in the yeast.
• Allow the yeast to awaken and let it sit for about 7 minutes.
• Add egg, crushed cardamom, sugar and salt and whisk till they are incorporated.
• Stir in about 1 cup of flour, melted butter and whisk into a batter.
• Add the rest of the flour.
• Knead for about 10 minutes with your hands on a lightly floured surface. (If it is too sticky, add a bit of flour).
• The kneaded dough should be springy to touch.
• Place the dough in a bowl and cover bowl with cling wrap/ towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
• In the meanwhile, mix the filling ingredients together.
• Once your dough has risen and doubled in size, knock the air out and Knead it gently for a couple of minutes on a lightly floured surface.
• Roll the dough into a oblong or an oval shape with a roller on a parchment paper.
• with the help of a pizza cutter, make slanting cuts along both sides (be careful not to cut deep as we need the space in middle for the filling)
• Just ensure that the strips you cut are equal in number on both sides and are of the same length on both sides.
• Spread the filling in middle.
• Leaving the end closest to the filling attached, start braiding the strips over the filling tucking in the loose ends.
• Tuck the end and pinch the dough to seal it off.
• Cover with dish towel and let it sit at least 15 minutes to rise again before baking it.
• About 5 minutes before baking, give it a quick egg wash.
• Bake them at 200 degree celsius for about 15-20 minutes on a preheated oven.
• Enjoy with a cuppa steaming coffee.