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Finnish Pulla
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A must on the Finnish coffee table! So light and delicious, the cardamom flavored slices are traditionally served unbuttered.
This recipe makes 3 braids
INGREDIENTS
| Cardamom pods (1 tsp crushed) | 20, OR 1 tsp ground cardamom | ||
| Bread Flour | 6+1/2 to 7 cups | ||
| Active Dry Yeast | 4+1/2 tsp | ||
| Sugar | 2/3 cup | ||
| Salt | 2 tsp | ||
| Milk | 1+1/2 cups | ||
| Water | 1/2 cup | ||
| Butter | 1/2 cup | ||
| Eggs | 2 | ||
TOPPING |
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| Egg, slightly beaten | 1 | ||
| Sliced almonds OR Pearl sugar | 3 TBSP | ||
DIRECTIONS
Crack open cardamom pods; grind or pound seeds. In large mixer bowl, combine 2+1/2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and cardamom; mix well. In saucepan, heat milk, water and butter until warm (120-130°F; butter does not need to melt). Add to flour mixture. Add 2 eggs. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, 5 to 8 minutes. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and turn to grease top. Cover; let rise until dough tests ripe.
Punch down dough. Divide into 3 parts. Divide each third into 3 pieces. On lightly floured surface, roll each piece to a 16-inch rope. On greased cookie sheet, loosely braid 3 ropes from center to ends. Pinch ends and tuck under to seal. Cover; let rise in warm place until indentation remains after lightly touching. Gently brush braids with egg; sprinkle with almonds or pearl sugar. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets; cool.
You can substitute Instant (fast-rising) yeast for Active Dry Yeast. Traditional methods- replace 1:1. Expect your dough to rise faster; always let your dough rise until ‘ripe’. Bread Machines- use 1/2 tsp Instant yeast (or 3/4 tsp Active Dry yeast) per cup of flour in your recipe. Visit our Lessons in Yeast & Baking for more information.