Pulla Bread Recipes

FINNISH PULLA BREAD

Steps:

• 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 (approximately 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 melted butter or margarine, 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 baking sheets. Let rise for 20 minutes.
• Brush each loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes. Check occasionally because the bottom burns easily.

FINNISH PULLA

Steps:

• 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 (approximately 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 melted butter or margarine, 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 baking sheets. Let rise for 20 minutes.
• Brush each loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes. Check occasionally because the bottom burns easily.

FINNISH PULLA BREAD - BREAD MACHINE RECIPE - (4.4/5)

Steps:

• Beat eggs with sugar. In a small saucepan (or in the microwave), warm the milk, and melt the butter in the warm milk. Add cardamom, vanilla and salt. Mix above ingredients until well blended and pour liquids in bottom of the bread machine pan. (Note: Follow your individual bread machine instructions as to adding ingredients. But do not mix salt with yeast. Salt will negate the action of the yeast.) Add the flour, make a small dent in flour and place yeast in dent. Set machine on dough setting. Preheat oven to 350°F. When cycle is finished, remove dough and cut into two pieces. Cut each of the two pieces into three pieces for braids. Braid dough and shape. Let rise until about double. Brush on Eggbeaters and sprinkle with coarse sugar. (make an egg wash by beating one egg with one teaspoon of water. Brush on, then sprinkle with sugar.) Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until bread has risen and the loaves are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

PULL-APART BREAD

Steps:

• Spray a 12-cup fluted tube cake pan or 10-inch angel food (tube) cake pan with the cooking spray. In a large bowl, stir 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast until well mixed.
• In a 1-quart saucepan, heat the milk and 1/4 cup butter over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until very warm and an instant-read thermometer reads 120°F to 130°F. Add the milk mixture and the egg to the flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, stopping frequently to scrape batter from side and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula, until flour mixture is moistened. Beat on medium speed 3 minutes, stopping frequently to scrape bowl. With a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough is soft, leaves side of bowl and is easy to handle (dough may be slightly sticky).
• Sprinkle flour lightly on a countertop or large cutting board. Place dough on floured surface. Knead by folding dough toward you, then with the heels of your hands, pushing dough away from you with a short rocking motion. Move dough a quarter turn and repeat. Continue kneading about 5 minutes, sprinkling surface with more flour if dough starts to stick, until dough is smooth and springy.
• Place 1/4 cup butter in a small microwavable bowl; cover with a microwavable paper towel. Microwave on High 30 to 50 seconds or until melted.
• Shape the dough into 24 balls. Dip each ball of dough into the melted butter. Layer evenly in the pan. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place 20 to 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Dough is ready if an indentation remains when you press your fingertips about 1/2 inch into the dough. Remove plastic wrap.
• Move the oven rack to a low position so that tops of the pans will be in the center of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool bread in pan 2 minutes. Place a heatproof serving plate upside down on pan; holding plate and pan with pot holders, turn plate and pan over together, then remove pan. Serve bread while warm, pulling it apart with 2 forks or your fingers.

FINNISH SWEET CARDAMOM RAISIN BREAD (PULLA)

Steps:

• Soak raisins in hot tap water to cover until plump, about 20 minutes, then drain.
• Meanwhile, stir together warm water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast doesn't foam, start over with new yeast.)
• Stir together flour, sugar, cardamom, and salt in a large bowl, then blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Stir in milk, whole egg, and yeast mixture with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead, dusting surface and hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Pat dough into a 9-inch square and sprinkle with raisins. Fold dough over to enclose raisins and pinch edges to seal. Knead, dusting surface and hands lightly with flour, until raisins are distributed. (Dough will be lumpy and slightly sticky; if any raisins pop out, just push them back in.) Form dough into a ball.
• Put dough in a buttered large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Punch down dough (do not knead), then halve.
• Cut each half into thirds and roll each piece into a 15-inch rope. Braid together 3 ropes to form a loaf, then transfer to a parchment-lined large baking sheet, tucking ends under.
• Make another loaf with remaining 3 ropes, arranging loaves 4 inches apart. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Brush loaves with egg wash and bake until golden brown and bottoms sound hollow when tapped, 40 to 45 minutes.
• Transfer to a rack to cool.
• Cooks' note: Bread can be made 2 days ahead and kept, wrapped well, at room temperature or frozen 1 month.