Recipe: Pulla

Pulla is a very traditional Finnish dessert and by far my favorite pastry. This recipe is from The Fresh Loaf but I edited it a little and added my own notes. You can always go crazy and add stuff if you so wish. For example, many people add cinnamon so the pulla resembles regular cinnamon rolls.

INGREDIENTS
4 tsp. active dry yeast
2 ½ cups milk, heated to lukewarm
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp. crushed cardamom (I leave this out, but you may add it)
1 stick butter, very soft
1 tsp. salt
1 cup white sugar
Approx. 7-9 cups flour

1 egg, beaten (for brushing the pulla)
Some melted butter (if you make ‘knots’)

Instructions
Heat milk in a pan on stove to lukewarm. Pour the milk into a large bread bowl and stir in the yeast. Let sit for about 7 minutes to proof. Add all ingredients except the flour and butter. Stir well. Stir in about 3 or 4 cups of flour, then add the softened butter and mix it pretty well into mixture. Add the rest of the flour (you will probably have to use your hands to mix and knead it now). Knead for about 10 minutes. Cover bowl with lid or dish towel and let rise in a light and warm place for about 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Lightly flour the table and remove pulla with a dough scraper to the table. Cut it into 2 pieces to make it easier to handle, and cover half of the dough with dish towel to keep moist. Roll one piece into a log shape and cut pieces off with the dough scraper and roll into a ball, maybe a little bigger than a golf ball.

Nisha’s note: My mother taught me to make “knots”, which I prefer to the regular buns. What you need to do is take a piece of the dough and roll it into a flat square/rectangle. Melt some butter and butter the dough, then cover it with granulated sugar and add a hint of vanilla (if you so wish). Pull one long edge of the dough to the center and pull the other one over it, so you have a narrow rectangle. Cut the rectangle into strips about the width of two fingers (if your rectangle is very thick, cut thinner. If it’s thin, cut thicker). Grab a strip from both ends and twist it, then just make a regular knot. Everybody makes them their own way so yours won’t look identical with mine or anybody else’s!

Put about 12 pieces on a jelly roll pan that has either been greased or has parchment paper on it. Parchment works better. Cover with a dish towel and let sit at least 15 minutes to rise again before baking it. The other pans will sit longer than that, but it is okay! Use other dough the same way, and cover for 15 min.

About 5 minutes before baking, beat 1 egg in a small bowl. You will need a pastry brush and white sugar too. Brush each bun with beaten egg and then take a small amount of white sugar and sprinkle on top of buns. Try not to get too much sugar on bottom of pan because the pulla will get black, burnt sugar rings!

Bake at 425°F (225°C) for 25 to 30 minutes. Check occasionally because the bottom burns easily. Nisha’s note: When you take the pulla out of the oven, cover them with a dish towel ASAP, otherwise they will get hard and dry. This is important!

If you make regular buns, you can cut the top off, fill it with whipped cream and either almond paste or jam and put the top back on. This type of pulla is called semla and they’re delicious. In Finland and Sweden they’re traditionally served for Shrove Tuesday.

Enjoy :)