Pulla (a Finnish Christmas Bread) - Janette and Jennifer
Recipe
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Ingredients
- 50.833333333333 cups milk
- 10.166666666667 tbsp salt
- 20.333333333333 cups sugar
- 20.333333333333 eggs
- 20.333333333333 tbsp yeast
- 30.5 tbsp whole cardamon seed (1 1/2 tsp if using powder)
- 10.166666666667 cup butter
- 12.52.08333333333 cups flour
- Raw sugar
- 10.166666666667 egg
Steps
- Dissolve yeast in water.
- Peel the cardamon and put the seeds in a heavy ziplock bag, double bagging it is best, and remove all the air from the bag. With a hammer, pound the seeds into powder. Do not do this on the counter--do it outside on the cement. Grinding fresh the whole seed and not buying already ground makes a world of difference in the flavor.
- In a large pan, melt the butter. Add milk and warm. Add sugar, salt and cardamon. Mix in 7 cups of flour, beat well. Add 2 beaten eggs. Mix in yeast. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft, pliable but not sticky dough. Knead for 10 minutes. Let rise double. Punch down and divide into 18 equal ropes, an inch in diameter. Braid three strands together to form one loaf. Place braids on greased cookie sheets, one or two loaves to a pan. When bread has risen, gently brush each loaf with beaten egg and sprinkle with raw sugar.
- Bake at 375F for 20 minutes. Watch close and cover with foil when the bread gets golden, it can burn easily. Remove from oven and allow loaves to cool on racks. When cooled, make a glaze with powdered sugar, vanilla, and water that is the consistency of Elmer's glue. Drizzle in a circular motion multiple times on the top of the bread. The bread freezes well, but don't glaze it until you plan to use it. The glaze will melt off in the thawing process of the frozen bread.