Cardamom is one of my favorite winter flavors. It’s less popular than cinnamon, but to me, it has so much more depth and subtlety. Cardamom is a traditional Scandinavian holiday spice, perfect for cozying up recipes throughout the long dark winter months.
It can swing either sweet or savory, and in this recipe, it proves a perfect mix of both. Known as pulla in Finland, cardamom bread is perfect for an early-morning breakfast or an afternoon snack. I love it fresh out of the oven with a generous topping of sweet fruit preserves, usually lingonberry or raspberry.
The braided loaf design is perfect for the holidays—a little bit tradition but a little bit fancy too.
If you have more bread than you can eat before it goes stale, don’t worry! Day old cardamom bread is perfect for making into french toast.
Just slice it and prepare it like you would normal french toast, and then top with whipped cream and more sweet preserves!
However you serve it, this richly flavored bread is sure to brighten up even your coldest winter day.
You can browse our selection of jams, jellies and preserves next time you visit our market, or you can place your order for curbside pick-up.
PrintCardamon Bread
- Prep Time: 2 hours 20 (15 min active)
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 2 loaves 1x
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup lukewarm water
- 36 cardamom pods, or 2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp poppy seeds, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup lukewarm whole milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 6 tablespoons softened butter
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 4 cups of flour
- 1 egg yolk beaten for glazing
Instructions
- In a large, bowl, add the warm water to the yeast and allow to bloom until foamy, about 5 minutes
- Peel and grind cardamom pods.
- Add the sugar, milk, egg yolks, butter, salt, cardamom, and poppy seeds into the yeast mixtures and stir until combined.
- Add in the flour, stir until a dough forms, and then switch to kneading. Knead for 8-10 minutes on a lightly floured surface, adding more flour as necessary until a smooth, elasticky dough forms.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place into a covered bowl to rise for one hour and a half hours until doubled in size.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Punch the dough down and turn it out into a floured surface. Divide the dough ball in half, and then each half into three pieces. Roll out each piece into a strand about 15 inches long. Bread three of the strands together to create a braided loaf. Repeat with the other three pieces.
- Place the braids onto the parchment paper and allow to rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush the braids with the beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Remove the loaves from the pan immeadiately and allow to cool.
- Bread can be eaten warm with jam and butter, or turned into french toast after sitting for a day.