Cardamom breads, including the Finnish (or ) and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and , are a group of

enriched bread Enrichment may refer to: * Behavioral enrichment, the practice of providing animals under managed care with stimuli such as natural and artificial objects * Data enrichment, appending or enhancing data with relevant context from other sources, s ...

s or

pastry Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ...

flavored with

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are r ...

. They are eaten throughout the year, typically with coffee or tea. Cardamom is a spice used in several Nordic countries in cakes, cookies, and biscuits, including traditional Finnish Christmas pastries.

Pulla

() is a mildly-sweet Finnish

sweet roll A sweet roll or sweet bun refers to any of a number of sweet, baked, yeast- leavened breakfast or dessert foods. They may contain spices, nuts, candied fruits, etc., and are often glazed or topped with icing. Compared to regular bread dou ...

or dessert bread flavored with crushed

seeds and occasionally

raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the d ...

s or sliced almonds. Braided loaves () are formed from three or more strands of dough. The loaves may also be formed into a ring. They are typically coated with egg wash and then sprinkled with white sugar or almonds. Other types of pulla include small round buns that resemble English scones but have a sugar and butter topping, and larger

cinnamon roll A cinnamon roll (also known as cinnamon bun, cinnamon swirl, cinnamon Danish and cinnamon snail) is a sweet roll commonly served in Northern Europe (mainly in Nordic countries, but also in Austria and Germany) and North America. In Sweden ...

s called . The outside typically has a shiny, brown glaze, formed by a coating of

egg white Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms arou ...

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulati ...

or a mixture of sugar and brewed

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

. Usually pulla is baked as a small, round,

brioche Brioche (, also , , ) is a bread of French origin whose high egg and butter content gives it a rich and tender crumb. Chef Joël Robuchon described it as "light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and e ...

-style loaf, which is served whole, or as a long loaf called , which is sliced, and can be braided to make it more decorative and festive. Some variations are topping it with chopped

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a tru ...

s and vanilla icing, raisins added to the dough,

s (called , sometimes topped with pearl sugar or almond flakes), butter and sugar buns called , berry toppings and curd filled buns called . For special occasions,

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma (botany), stigma and stigma (botany)#style, styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly ...

may be added to the dough to impart flavour and a yellow tint. In Finland, pulla is often served with coffee. In cafeterias, the quality of the pulla is considered a sign of the establishment's overall quality. Pulla is also common in the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

and

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Prov ...

, areas in the United States and Canada which have large Finnish populations. There it is also commonly known as , an old Finnish word still in use with the same meaning in some dialects, despite originally simply meaning 'wheat'. The term refers instead to a

biscotti Biscotti (; ; en, biscuits), known also as cantucci (), are Italian almond biscuits that originated in the Tuscan city of Prato. They are twice-baked, oblong-shaped, dry, crunchy, and may be dipped in a drink, traditionally Vin Santo. Name ...

-like, double-baked breadstick for dunking in coffee that is often made from leftover nisu.

In Sweden

Swedish cardamom breads include (bread) and (buns). Pulla is known in Swedish as or . Cardamom bread is considered a traditional food among

Swedish American Swedish Americans ( sv, svenskamerikaner) are Americans of Swedes, Swedish ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants. ...

s. Cardamom buns are eaten along with

or tea.

References

{{reflist

External links

Vegan Swedish cardamom bread recipe
Swedish cuisine Finnish cuisine Braided egg breads Sweet breads Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

Pulla

In Sweden

See also

References

External links