Cardamom breads, including the Finnish (or ) and Swedish and , are a group of enriched breads 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 ar ...

. 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 dough, sw ...

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 ...

s or sliced

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genu ...

s. 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 it ...

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 ar ...

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-modulat ...

or a mixture of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

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-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 true ...

s and vanilla icing, raisins added to the dough,

s (called , sometimes topped with

pearl sugar Nib sugar (also pearl sugar and hail sugar) is a product of refined white sugar. The sugar is very coarse, hard, opaque white, and does not melt at temperatures typically used for baking. The product usually is made by crushing blocks of white s ...

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 Pro ...

, 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 Traditional foods are foods and dishes that are passed on through generations or which have been consumed for many generations. Traditional foods and dishes are traditional in nature, and may have a historic precedent in a national dish, regio ...

among

Swedish American Swedish Americans ( sv, svenskamerikaner) are Americans of 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. Today, ...

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