Cardamom at Christmas
By Nancy Honig
Every family has their traditional foods and flavors for the holidays. My mother was a bread baker, and the holidays found her making and giving away dozens of loaves. Recently my brother and I traveled to Cheyenne, Wyoming, to help my aunt continue that family tradition, as we made over 40 loaves of bread for a local fund raiser, she is a part of.
The bread we always make is called Pulla, and cardamom spice is its predominate flavor. Cardamom is a common ingredient in Eastern Indian cooking, but it is commonly used in baking in the Nordic countries, in Sweden, Norway, and Finland. It is used in traditional treats such as the Scandinavian Yule bread Julekake, the Swedish sweet bun Kardemummabullar, and Finnish sweet bread Pulla. I had grown up enjoying cardamom in bread during the holidays, but during my stay in Finland I grew to love its strong, unique taste, with an intensely aromatic, resinous fragrance.
Cardamom is used to a wide extent in savory dishes. Because I grew up eating cardamom in Finnish and Swedish breads, I assumed that cardamom was native to the Nordic region, and that is why it is so heavily used there. Instead, I found that the Vikings found cardamom in the bazaars of Constantinople and introduced it to Scandinavia. Others believe cardamom was brought to Scandinavia by the Moors, a Muslim population with Arab, Spanish, and Berber roots, that shaped elite European culture after establishing a presence on the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century.
Today, Swedes consume 60 times as much Cardamom as Americans do, and 18 times more per capita than the average country, including it in mulled wines, fresh pastries, and stewed fruits. Despite its Indian origins, Swedes have found a way to make cardamom–and other non-Scandinavian spices–uniquely Swedish an apart of everyday traditions.
I don’t often share recipes here, but I thought others who love to bake might enjoy trying this delightful Finnish holiday bread. Enjoy!
Pulla
2 pkgs instant yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
1/3 cup powdered milk
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
4 cups flour
1 cup soft butter
1 tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. ground cardamom
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
4-5 cups flour
Combine 1/4 cup warm water with yeast and a pinch of salt. In mixer using a bread hook, mix powdered milk, sugar, eggs and first 4 cups of flour. Mix well and slowly add the soft butter, salt, and cardamom. Go back and forth between the remaining cup of water and the remaining flour. Add flour until it comes together and pulls away from the sides. You want it to remain a bit tacky and soft. Put in greased bowl and cover to raise until doubled (about an hour). Punch down, then divide into 4 equal parts. Divide each part into thirds. Roll those thirds into about 18-20-inch-long rolls and then braid. Place the braid on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Cover and let rise until double. Brush top with a whole egg wash and sprinkle with course sugar and slivered almonds. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
