Pulla Recipe
Sofia Losure
According to the 2025 World Happiness Report, Finland is the happiest country in the world—a title they have held for eight consecutive years. Finland is also the country that drinks the most coffee per capita per year. Whether these statistics are correlated or not is outside the scope of this article, but I am certain that the link between coffee and happiness is shared by many.
It is curious, then, that UChicago, a campus abundant in coffee, the “most caffeinated school” in 2016-2017 according to NBC, has earned the reputation of being “where fun goes to die.” If coffee makes people happy, and UChicago clearly has plenty of coffee, what could we be missing?
The answer might be found by turning to our happiness experts, the Finns. In Finland, coffee is traditionally served with a sweet cardamom bread called pulla. The bread is soft, sweet, and comforting—and it might just be what sends Finland’s happiness statistics off the charts. Even if it isn’t the sole key to happiness, complementing your next cup of coffee with this delightful carb is sure to brighten your day. Who knows: serving pulla with the many cups of coffee UChicago students consume may be an effective way for the campus to battle its “where fun goes to die” allegations.
In this article, I share my Finnish grandmother’s pulla recipe!
Ingredients:
Ingredients
(Makes 2 loaves.)
⅔ cup sugar (plus slightly more for garnish)
1 egg (plus slightly more for garnish)
¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 ¼ cups warm milk (105 to 115 degrees F)
½ cup butter (¼ cup melted and ¼ cup softened)
1 package instant yeast
⅛ cup warm water
About 4 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions:
1. Beat together ⅔ cup sugar and 1 egg. Stir in milk and ¼ cup melted butter.
Step 1
2. In a separate bowl, combine cardamom, salt, instant yeast, and 2 cups flour.
Step 2
3. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Slowly add the remaining 2 cups of flour, stirring until well combined and a soft dough forms.
4. Knead in ¼ cup softened butter. The dough should come away from the bottom of the bowl.
Step 4
5. Cover and let rise until doubled.
6. Once doubled, divide dough into halves.
Step 6
7. Split each half into thirds.
Step 7
8. Roll each third into log-rolls. Try to keep their thickness even.
Step 8
9. Pinch the ends of the thirds together, and then use a three-strand braid to braid the dough.
Step 9 (part 1)
Step 9 (part 2)
10. When you get to the end of the loaf and cannot continue the braid, pinch the ends together and tuck them under the loaf.
Step 10 (part 1)
Step 10 (part 2)
11. Repeat for the other half of the dough.
12. Set both braided loaves onto a greased sheet pan, preferably with slightly raised edges.
13. Allow the dough to rise once more, until it looks slightly puffier than before. If in a warm room (80 to 85 degrees), this should take roughly 30 minutes.
14. Brush egg onto the braids and then sprinkle them with sugar.
Step 14
15. Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees.
16. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 15 more minutes.
17. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Step 17
18. Serve with coffee (and butter, if you desire). Enjoy!
Step 18
A successful pulla loaf will be golden and slightly crisp on the outside, but airy and fluffy on the inside. It is best enjoyed fresh out of the oven while still warm. Leftovers can be used to make excellent, elevated french toast!