Breakfast, Recipes
Let me blow your mind for a second: I have not purchased a loaf of bread since the beginning of 2014.
WHAAAAAAAAT? Yep. My manfriend and I have been making all our bread from scratch! That no-knead bread recipe is a real go-getter you guys. It’s super easy, and it make beautiful chewy, knotty bread. We’ve added in wholemeal and rye flours in the past and it’s been working fantastically for us.
The flipside of all this delicious, fantastic smelling bread baking is that when I tried a piece of regular white bread the other day, it felt like I was eating cake! It was so sweet and soft. I’m not a bread snob by any means; it was amazing!
So I was left yearning for a slightly more indulgent addition to our bread baking routine. Enter, the Swedes.
Scandinavian folks sure know their way around a loaf. The traditional sweet Swedish loaf is called Pulla bread, and this is my vanilla-infused version. It’s got the texture of brioche, but not quite as rich and buttery. It’s the perfect everyday treat, if that make sense.
Plus, if you’re like me and you live somewhere that Scandi bakeries are scarce (nonexistent), then you’ll probably be baking something that a lot of people haven’t seen before. And there is NOTHING more welcoming than the smell of warm, baking bread when your friend/girlfriend/sister/grandma/knitting circle turns up for brunch.
A word to the wise, this bread makes some of the greatest french toast you’ll ever have. So, you know, stay tuned for that recipe.
On to the biggest news of the day, the Super Bowl! What did you think? I arbitrarily chose to root for the Seahawks, but I was feeling pretty sorry for the Broncos by the end! How about you? A triumph or a tragedy? Or you totally missed it and baked bread instead?
Swedish Vanilla Bread
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
A sweet, soft, brioche-like bread infused with vanilla.
Author: Sarah Coates
Serves: 1 loaf
Ingredients
- 1 cup (250ml) milk
- ½ stick (50g) butter
- 1 vanilla pod (or 2 tsp vanilla extract or paste)
- 3 + ⅓ cups (500g) plain flour
- 1 tsp dried yeast
- ¼ cup (50g) caster sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg, beaten for glazing (optional)
Instructions
- Place the milk and butter into a medium saucepan and bring up to just under a boil.
- Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds, and add them to the pan along with the pod. Set aside to infuse for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the flour, yeast and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
- Fish out the vanilla bean from the milk, and add it to the mixer (it should be only just warm by now - if it's still too hot, leave it for longer), along with the egg yolks and begin mixing on a low speed until the dough comes together and looks smooth.
- If mixing by hand, start with a wooden spoon and then knead until the dough is smooth and combined.
- Cover the dough with plastic, and set aside for an hour or until doubled in size.
- Split the dough into three, and roll them into long ropes and braid them together into a loaf, and then place it on a lined baking sheet. Set aside for 45 minutes to prove.
- Preheat the oven to 425F/220C. Brush the loaf with beaten egg (if using), and place into the hot oven for 10 minutes, before turning the temperature to 400F/200C and baking for another 35 minutes, or until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped on the base.
- DEVOUR.
Tags from the story
Baking, bread, Brioche, dough, milk, scandi, scandinavian, swedish, vanilla
38
Written By
Sarah Coates
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38 Comments
Mind officially blown.
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Love it! we have the same recipe in germany, only that it is called “hefezopf”. Best with butter and jam and fresh out of the oven…yumm! love your blog by the way! :)
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Thanks Ineke!
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Woah…this sounds pretty darn incredible. Love that vanillay buttery softness.
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Me too!
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This bread looks absolutely amazing…. I need to try it Asap. since we are broncos fans we are trying to forget the super bowl :) However we still love them.
Poor Broncos! Aromatic bread will help you forget.
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Wow, just saw this bread on instagram, I had to stop by to get the recipe!
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Thanks Daniela! I’m glad you hopped on over! Come again soon!
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Vanilla bread sounds simply divine! I think i see a weekend baking project coming on… :-)
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This is PERFECT weekend cooking!
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Girl, that’s awesome that you’ve been baking so much bread! I should do that toooo. This loaf looks increeeeedible!
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I did miss the Superbowl — I was baking cookies. Like a hundred (I counted). It’s not too late for gingerbread, right? Anyway. No-knead bread is a fave in our home too but this should become part of regular rotation! Looks AWESOME!
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100 cookies! That’s awesome.
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You would make my Swedish mother proud. That is a lovely, lovely loaf!!!
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way to make your bread like a champ! this bread sounds delish AND is so pretty.
I did not watch the Superbowl (I never do, even if I go to a party, I just talk and snack), instead we got lattes, had happy-hour lunch, and went out for ice cream.
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That sounds like my kind of super bowl.
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Hmm, interesting! All the pulla I’ve ever made has been very sweet and filled with cardamom, so I’m excited to try a simpler version. And hooray for your bread-baking prowess! I should really get on making more bread myself…
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This bread looks so delicious and so fluffy and just freaking awesome. Every time I make any yeasted bread I always manage to make it come out flat and dense. urgh, it’s kind of annoying.
Awesome looking bread! Pinning!Reply
All homemade bread..you go girl!! Me and bread recipes always end up fighting.. you know because for some reason it NEVER rises for me. I’m gonna gives this one a go and see where I end up.. THose slices look Too Good!
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This looks glorious. have to make this!! <3
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That’s a gorgeous loaf of bread… WOULD IT BE THE SAME AMOUNT OF YEAST IF I USE INSTANT DRY YEAST ??? TIA
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YES IT WOULD. :P
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Looks like challah and tastes like brioche? I’ll take it!
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Perfect description.
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This is the kind of bread that requires an “Oh nom nom nom.” I wouldn’t even need butter. Delicious.
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saw this on pinterest and thought it would be the perfect recipe for a snowy day at home. it was super easy to make, and the inside is absolutely delicious, but for some reason the bottom of mine burned. I didn’t line my baking sheet (used a little cooking spray instead) so I wonder if that’s it. Or if I should start out 400 degrees instead of 425? any ideas?
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I think the baking spray might have been a factor (oil and fat heat up pretty quickly), but I have tested this in an oven at 400 for the whole cooking time and it works perfectly, so that might help! Also, do you know where your oven’s heating element is? In my last oven it only had a floor element, so things often burned on the bottom for me. If that’s what you’ve got, I found that placing an empty tray on the bottom shelf helped to even out the heat!
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hey! thanks for the response. I do think I might have had the rack too low in the oven (which might be why the bottom burnt but the rest was okay.) I think I’ll retry it this weekend…. since I’ve already eaten the whole loaf from the last time. :)
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Bread baking has never been my thing but with a foot of snow on the ground, it might be time I give it another try!
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Looks and sounds delicious, but “pulla” is Finnish cardamom bread, as far as I have ever known – last 54 + years… :) Grew up on Pulla and now my daughter makes it for her family. Think I will pass your recipe on to her for a try. Don’t know if a loaf would last long enough to make it to French toast though. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
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Yes, “pulla” seems to be more of a Finnish name for what we in Sweden call “bulle” (you rarely pronounce the letter “B” in Finnish, it tends to come out as a “P” – like “panani” instead of “banani” for banana). a more correct name for the bread would therefore be “bull bread” (it looses an “e” when you put “bread” after it, don’t ask me why)… Bulle = Bun.
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I love to bake for one and bread is right up there. I had the first betty crocker international cookbook and was hooked on bread, i am definitely making this in a few hours. will let you know, i love your blog…kudos!!!
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First, and I mean this with absolutely zero sarcasm, congratulations on losing the store-bought bread. I did about 2 years ago, and haven’t looked back. You won’t regret it.
Second, this loaf looks delicious, and I know what’s going on my to-do list for tomorrow. :)
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Hi Sarah! I just made this bread and we love loved it. I will make it again and will put cinnamon on it. Thank you so much for this recipe!
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Hi Ilyn! I’m so glad you tried this – it’s one of my favourite recipes on the site! I think cinnamon would be an absolutely gorgeous addition, too, maybe with a sprinkle of sugar on top as well!
xx
SarahReply
temperature was way too high ! the bottom burned and I took it out 15 minutes earlier!
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hey I’ve been looking for the perfect American measurement conversion for pulla recipe..since I grew up in Finland where we call it pulla and neighbour the country of Sweden where it’s actually called bulle (pls try to get your facts straight lol) I shall be trying this recipe..very exited!!! And in Scandinavia we don’t eat this like bread or even call it bread..it is considered a pastry and enjoyed in the afternoon with either coffee or tea and of course topped with jam…we also use the same batter for our cinnamon rolls..which we call korvapuusti. :)
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