Swedish Bread With Cardamom



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Finnish bread, Swedish bread or cardamom bread whatever name you choose this bread is to die for. It is all at once sweet and rich and delicious. It is what a great bread should be like and the very definition of comfort food.

Swedish Cardamom BreadSwedish Cardamom Bread

The recipe for this finnish bread came from Finland via Sweden. It is a very old recipe, so, the person that created it must be long since dead. However, that person deserves the Nobel Prize for bread baking. It is stupid good just sliced, but even better toasted with butter.

Ingredients fo cardamom bread

Mise en place: flour, melted butter, sugar, egg, cardamom, salt, and yeast.

Cardamom bread dough

Combine the melted butter and milk. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, cardamom and yeast together in a large mixing bowl, add the milk mixture to the flour mixture. Stir, hydrate, mix, and knead by hand until smooth. Form the dough into a boule.

Let rise until increased in volume by one-third, about 3 hours.

Cardamom bread ropes

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 3 parts and roll into 3 ropes, about 16" long. 

Braided cardamom bread

Line up ropes and braid tightly, then place on a cookie sheet, cover with a clean dish towel, and set aside in a warm place to rise for 1 hour more.

Cardamom bread ready for the oven

Brush loaf with egg and sprinkle with sugar mixture.

Cardamom Bread

 Bake until golden brown, 30–40 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

Swedish Bread Finnish Bread Or Cardamom Bread

  • Yield: 1 loaf
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Inactive Time: 4 hours

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer
  • Sheet Pan
  • Parchment Paper

Ingredients

For The Bread

  • 295 grams / 1-1/4 cups warm milk, 75° F
  • 113 grams/ 1/2 cup melted butter, plus additional for greasing bowl
  • 140 grams / 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 452 grams / 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 165 grams / 3/4 cup sugar
  • 5 grams / 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 grams / 1-1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
  • 6 grams / 1 tsp. instant yeast

For The Egg Wash

  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

For The Top

  • 30 grams / 2 tbsp. sugar for topping
  • Pinch kosher salt
  • Pinch of cardamom


Method

For The Bread

  1. Combine the melted butter and milk. Set aside.
  2. Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, cardamom and yeast together in a large mixing bowl, add the milk mixture to the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon. When the dough becomes too stiff to stir, set aside and let rest to hydrate the flour, about 10 minutes.
  3. Place bowl in stand mixer and mix with the paddle until everything is well incorporated, about a minute. Change the paddle for the dough hook and mix for 5 minutes.
  4. Next turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand until smooth, about another minute or two. Form the dough into a boule.
  5. Place the dough in a well-greased bowl, and cover with a clean dish towel. Set aside in a warm place to rise until increased in volume by one-third, about 3 hours. (This is a dense dough, and it may not rise as much as expected at this stage. Do not worry. Press a finger into the middle and if the depression remains, it has risen sufficiently. It will continue to rise in the oven.) 
  6. Preheat oven to 375°.
  7. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface.
  8. Divide into 3 parts and roll into 3 ropes, about 16" long. Line up ropes and braid tightly, then place on a cookie sheet, cover with a clean dish towel, and set aside in a warm place to rise for 1 hour more. 
Swedish Cardamom BreadSwedish bread with cardamom

For The Top

  1. Combine the sugar, salt, and cardamom and stir or whisk to mix.
  2. Brush loaf with egg and sprinkle with sugar mixture.
  3. Place in oven and immediately turn heat down to 350° F. Bake until golden brown, 30–40 minutes. Allow to cool completely.