Sweet Cardamom Braid

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Over the Easter Holiday I got rave reviews of my cardamom braid loaf. I thought it would be nice to share my recipe with everyone. You can make this to impress mom with this sweet gift on the upcoming Mothers Day.
Cardamom Braid Loaf, Frosted.
I fondly remember cardamom bread from my teenage years. People would line up at 6 am outside of this bakery I worked at in high school. The highest sales of the year where usually around Easter time through Mother's Day. We would ship them all over the country for those pining far away.

This bread is like a large sweet roll. Soft, and buttery, served best warm with a little powder sugar frosting. Going over the multitude of sweet bread recipes I found something called, Finish Pulla. The recipes I saw seemed to match perfectly with the ideas I had in creating this bread. Over the years I have grown my recipe development skills. Putting together the two ideas together, I felt I came up with a recipe that would be exactly what I needed.

Cardamom Braid Loaf Recipe
Yield: 2 Large Loaves
Active Dry Yeast     2 packets
Whole Milk           2 cups, 1 cup extra on the side
Sugar                2/3 cup
Salt                 3/4 teaspoon
Cardamom             2 Tablespoon
Eggs, room temp      2 each
All Purpose Flour    6-7 cups
Butter, melted       1/2 cup (allow to cool)
  1. Melt together sugar, milk, and butter. Allow to cool to 105°F
  2. Add in yeast, let foam up and activate
  3. Add 2 cups of flour, salt, cardamom, eggs to combine.
  4. Slowly add in more flour until the dough forms and is slightly sticky.
  5. Take out and knead until smooth and elastic. 
  6. Let down set 2 hours to ferment. Allow to rise until double in size. 
  7. When ready punch down dough, this removes extra gasses from fermentation.
  8. Cut into 10 equal piece and roll into 14" ropes. This is going to make two loaves.
  9. Braid as desired, I did a 5 braid loaf style. 
  10. Ounce the braids are done place on a sheet pan and allow to proof.
  11. Let bread sit until double in size.
  12. When the dough has risen brush with an egg wash, dust with cardamom sugar blend.
  13. Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes. The bread will be golden brown and have a hollow sound when tapped.
  14. Allow to cool slightly and drizzle with glaze.
Glaze Recipe
Powdered Sugar 1 cup
Lemon Juice 1 teaspoon
Vanilla 1 teaspoon
Egg Whites 1 each
Whole Milk 2-3 Tablespoon
  1. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl.
  2. Add in all ingredients, NOT the milk.
  3. Slowly add in milk until desired consistency. I like mine a little thick. Use more milk if needed.
  4. Store covered tightly with plastic wrap.
This worked so much better than I could have ever imagined. I was right on the nose, brought my right back into that bakery store front I will never forget. I love the almost nutmeg flavor this spice has. It is rich and strong, which really gives this bread it’s true uniqueness. Serve warm and enjoy with coffee. If keeping for later make sure you rap this bread up tight, or keep in a bread box to protect it from moisture loss.

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