This Sourdough Finnish Pulla is a festive, cardamom-scented braided bread that’s very similar to a light brioche. It’s gently sweet, tender, and aromatic, with a beautiful golden crust.

It’s been a while since I’ve made braided bread, and this holiday season felt like the perfect time to return to it. I wanted something festive but a little different, something that felt special without being complicated.

Finnish pulla fits the bill beautifully. Lightly sweet, gently aromatic with cardamom, and meant for sharing, it’s the kind of bread that feels right on a holiday table or wrapped up and passed along to someone else.

I was also curious to see if my 15-inch baguette proofing baskets could be used in a new way. Depending on the amount of dough used, their long, narrow shape can provide helpful side support for a braided loaf during the final proof, encouraging the braid to rise upward rather than spread outward.

In the loaf shown here, I used the full stiff levain, which meant more dough in the basket and a snugger fit.

Why this Sourdough Finnish Pulla Works Well as a Braided Holiday Bread

Pulla is traditionally enriched with milk, eggs, sugar, and butter, which gives it a soft, tender crumb and a subtle sweetness. The dough is sturdy enough to braid, yet soft enough to feel luxurious when sliced.

Using sourdough instead of commercial yeast adds depth of flavor without overwhelming sweetness, especially when paired with cardamom. It’s festive, fragrant, and wonderfully adaptable.

Using a Stiff Levain for Braided Dough

Some bakers use a liquid levain for enriched breads, but I’ve recently started experimenting with a stiff levain, and I’ve been really pleased with how well it supports braided dough. It provides the strength and structure needed for shaping without making the bread taste overly sour.

These Soboro Ppang Korean Peanut Streusel Buns are also made with an overnight stiff sourdough starter.

A stiff levain offers a few key advantages for this recipe:

• better structure for braiding
• easier handling during shaping
• a mild, balanced fermentation well suited to enriched dough

This recipe starts with a full stiff levain build. This gives you a more stable fermentation and the flexibility to decide later whether you want to bake one loaf, a slightly larger no-waste loaf, or two loaves for sharing.

Skipping the Overnight Cold Bulk Ferment

In my first test bake, I tried an overnight cold bulk ferment. The dough became very firm as the butter solidified in the refrigerator. It took about an hour to warm up enough to handle, and even then, the dough felt tight. Although the flavor was excellent, the finished loaf was slightly denser than I wanted.

For subsequent bakes, I completed the bulk fermentation entirely at room temperature.

The result was a softer, more extensible dough that braided easily and baked up with a lighter crumb. For this recipe, I recommend bulk fermenting at room temperature.

How Many Sourdough Finnish Pulla Loaves Do You Want to Bake?

This recipe begins with a single stiff levain build. There are three ways to use it in the dough, depending on how much bread you want to bake.

Choose Your Loaf Size

One standard loaf
Use ½ the levain (72g) to make a classic braided loaf (approximately 735g dough).

One no-waste loaf (slightly larger)
Use all the levain (144g) to make a fuller loaf (approximately 800g dough).
This is my go-to option. It’s simple, generous, and leaves no leftover levain.

Two loaves (one to enjoy, one to share)
Use ½ the levain per loaf and double the final dough ingredients to make two braided loaves.

Because the levain is stiff and the dough is enriched, all three options work beautifully.

A Note on Proofing in the Basket

The braid fills the basket comfortably, especially when using the full amount of levain, so don’t expect dramatic lateral expansion during proofing. The oven spring does the final opening.

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Scaling Tips

• The method stays the same whether you’re making one loaf or two; only the quantities change.
• When doubling the recipe, mix the dough thoroughly to ensure the butter and levain are evenly distributed.
• Dough temperature matters more than the clock. Watch the dough, not the timer.
• If your mixer feels strained when making two loaves, finish kneading by hand.
• Start with the lower amount of liquid and add more gradually; larger doughs often need a touch more milk.

Happy Baking! See you in the kitchen!

Cathy