Finnish coffee bread with a healthy twist
By Sari Huhtala
Finnish coffee bread, pulla, is a favourite among many, but for those who are steering clear of inflammatory foods, traditional pulla is on the do-not-eat list. It’s delicious, and slightly addictive, but made from the top three inflammatory foods around: white flour, white sugar and milk, so if you’re suffering from any number of the “itis” conditions, like arthritis, it is not your friend. This Finnish recipe is called “summer pulla” because it bypasses the need to knead and let the dough rise before braiding it into a beautiful work of art. The actual summer pulla recipe calls for all of the inflammatory ingredients, but I’ve given it a healthy twist. It makes a simple, delightful coffee bread. PS. I’ve converted all the quantities from decilitres to cups, for those who don’t own a decilitre measuring cup.
- 1 1/3 cup spelt flour
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground cardamom
- 2/3 cup nut milk
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup coconut oil or butter melted
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well. Grease and flour a 9X9-inch square pan or cake pan, or cover with parchment paper. Pour batter into pan. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top. The darker colour on top comes from sprinkling coconut sugar on top. Organic cane sugar is an option as well. Bake about 30 minutes or until very light golden.