Sourdough Finnish Pulla - A New Holiday Bread Experiment

A braided holiday loaf, shared reader bakes, and lessons from the kitchen

Author

Cathy Warner
December 21, 2025

As the year winds down, I’ve found myself wanting to slow the pace a bit and spend more time with dough.

This season, I decided to try baking a Sourdough Finnish Pulla. I was curious how its softly enriched dough and gentle cardamom flavor would translate into a braided loaf, and whether it could be proofed successfully in a baguette proofing basket.

What I found was a bread that feels festive without being fussy. Lightly sweet and aromatic, this is a loaf made for sharing, the kind you slice generously and pass along to someone else.

🌟Highlights:

  • Featured Recipe: Sourdough Finnish Pulla Braid

  • From the Bread Experience Community

  • One Basket, Many Breads

  • Bake Along This Season

“Where there is bread, there is welcome.”

– Traditional proverb

Featured Recipe: Sourdough Finnish Pulla

Finnish Pulla is traditionally enriched with milk, eggs, butter, and sugar, which gives it a soft, tender crumb and subtle sweetness. In this version, I used sourdough instead of commercial yeast for added depth of flavor without overpowering the cardamom.

What I especially enjoyed about this bake:

  • The dough is sturdy enough to braid, yet soft and luxurious once baked

  • A stiff levain supports the structure and makes shaping easier

  • The loaf feels festive, generous, and meant for sharing

Along the way, I made a few small choices about fermentation and proofing that had a noticeable impact on the dough and the final loaf.

From the Bread Experience Community

A reader recently shared these beautiful sourdough baguettes, all proofed in 15-inch baguette proofing baskets. I loved how clearly the photos show scale and shape.

She experimented with different dough sizes and found that fuller dough weights produced more substantial baguettes, while longer shaping led to slimmer loaves than expected.

It’s a helpful reminder that dough quantity and shaping choices matter, even when using the same basket.

Her feedback also helped me refine the baguette ebook, adding clearer visual guidance for different baguette sizes.

I thank Mary for sharing her bakes and for being part of this community.

Learning together is one of the most enjoyable parts of baking.

One Basket, Many Breads

During the holidays, I especially appreciate tools that can be used for different breads.

I’ve tested these 15-inch proofing baskets with baguettes, braids, and other elongated loaves, and it’s been interesting to see how they encourage upward rise rather than outward spread, depending on the amount of dough used.

It’s satisfying to see how familiar tools can support new ideas.

🎄Bake Along This Season

If you try the Sourdough Finnish Pulla or if you’re baking baguettes, braids, or other breads for gifting and gatherings, I’d love to see what you’re making.

You’re always welcome to reply to this email or tag @bread_experience on Instagram.

Your bakes continue to inspire future recipes and improvements.

Holiday baking has a way of bringing us back to familiar rhythms, mixing, shaping, waiting, and sharing.

However your season looks this year, I hope there’s good bread, warmth, and a little time to enjoy the process.

Happy Baking!
- Cathy, Bread Experience