Norwegian Cardamom Bread Recipe: Soft, Braided, and Deliciously Spiced

Cardamom has become a favorite spice at our house; after making cookies with cardamom, I had a good supply of cardamom and a new love for it. Apparently, the same holds true for many Norwegians. When I found this recipe for Norwegian Cardamom Bread, I knew I had to make some!

The 14 tablespoons of butter (only two tablespoons short of a cup) makes a super soft dough—even with all-purpose flour! This will make a huge braided loaf; as noted in the recipe, you may want to make two smaller loaves instead.

The technique of adding the dry yeast to the other dry ingredients, cutting in the butter, and then adding the eggs and milk is different from most bread recipes but works well. I personally use powdered dry milk and then add 110-degree warm water to mix the desired amount of milk needed when I bake breads, buns, and rolls. Of course, you can simply warm milk to the temperature as directed.

I found I needed to add ½ cup more flour to get a nice dough consistency as I kneaded the dough with the dough hook on my KitchenAid. I covered the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise on the stovetop. Be sure to let it rise to double in size!

Both the Belgian Pearl Sugar and Swedish Pearl Sugar are available at Norsland Lefse. The only difference in the sugars is that the Belgian Pearl Sugar is larger sized than the Swedish Pearl Sugar.

Norwegian Cardamom Bread

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cardamom
• 14 tablespoons butter
• 5 teaspoons dry active yeast
• 2 cups milk
• 3 eggs

For the egg wash:

• 1 egg
• Pearl sugar (either Belgian Pearl Sugar or Swedish Pearl Sugar, available at Norsland Lefse)

Directions:

Step 1: Mix flour, dry yeast, sugar, and cardamom in a large mixing bowl. (I use my KitchenAid for this.)

Step 2: Cut butter into the flour.

Step 3: Warm the milk to around 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 4: Whip the three eggs lightly and add them and the milk to the flour.

Step 5: Use the dough hook and work the dough well; add ½ cup more flour (or more) if needed to make a dough.

Step 6: Cover and let rise until doubled in size; this took 1 ½ hours for me.

Step 7: Knead the dough and divide into three equal-sized rolls. Roll each into a soft rope of dough.

Step 8: Braid the three ropes into a loaf on a parchment-covered or pre-greased baking sheet. This makes a large loaf; you may want to divide the dough in half and make two smaller loaves. (My baking sheet was 14 by 20 inches.)

Step 9: Let rise for another 20 minutes.

Step 10: Whisk an egg and brush the egg wash on the bread.

Step 11: Sprinkle either Belgian or Swedish Pearl Sugar on the bread.

Step 12: Bake in a preheated 400-degree Fahrenheit oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

The freshly baked loaf of bread provided a multitude of sensory benefits! First, it was a lovely loaf to serve my guests; secondly, the odors of the baking cardamom bread wafted throughout the whole house and remained for several days; lastly, the cardamom bread slathered with butter provided a wonderful taste and soft texture to our simple meal!

Check out the step-by-step pictures below!

1. Cut butter into the flour, dry yeast, sugar and cardamom mixture.

2. Mix flour mixture and butter.

3. Whip three eggs and add to flour mixture along with the warm milk.

4. Knead the dough into a soft dough, adding flour as needed if it is too sticky.

5. Roll the dough into three ropes and braid.

6. Whisk one egg and brush the braided loaf with the egg wash.

7. Sprinkle with either Belgian or Swedish Pearl Sugar.

8.  Bake to a golden brown.

9. Enjoy with butter.

10. Ready to serve!