The Finnish Line

Walk into a Finnish home at Easter and you likely will be greeted by wafts from fragrant bread baking in the oven. In most homes, pulla is the traditional coffee-time bread all year. But it is especially in demand at Easter, when guests may drop in throughout the day for strong-brewed coffee, served mostly without sugar.

“Finnish people love their coffee, and they drink about 1,300 cups per person a year,” says Marja Murray of the Finnish Tourist Board in Los Angeles. And they love it with pulla.

“Today in Finland, pulla is available at any grocery store,” Murray says, “but many cooks still prefer to bake their own.”

Pulla is basically a sweet bread to which raisins, cardamom or other spices are added. It can be shaped into individual buns or made into a braided loaf. Our recipe is shaped into a rolled loaf, but it too can be braided or made into small buns, as you would hot cross buns. The recipe calls for a cheese topping, but Murray thinks the topping may be regional, not generally used with traditional pulla. Traditional or not, the topping is a nice touch. If you want to omit it, use sweet butter, marmalade or nothing at all.

Footed glass bowl from Fred Segal, Zero Minus Plus, Santa Monica.

PULLA BREAD2 1/2 to 3 cups flour 2 packages quick-rise yeast 1/4 teaspoon salt Sugar 1/2 cup warm water (120 to 130 degrees) 1/4 cup butter, softened 3 eggs, separated 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 1 teaspoon grated orange zest 1/2 cup raisins 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

CREAM CHEESE TOPPING1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 2 tablespoons milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/8 teaspoon salt 2 cups powdered sugar

BREADCombine 1 cup flour, yeast, salt and 2 tablespoons sugar in large mixing bowl and mix well. Add warm water, butter and egg yolks. Blend at low speed until moistened, then beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Gently fold in lemon and orange zests, raisins and almonds.

Beat egg whites in small bowl, beating in 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at time, until stiff. Fold into flour mixture. Gradually stir in enough remaining 1 to 1 1/2 cups flour to make soft dough. Knead on floured surface 3 to 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning once. Cover and let rise in warm place until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

Punch down dough. Roll or pat to 14x7-inch rectangle on lightly floured surface. Starting with shorter side, roll up tightly. Press dough into 9x5-inch loaf pan. With very sharp knife make lengthwise slash, 1/4-inch deep, down center of loaf. Cover, let rise in warm place until doubled, about 25 minutes, then bake at 350 degrees 35 to 40 minutes or until golden.

Remove from pan and serve warm or cold with Cream Cheese Topping.

CREAM CHEESE TOPPINGCombine cream cheese, milk, vanilla and salt in small mixing bowl. Blend until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until fluffy.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Each of 12 servings contains about:

366 calories; 188 mg sodium; 84 mg cholesterol; 15 grams fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.44 gram fiber.

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Footed glass bowl from Fred Segal, Zero Minus Plus, Santa Monica