The Irresistible Finnish Cinnamon Rolls: Pulla Recipe (2024)

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Take one bite and you’ll understand why cinnamon buns are a staple of the Finnish cuisine!

The scrumptious and soft Finnish pulla is an everyday sweet treat here in Finland. It comes in many forms: twirls, rolls, braids, and butterfly-like shapes called korvapuusti.

The core is always the same: the sweet, buttered, cardamon-dotted bread dough. In fact, a good dough is the only secret behind an amazing pulla.

Baking pulla is super easy and cheap. You don’t even need a mixer!

The Story Behind This Pulla Recipe

I’m sharing the same pulla recipe which my mom wrote in my recipe book when I was 11. I’ve been using this recipe religiously ever since.

This small batch of Finnish cinnamon rolls is suitable for beginners because kneading a bigger dough may feel like a workout.

You’ll makearound 25 buns with this recipe. Empiric studies show that two adults and two school-aged kids eat that amount easily in a day. At least in this household.

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In Finland, we use deciliters but I have converted the amounts to American cups. To avoid weird conversions like ”0,38 cups”, the American version is slightly bigger than the Finnish version.

Ingredients to Finnish Cinnamon Rolls

Dough with Finnish measurements(Taikina suomalaisilla mitoilla)

2,5 dl milk or oat milk (maito tai kauramaito)
25 g fresh yeast* (hiiva)
1 dl regular sugar (taloussokeri)
2 tsp vanilla sugar (vaniljasokeri)
1 tbsp cardamom (kardemumma)
1 tsp salt (suola)
75 g butter or vegan butter (voi)
z. 7 dl all-purpose flour or plain flour (puolikarkea vehnäjauho)

Dough with American measurements(Taikina amerikkalaisillamitoilla)

1 generous cup milk or oat milk(maito tai kauramaito)
1 oz fresh yeast*(hiiva)
1/2 cup regular sugar(taloussokeri)
2 heaped tsp vanilla sugar(vaniljasokeri)
1 heaped tbsp cardamom(kardemumma)
1 tsp salt(suola)
2/3 stick butteror vegan butter (voi)
3 cups all-purpose flour or plain flour (puolikarkea vehnäjauho)

Filling (täyte)

2/3 stick or 75 g butter or vegan butter (voi)
2 tsp cinnamon (kaneli)
1/4 cup regular sugar (taloussokeri)

On top (päälle)

1 egg, whisked (muna)**
pearl sugar (raesokeri)

*In Finland, you can buy fresh yeast (next to milk in shops) or instant yeast powder (in spices). Both work! Check the instant yeast package for the exact amount you should use for this amount of liquid. In Finland, this dough requires one sachet of instant yeast (11 g = 2 tsp).

**To substitute egg, use water with dark syrup tinting the water brown. This will make the vegan bun look deliciously golden brown.

Baking Instructions for Pulla

Add yeast to warm milk and mix well. Milk needs to be 99°F / 37°C to activate the fresh yeast. If you are using instant yeast, the milk should be 108°F / 42°C.

I heat the milk in a microwave and check the temperature with my finger. If the milk doesn’t feel cold or hot, it’s perfect for fresh yeast.

Whisk in sugar, vanilla sugar, salt, and cardamom. Stir in flour one cup at a time and a dough begins to form.

Use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl. It should become elastic. Add butter and continue to knead the butter in.

In total,around five minutes of kneading should be fine. Now you have a smooth dough ball in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and leave in a warm place.

I often use a microwave, but off-mode! Preheat the microwave by heating a cup of water. Take the cup away. Then put the bowl with the towel into the microwave and leave to rest.

Wait for at least 30 minutes so that the dough rises. The dough should double in size. Put the dough to a well-floured surface and roll out into a 15×15 inch (40×40 cm) square.

The Irresistible Finnish Cinnamon Rolls: Pulla Recipe (1)

FAQs

Why are my cinnamon rolls not fluffy? ›

For the fluffiest cinnamon rolls, make sure you allow your dough to rise for at least 90 minutes for the first rise. For the second rise, a good 30 minutes works. I see a lot of recipes - including a few of mine - say 60 minutes minimum for the first rise.

What is the best cinnamon for cinnamon rolls? ›

In our opinion, the best variety of cinnamon for cinnamon rolls is Saigon cinnamon. It's true that it's not the special type of Makara cinnamon that Cinnabon uses. But, the reality is that this type of cinnamon really isn't necessary.

Learn More Now ›

What do you pour over cinnamon rolls before baking? ›

If you want to make these completely homemade, use your favorite cinnamon roll recipe and just pour ¾ to 1 cup of heavy cream around them before baking and you'll get the same extra moist result.

Keep Reading ›

Why are my cinnamon rolls always hard? ›

If you continue adding flour beyond the point of the dough absorbing it, you'll end up with hard, dry cinnamon rolls. But with time, practice, and attention, soft, fluffy cinnamon rolls are sure to become a staple in your weekend breakfast repertoire.

Explore More ›

What happens if you leave dough to rise for too long? ›

“If the dough has risen too long, it's going to feel fragile and might even collapse as you poke it,” says Maggie. If this is the case, there's a chance you can save your dough by giving it a quick re-shape. Learn more about this fix in our blog on saving overproofed dough.

Find Out More ›

What kind of flour is best for cinnamon rolls? ›

Bread flour is hands down the best option when making cinnamon rolls. Any good cinnamon rolls recipe is going to usually call for bread flour instead of other kinds of flour. This is because bread flour is high in protein, usually containing 11% to 13% more protein than other kinds of flour.

Find Out More ›

What is the secret ingredient in Cinnabon? ›

Cinnabon's Secret Ingredient

This special Indonesian cinnamon, called Makara, is trademarked by Cinnabon. And because of that trademark, you won't find this product in your local grocery store spice aisle.

Get More Info Here ›

What is the best cinnamon in the world? ›

Ceylon Cinnamon

Ceylon, or “true cinnamon,” is native to Sri Lanka and southern parts of India. It's made from the inner bark of the Cinnamomum verum tree. Ceylon is tan-brown in color and contains many tight sticks with soft layers. These features provide a highly desirable quality and texture.

See Details ›

Is melted butter or softened butter better for cinnamon rolls? ›

It can definitely be tempting to just stick that butter in the microwave if you've been storing it in the fridge, which can easily lead to accidentally melting it, but ensuring that your butter is softened will make all the difference: It will make it easier to evenly spread the filling on top of the dough.

Discover More Details ›

What happens if you let cinnamon rolls rise too long? ›

Can cinnamon rolls rise for too long? Yes definitely! If you let your cinnamon rolls rise for too long you can over-proof them. This can lead to dense rolls or rolls that collapse after baking.

Learn More ›

Should cinnamon rolls touch when baking? ›

Place the cinnamon rolls into your prepared pan, with little room between each roll and ½ inch from the edge of the pan. Lightly press down on each roll so that the edges of each roll barely touch each other, and improve their round form if needed.

Why are my homemade cinnamon rolls dense? ›

You want a pan of puffy-looking rolls even before baking. Additionally, be sure to add only as much flour as you need to make a workable dough. This is a soft and tacky dough and it's not supposed to be tough and hard. Too much flour will give you stiff, dense, dry cinnamon rolls.

See Details ›

Why are my rolls dense and not fluffy? ›

There may be several reasons for a dense, cake like texture in bread. It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used.

Show Me More ›

Why are my buns not fluffy? ›

Do Not Over-Knead Your Dough. The over-kneading dough is a common bread making mistake, which makes gluten too tight for bread to rise, resulting in chewy bread instead of fluffy. Kneading correctly is most important to strengthen the gluten and give your bread a perfect texture.