Scandinavian Baking: Cardamom Coffee Braid
Once upon a time, I got to take a fantastic baking class at my local community college. My Scandinavian Baking class had so many delicious recipes to choose from, but I was immediately drawn to this Cardamom Coffee Braid. I love making bread and I was excited to try baking a wreath shaped loaf for a change.
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This recipe was originally published on October 31, 2019. It was republished on October 20, 2022 with updates.
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Cardamom Coffee Braid
First of all, there is no coffee in this recipe. This cardamom coffee braid, similar to coffee cake, is meant to be enjoyed with coffee. That can be confusing, so I wanted to clear the air.
Not familiar with cardamom? It has a unique flavor, but it tends to pair well with nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger. Cardamom smells strong on its own, but adds a mild flavor to our bread. Honestly, you might not even notice a distinct flavor, more of a general hint of spice. If black pepper and cinnamon had a mild spice baby, it would be cardamom.
Bread Making Tips
I love going to these baking classes at my local community college because I always learn something new from the experienced instructors. Ever wonder why bread recipes may call for you to scald the milk? Milk has proteins that can hamper gluten development. Heating the milk breaks down these proteins.
How long you let your dough ferment or proof can vary drastically depending on the day’s weather and your ingredients. Knowing how to tell when your dough is ready for the next stage is crucial! Your dough is done fermenting once it has doubled in size and stays slightly dented when poked.
Top Tips for Yeast Breads
- Make sure your liquid is between 100℉- 115℉ before you add your yeast.
- Never let the yeast and salt come into direct contact. When adding dry ingredients, add the yeast first. Add the salt to the side of the bowl last.
- Knead the dough until it passes the window pane test. You should be able to gently stretch a small bit of dough until you can see light through it.
- Is your house cold? Preheat your oven to its lowest setting while you prep the dough, then turn it off immediately. Let your dough rise (covered) in the warm oven.
Cool It Down
Okay, you’ve got scalded milk, but you don’t want to kill your yeast. What to do?! To bring the temperature of the milk down, add your softened butter. Monitor the temperature until you hit around 100℉ – 115℉ As long as the milk stays above 95℉, your yeast will be happy.
Don’t have a thermometer? Well, get one! I like this infrared and this digital thermometer. But just keep in mind that you’re shooting for a slightly warm mixture. The human body is usually around 98℉. If the milk mixture feels a bit warm to the touch, but not hot, you’re probably in the right range.
Related Reading: Scandinavian Baking: Strassburger Cookies
Do I Need To Use Bread Enhancer?
Absolutely not. I’ve made this cardamom coffee braid multiple times without it and it is always soft and moist. I bought some Bread & Cake Enhancer (Amazon link) from King Arthur Baking recently on a whim. It was life changing in my Salted Caramel Cake.
Naturally, I decided to try it in a bread recipe. I do think it made a small difference, but I don’t think it’s worth buying just for this bread. However, it is 100% worth buying for your cake recipes!
Mad Sticky
Y’all, this is some sticky dough. But that’s awesome! A wet dough is likely to produce a light, fluffy loaf. Because this cardamom coffee braid is so soft, I highly recommend starting it off in the stand mixer.
It’s best to finish the dough off by hand so that you can get a feel for when the dough has developed enough gluten. You’ll want this dough to be tacky, but not too sticky. Once the dough begins to feel smooth, do a windowpane test. Cut off a small chunk of dough and gently stretch it. If you can see webbing and light through the dough, you’re good to go!
Creating a Braided Wreath
If you have never braided bread before, you can pop over to my pretzel post for step by step photos. I braid my hair regularly, but for some reason, I always forget how to braid once I get those strands together! You can also watch the recipe video for this cardamom coffee braid.
To make a wreath, braid three strands as you normally would. Now arrange the braid into a circle. Here’s the tricky part. You need to connect the two ends of the braid into a seamless braid. Try to figure out which strands should meet up. Remember to keep everything a little loose because the dough will puff up as it proofs and bakes.
Related Reading: Kolache: A Slovakian Walnut Roll
Or Go Simple
If that wreath nonsense looks too complicated, just do a braided loaf! Braid three strands and just leave them in a straight line. Easy peasy. Again, be sure to braid them loosely so that there is space for the dough to rise.
The loaves may bake a few minutes quicker than the wreath. Keep an eye out for a beautifully golden color. If you are ever in doubt, check the internal temperature. Stick a kitchen thermometer into the middle of a loaf through the bottom and check that you’ve hit 190℉.
Blunders
I actually intended to update this recipe a few weeks ago, but I had a bit of an oopsie. This recipe originally made TWO braided wreaths, not one. Guess who wasn’t paying attention and tried to make the double batch into ONE wreath.
This girl.
While it ended up being a massive blunder, it was also one massive, delicious loaf of bread. It was so huge, I couldn’t even turn it into a wreath. Heck, it was so enormous it didn’t even fit on my cutting board or cooling rack!
Enjoy!
Sharing a Cardamom Coffee Braid wreath or loaf is a wonderful way to spend a cozy Fall day. Have a warm cup of coffee alongside this slightly sweet, lightly spiced loaf and you will be living your best life. Know a friend that would love to join you? Send them this recipe and y’all can get baking!
Cardamom Coffee Braid
Ingredients
Dough
- 8 fl oz milk
- 2 fl oz water
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 4 oz sugar
- 2 oz unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 pkt instant yeast (2 1/4 tsps)
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 20 oz bread flour plus extra if needed
- 2 Tbsps bread enhancer optional
- 1 tsps salt
Toppings
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp water
- 2- 4 Tbsps coarse sugar
Instructions
- Scald the milk in a saucepan over medium- low heat. Heat until hot, around 150°F, but do not let it boil. Set aside to cool to 100°F - 115°F.
- Add the warm milk to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the water, eggs, sugar, and butter. Now add the dry ingredients: yeast, cardamom, flour, bread enhancer (if using) and salt. Always add salt to the side of the bowl and prevent direct contact with the yeast.
- Mix on low with a dough hook for 5- 8 minutes. Towards the end, add a small amount of flour if it looks too loose. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and finish kneading by hand. The dough is very soft, so try not to add too much flour. You are done kneading when the dough is smooth and elastic and you can do a window pane test.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling wrap. Set aside in a warm, draft free location to rise until doubled in size. About 60- 90 minutes.
- Punch the dough down to expel the gas. Portion into 3 equal chunks. Loosely cover the dough and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
- Roll the 3 portions into long ropes of equal length. Braid them together loosely. Bring the two ends together, forming a wreath, and connect the ropes. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Combine the egg and water to create an egg wash. Brush the wreaths with the wash and top with coarse sugar. Cover and set aside to proof until puffy, about 20- 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F while the wreaths rise. When they are done proofing, bake for 25- 30 minutes. The wreath should be golden brown and the internal temperature will be 190°F.
- Let the bread cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
- If using active dry yeast, soak it in the warm water for 10 minutes and add it it with the wet ingredients.
- Do not top the wreath with regular granulated sugar. Use sparkling sugar or pearl sugar.
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Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
4 Comments
Jean
anyone have any tips/thoughts on making this gluten free?
Colleen
I’ve never tried baking a yeasted dough with gluten free flour, so unfortunately I am not sure how it would turn out.
Chef Mireille
One of the reasons I love Scandinavian cooking so much is that cardamom is the most common spice and one of my top 3 fave spices. That class must have been amazing!
Colleen
It was a great class! Next week I’m posting another recipe from it. Cardamom is wonderful and I love baking with it 😀