This bread is very loosely inspired by Swedish pulla bread. The cardamom gives warmth and a bit of je ne sais quoi to a rich and soft bread and the pears melt into a delicious filling.

Are you sold yet?

If not, you should know that this bread is also incredibly easy to make, but looks super-fancy and will definitely impress anyone you share it with. No pressure to share though, I won’t tell.

Makes: 2 loaves

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/2 tsp quick rise yeast
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tsp white sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 cups AP flour, divided
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 2 ripe pears, peeled and cored and finely sliced
• 1/4 cup apple jam or apricot jam

Directions:

1. Heat milk (1 cup) until steaming (not boiling)
2. Add butter (1/4 cup) to milk and stir until melted, set aside to cool off a bit
3. Stir together warm water (1/4 cup), yeast (1/2 tsp) and 1 tsp sugar, let stand for 10 minutes until bubbles start to form on top of the water
4. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar (1/2 cup), eggs (2), and cooled milk and butter mixture
5. In a medium bowl, stir together salt (1 tsp), 1 cup of the AP flour, and cardamom (1 tsp)
6. Add dry mixture to wet ingredients and stir in
7. Gradually add the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough is formed
8. Place bowl in a lightly oiled or buttered bowl, covered with a damp cloth, until doubled in size (about 45-60 minutes)
9. Shape the dough:
   • Split the dough in half, then divide each half into thirds
   • Stretch each piece into a long rectangle, about 18 inches (45 cm) long and 4 inches (10 cm) wide
   • Arrange sliced pears on dough and then roll the dough into a tube (remember when you were in kindergarten and made snakes out of playdough? like that)
   • Form two braids and carefully tuck the ends underneath
10. Preheat oven to 350 degrees f
11. Let the dough rise again for another 30-45 minutes
12. Warm up the jam for 10-15 seconds in the microwave so it is runny and brush each loaf with jam
13. Bake loaves on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes, until nicely golden and the bottom is fully baked
14. Let cool before slicing

Notes:

• Don’t worry if you don’t use all of the flour. Like many DIY projects, sometimes there are some extra parts left over and that is fine.
• I suggest freezing any uneaten parts of the bread. Also, you can freeze the dough before the first rise and use it later, just let it warm up to room temperature and double in size and then treat it as normal.
• If you happen to have any leftovers, I have two words for you… French toast!