Finnish Cardamom Braids -- The Braid That Brought the Coffee Hour Back

The world is opening. The vaccine is working. The case numbers are dropping. The church is meeting again — limited, masked, but meeting. The Damiano Center is at full operations. The neighborhood is showing signs of life — people walking, not hurrying, breathing outdoor air without the fear that characterized last year. I went to church on Sunday. Full service. Masked, distanced, but full. I sat in my pew — third row left — and the hymns were muffled by masks but they were there, the voices together, the congregation singing, and I cried during "Amazing Grace" because I cry during "Amazing Grace" now, every time, and the crying is not grief anymore, it's release. The releasing of a year of isolation, a year of singing alone in the kitchen, a year of hymns without harmony. The community. The community is coming back. Else the candle-maker. The Gustafson family. The remnants of the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church, smaller every year but refusing to close. The remnants are the stalwarts, the ones who show up, the ones who bake and sing and endure. I'm one of them. I've been one of them my whole life. But this year, after the isolation and the grief and the solitary singing at six AM, being one of them feels earned in a way it didn't before. I earned this pew. I earned this hymn. I earned this community by surviving the year that tried to take it. I baked cinnamon rolls for the church coffee hour. Thirty. The first batch for the church in over a year. They were warm and fragrant and they sold out (well, were given away — we don't sell at coffee hour) in twenty minutes. Else said, "The cinnamon rolls are back." I said, "The cinnamon rolls never left. They were just in my kitchen instead of here." I made a Sunday dinner: roast chicken with root vegetables. The meal that says: the week begins, the oven works, the church was good, the community is here. The community is here. I am here. The cinnamon rolls are here. The world is opening. I'm opening with it.

I’ve been making cinnamon rolls for coffee hour for as long as I can remember, but this Sunday—the first full service back—I wanted to bake something that felt like it carried a little more of my history with it. Finnish Cardamom Braids are what my grandmother made when something mattered, when the table needed to say welcome home. The cardamom is warm and slightly floral, the braid is golden and pulls apart in soft, pillowy sections, and when you set one on a fellowship table, it says exactly what I needed to say to Else and the Gustafsons and every stalwart who showed up and sang through their masks: we are still here, and we still bake for each other.

Finnish Cardamom Braids

Prep Time: 30 min + 2 hr rising | Cook Time: 22 min | Total Time: ~3 hr | Servings: 16 slices (2 braids)

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk, warmed to 110°F
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (one standard packet)
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 large eggs, room temperature
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp fine salt
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk, for egg wash
2 tbsp pearl sugar or sliced almonds, for topping

Instructions

Proof the yeast. In a large bowl, combine the warm milk, yeast, and 1 tbsp of the sugar. Stir gently and let stand 5–10 minutes until foamy.
Make the dough. Whisk the remaining sugar, eggs, melted butter, cardamom, and salt into the yeast mixture. Add 3 1/2 cups of flour and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 8–10 minutes, adding flour a tablespoon at a time as needed, until the dough is smooth, soft, and just slightly tacky.
First rise. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.
Divide and braid. Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Divide each half into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 16-inch rope. Braid three ropes together, pinching the ends firmly to seal. Repeat with the remaining three ropes. Place the two braids on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Second rise. Cover loosely and let rise for 30–45 minutes, until puffed and noticeably larger.
Bake. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush the braids gently with the egg wash and sprinkle with pearl sugar or sliced almonds. Bake 20–22 minutes, until deep golden brown and the braids sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a wire rack at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Finnish Cardamom Braids -- The Braid That Brought the Coffee Hour Back