Behold! The Bulla Bread is Done!

After a full day of experimenting with this new Swedish Bulla bread recipe, with all the adjustments for high altitude baking, it really doesn’t matter how it tastes-just look at how lovely it turned out! 

If you’ve not tried this bread, it’s kind of like a cross between German stollen and challah. Lots of raisins, nuts, and dried cranberries, but without the heavy egg of plaited challah and much fluffier than stollen. 

After the second prove the dough is cut in half. Each half is then rolled out into a wide rectangle and cut into three equal strands for plaiting.

Now, before you think this was all pulled off without a hitch – generally, I’m a complete SPAZZ in the kitchen – just know that I had to do a SECOND batch after I realized I’d left the softened butter out of the first round after it had gone through it’s first prove.  No wonder the dough seemed so incredibly dry.. which led me to add way more water than the recipe suggested. I suppose many inexperienced bakers would have tossed the dough out, but I figured it was worth a try to work in the butter and let it rise again. And you know what? It turned out BETTER than the second batch in which I followed the recipe (with altitude adjustments) to the T. 

Once plaited, each loaf is covered and left to prove a THIRD time before going in the oven!