When you take a tray of freshly baked cinnamon rolls out of the oven, the beautiful smell of cardamom is enough to take any Finnish person back to happy memories of their childhood, of grandma’s kitchen or of having a coffee with a friend. It is for me!
I think some of my fondest memories of my childhood are sitting in my grandma’s kitchen, while she baked. She gave me a piece of dough to play with, which I treated much like playdough, while she made the professional looking products. The best part was talking with grandma and listening to her great life-lessons. When the freshly baked tray came out of the oven, I got to enjoy a hot, fresh cinnamon roll with a cold glass of milk. Could anything taste better!!!??!!
Pulla is the name for a Finnish cinnamon roll. It is a buttery sweet bread, between a cake and bread. Finns call it coffee bread. The Finnish cinnamon roll is such an integral part of the Finnish coffee-table, that Finland without it, would be like USA without hamburgers, Italy without pasta or France without croissants.
One of the modern professions that has become popular is that of a life-coach. If there ever was a brilliant life-coach, it was my grandma. She taught me everything from manners to etiquette to finding happiness in life. To this day, the lessons I learned around my grandma’s kitchen table, are cemented into my brain so firmly, that I can almost hear my grandma’s voice in my mind sometimes.
Looking back, I realise that my grandma valued a lot of the same things as I do in life and that her happiness also came from similar things to mine. We both enjoy being in the kitchen, cooking and baking with love, being with family and friends. It’s those simple little pleasures of life, that mean so much.
My childhood without my grandma and pulla would be like a night sky with no stars. You simply can’t have that! A child must have a grandma and hot cinnamon rolls in her life!! And a fresh cinnamon rolls straight out of the oven, dunked into a cold glass of milk, is just wonderful, every now and again, even for grown-ups!
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Apples of Gold 
Dear Jaana,
I don’t remember baking with my grandmothers, but my mother. She thought us tree daughters to beke pullas and our scout friends too👍
Many little scout girls (now around their 50s) learned to roll buns with both hands in the same time. I do so always. Those pullas are voisilmäpullas. 😋regards Hanna
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Hanna, I have to admit, now that grandma is no longer with us, my mum makes the best pulla in the world! So yes, mums and grandmas, both. My grandma did the rolling with two hands too. I do remember my grandma making the pitko too, the long bun loaf. But I have to say my favourite is still the cinnamon rolls. ps. I know the photo is not of cinnamon rolls, but still brings grandma to mind, looking at those pullas!
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Jaana, I need to add my mom made two pikkupullas in the same time. The two pieces of dough is on the table and then you put your hands on them and roll against the table. 😅. Then you’ll get two pullas in the same time.
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Ahaa!!! I would love to see that!!
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