Bread

The Finns & Bread

Bread is the foundation of Finnish Cuisine. There is a clear east-west division in oven usage and bread. The eastern part was baking several times per week and have a lot of pastries. T

he western part was baking twice per year and put a hole in their rye bread to put them on sticks on the ceiling in the kitchen for storage.

The dry bread was then soaked in broth, fish-water or milk and then directly eaten or prepared further.

The most traditional breads are rye and barley bread. Due to the Finnish climate wheat was not widely used and considered a treat.

The climate in Finland is not always friendly and in many household pettujauho was made from the inner bark of pine. The bark was dried and grinded and then mixed with rye flour and baked into pettuleipä (bark bread). While the nutritious values were far from good, it probably saved many people from starving to death.

Pettuleipä is known for hundreds of years in Finland. In the hunger years in the 20ties school classes went out to pick up “jäkälä” (different kind of lichens).

Straw or roots were also used for “hätäleipä” (Emergency bread).More information on regional bread differences in Finland: https://www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/suomalainen-leipakulttuuri-ja-alueelliset-erot.pdf

BREAD

Opera Bread - Oopperaleipä

The opera bread seems to be originated from the Stockholm opera and became popular in Finland in the 1950. At that time the alcohol laws were very strict, and people had to order some food after each second drink. The opera bread served that purpose perfectly for the party goers. It became a popular quick lunch snack. It can be seen as the “bread”-brother of the burger. Nowadays, burgers are more popular. Ingredients 4 Large slices of bread e.g. Grahambread, white bread or ev

silke943

Feb 261 min read

Potato Flat Bread - Perunarieskat

This rieska is quite “moist” and without yeast. The original recipe I had was without egg, but many rieskat add an egg to “glue” the dough together. Rieskat are very fast to make and nice for some leftover mashed potatoes. If you don’t have mashed potatoes ready, then use mashed potato powder with water (1 dl masthed potato mix + 3 dl water). This is one of my go-to if I need a quick bread to go along with a soup. I suggest only to make as much as you need, as they taste best

silke943

Feb 241 min read

Spelt Flat Bread – Spelttirieskat

Rieska is a Finnish flat bread, there exist a wide range of them, especially in the Savo region. Some of them are with yeast, some not. Some of them are very quick to make without kneading, others (the ones with yeast) take longer. They use different types of flour and sometimes include potatoes. But all of them are flat, baked in a very hot oven (220-250 C, whatever your oven manages) and taste best when still warm. They are a perfect companion to Finnish soups. Interestingl

silke943

Feb 221 min read

Oulun Loaf - Oulun Limppu

The Oulun Loaf (Oulu limppu) is a traditional bread from Nothern Finland (Pohjois-Pohjanmaa). It is not clear how old this bread really is, but digging through my books I found a recipe for it in the Tyttöjen Keittokirja (Girls Cookbook) from 1925, which was used in school kitchens. I used a slightly more modern recipe, as a large tablespoon of salt is properly no longer up-to-date with the eating recommendations.... The Oulu loaf is a slightly sweet bread, like many other t

silke943

Feb 73 min read