Rye Bread with Lingonberry Jam

It is no longer autumn in Finland. Two days a go we got white fluffy flakes which covered the land and turned the whole world white. However, I know, it won't last yet. It will melt away here in southern Finland. Now we just need to wait and see will we get a white Christmas. Hopefully we do. In a mean while we can enjoy these colorful autumn photos of lingonberry bread.

Lingonberries and rye are one of those match made in heaven ingredients. this one of the variations I have made since no one (not even Finns) want to eat same bread day after day. Still healthy, especially if you make your own lingonberry jam since then you can control how much sugar you add in to it and you can even choose to use better sugar option than the common white sugar.

Lingonberries grow even in our yard. They are wonderful addition to many dishes like smashed potatoes and (now close your eyes, if you believe in Santa) sautéed reindeer but also equally delicious with liver casserole which is one of my favourite ones. Lingonberries are smashed and  spiced with sugar when used with these dishes. if you ever have a change to try them - go for it! They are delicious!

I remember that my grandmother who lived in Rovaniemi, always made sautéed reindeer (poronkäristys) when we visited there. She served it often with boiled potatoes and that version was great too but I simply love smashed potatoes with milk, butter and little sugar so you can guess which option I like the best. And I must say that my mom makes the greatest smashed potatoes I have ever eaten. Well, enough about the lingonberries and other dishes. Back to the lingonberry bread.

The recipe goes like this:

350-400 grams (12.346-14.110 oz) sourdough starter
300 grams (10.582 oz)  lingonberry jam
500 grams (1.1023 lb) water
1200 grams (2.6455 lb)  ryeflour

1. Mix the strater, water and salt.
2. Add lingonberry jam. Mix well.
3. Add rye flour.
4.Knead on the baking board, add flours when needed.
5. Bake into two breads
6. Leaven them under a baking cloth for about 6-8 hours or so. Even over night works weel at my house.
7. Then bake them in the 250 °C (480°F) for about 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 200 °C (400°F) and bake them 60 to 75 minutes more or until they are done.

Finnish Sourdough Rye Bread with Malted Rye Flour

 My family wanted to have a different sort of rye bread after a while. I had these malted rye flours in my pantry and I decided to add some of them into the dough in order to get a little richer and slighter sweeter taste. It completely changes the taste of the sourdough rye bread.

I like malted flours. You can do so many things with them and special Easter time treat called mämmi is made by using malted rye flours. It is delicious even though it does look like something you can find in baby's diapers. Still, if you ever have a chance to taste mämmi I say go for it! It's really worth it.

This bread was so good that my family ate half of the bread I had baked before I could take the photos. I had other two  breads too but I had already frozen them so  I was left with this little piece to deal with. Luckily  there was still something left so that I did not need to shoot just  the crumbs.  :)


550-600 grams (1.2125 - 1.3228 lb) sourdough starter
appr.  1100 grams (2.4251 lb) water
1100-1200 grams (2.4251 - 2.6455 lb)  rye flour
800 grams (1.7637 lb) malt flour (I used malted rye flour)
salt

1. Mix the sourdough started, lukewarm water, salt and malted flours. Mix.
2. Add almost all of the rye flour and start kneading. Add more flours if needed. Bake 3 breads.
3. Let the bread leaven in a warm place, under a baking towel for about 6-9 hours (depends on the room temperature)
4. Then bake them in the 250 °C (480°F) for about 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 200 °C (400°F) and bake them 60 to 75 minutes more.

Forest biscuit - Mettäkakko

Forest biscuits are something that people who lived in northern Finland used to take with them when they
went to work in the forest. Just by looking at the recipe you can tell it's old one since nowadays no one uses that much butter and sugar since it is considered unhealthy. Mettäkakko sure was a calorie rich eating! And it needed to be since the work at the forest was hard and lots of calories were needed. This was also easy thng to take with you and it preserved  for a long time. Sometimes it was made by using sour milk or mix of cream and milk (half and half). I made these by using milk.

These cookies are sort of mix between Finnish pulla and biscuit. It's crunchy like biscuit from the outside and inside it's beautifully mellow and when the first bite melts in your mouth you simply got to have another one. Surprisingly the biscuit is not overly sweet. I would have thought that with this much sugar in it it would be disgustingly sweet but it's not. And that's a good thing. Store them in an air tight container.

People used to bake a big batch of these and the dough was not divided in order to make a smaller portion so I made a big portion too just for the old times' sake. :)

1 kg ( 2.205 lb) milk
500 grams (1.102 lb) butter
1 kg ( 2.205 lb) sugar
2 kg (4.409 lb) all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder

1. Heat the milk and melt the butter and sugar in it. Don't let it boil. Mix the flour with baking soda and baking powder. After the it has cooled a little add the flour mix and knead it into the liquid.
2. Let the dough cool in the fridge over night and bake in the morning.
3. Roll out the piece of dough and roll it into 0.5 cm (0.2 inch) thick sheet and take pieces by using a drinking glass as a cookie cutter.
4. Put them on a papered baking tray and bake in 225°C (450°F) for about 10 minutes or until they get a tiny bit color.

Traditionally these are made without sugar or almond toppings but I wanted to try out those too - just for a change. :)  Either way they are nice.

Finnish Blueberry Rooster - Mustikkakukko - Rättänä

 Mustikkakukko (Mustikka=blueberry, kukko=rooster) is a traditional Finnish dessert from the Savo region.  It is also called Rättänä which is totally impossible to translate! It's very simply and only a few ingredients are needed. In other words: a perfect dessert for busy people. What's great about it is that no wheat is needed either. The almost only "bad" thing for you in it is the sugar...well OK maybe a bit much butter too...  I know that some people make it without the sugar and they use 50 grams less butter so if you want a version with a little less calories, feel free to cut down the butter.  I could see it working like that too. But I still added the sugar and the whole amount of butter! :D Serve this fresh from the oven with whipped cream, ice cream or vanilla sauce or eat it just like that. Delicious in every way!

For the crust:

250 grams (8.819 oz) butter

140 grams  (4.938 oz) sugar

300 grams ( 10.582 oz) rye flour

1 tsp baking powder

For the filling:

250 grams (8.819 oz) frozen or fresh blueberries

80 grams (2.822 oz) sugar

(2-3 tbsp potato flour)

1. Melt the butter.
2. Mix the flour sugar and baking powder and add the little cooled butter with them. Mix well.
3. Take 8 ramekins, butter them lightly and cover the bottom and the sides of the ramekins with the dough. Don't add too thickly.
4. Mix the blueberries and sugar. If using frozen blueberries add 2-3 tablespoons of potato flour and mix. Add the blueberry mix on to ramekins.
5. Sprinkle the rest of the dough on top of the little "roosters". (I added a tiny piece of butter on top of each one before I put them in the oven.)
6. Bake in 200°C (400°F) for about 25-30 minutes. Or if you make one large one appr. 22 cm (9-10 inch) diameter then you need to bake it about 45-60 minutes or so.

Rhubarb Strawberry Pie

Rhubarb is probably the first plant in the garden you can see in the spring. It comes up from the ground with spring flowers and I think it looks like a flower when it's small. People tend to use these a lot in spring time but seems that most people forget that rhubarbs grow all summer!

In Finland people make pies, kissel, juice and lots of other things out of rhubarb - but maybe kissel and pies are the most common ones. There are lots of variations of rhubarb pies.

Rhubarbs are wonderfully sweet and sour. When you add strawberries with them the whole experience changes more sweeter. I especially love the rhubarbs which are beautifully red. I could swear they even taste better! I have that sort of rhubarb growing in my garden. I took the plant from my childhood home before it was sold about  5 years ago. It's a nice memory of childhood's care free days when we used the big rhubarb leaves as hats.

The rhubarbs in our yard are big and they grow really well but even though we have them quite much, I am still planing to plant more of them next summer. There are just so many things you can do with rhubarb. This pie and rhubarb rice porridge are my two favourite ones.

Soon the rhubarb season will be over. The autumn is coming eventually but a few more weeks we will still have summer.  After that it's  time to enjoy all those frozen rhubarbs I have in my freezer - the little memories of the summer past.

The pie batter:  (Pan size 30cm x 20 cm / 12 inch x 8 inch)

4 eggs
190 grams (6.702 oz) sugar
400 grams (14.110 oz) all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2-3 tsp vanilla extract  ( *This is my favourite one* )
200 grams (7.055 oz) water 
200 grams (7.055 oz) melted butter

1. Whisk the eggs and sugar
2. Add the vanilla extract
3. Mix the baking powder and flour together
4. Add water and flour mix into the batter. Mix gently.
5 Add cooled, melted butter and mix again gently.


For the topping /crumble

200 grams (7.055 oz)  frozen or fresh strawberries chopped
250 grams (8.819 oz) chopped rhubarbs

130 grams (4.586 oz) all purpose flour
90 grams (3.175 oz) sugar 
4 tsp vanilla sugar
70 grams (2.469 oz) butter

1.Mix the flour, butter, vanilla sugar and sugar with your hands.

Pour the pie batter into papered baking pan. Add the rhubarb and strawberry pieces on it and finally add the crumble on top of them. Bake in 200 °C (400°F) about 30-40 minutes or longer if needed.  Test with a toothpick.

This is wonderfully moist pie if you don't over bake it. And with this pie it's very fine line between over baked and just wonderfully baked so keep your eyes on the pie!

Traditional Finnish Sourdough Rye Bread

Rye bread is something heavenly. Fresh from the oven, cut a thick slice of the loaf, spread some  organic butter on the slice and enjoy the rich taste of it.  The experience is beyond words.

Sadly not many bake their daily bread anymore. Especially rye bread is usually bought from the store since people feel it is complicated to bake. But it is not! I made these rye breads with my sourdough. Traditionally the rye bread is baked with 3 ingredients only. Rye flour, water and salt - and it's leavened by using the sourdough.  You don't need anything else. Some store brought breads here are made with sourdough starter but far too many use baker's yeast for leavening the rye bread. But you really don't need to. Rye bread is simple and heavenly at the same time.

Rye bread stores really well - most sourdough breads do. Wrap it in a baking towel so the crust doesn't become so hard. In old times people stored the rye breads like that.

Some people prefer this bread straight from the oven but others like it after it has matured day or two. Then it's less "sticky" when cut with the knife. Either way it's good! Spread some butter on the bread, cut a nice slice of cheese and maybe some cucumbers too. So good! It really is something else than those wheat breads. Rye bread has a character.

300 grams (10.582 oz) sourdough starter (I have starter with rye flour)

600 grams (1.323 lb) lukewarm water

appr. 1000-1100 grams (2.205 - 2.425 lb) rye flour

3 tsp salt

Mix the starter, water and salt. Add 1000 grams  of rye flour. Start mixing, add more flour if needed. Knead the dough on the baking board, add flours if necessary. Rye dough is different from wheat dough. It has no viscosity what so ever. You need to have relatively soft but firm dough in your hands. You have kneaded enough and added enough flour once it doesn't stuck on your hands anymore. Be careful not to add to much flour or you will end up having some really hard bread! Shape them into two breads. Leaven  them under a baking towel for about 6-8 hours. Then bake them in the 250 °C (480°F) for about 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 200 °C (400°F) and bake them 60 to 75 minutes more. 

Swede Sourdough Bread

Swedes are terrible to dry. I mean the smell that fills the house is simply ghastly. But I have dried vegetables in every autumn and I guess this year is no exception. Must admit though that I am seriously thinking about quitting swede drying. Beetroots, carrot, onions and numerous wild vegetables are totally different thing.

Most people say that you must dry your wild veggies before midsummer. I think that is sort of short sighted. It can't be that the wild vegetables would be totally useless after that day. Bigger plants don't usually taste that nice but even in late summer there are still small plants too. And you can always cut down the plants and they will grow back in a week or two and you'll get small ones again! That's how I do it anyway and so far I have dried a big jar of nettles so during the winter we will have nettle bread and get all that green in a good use! Nettles are great in dough, soups, pancakes, pies...almost every where! And bigger wild veggies can be easily used once dried and grounded into a green powder, they are nor bad at all once used like that.

Today I made swede sourdough bread - just because I still have dried grated swedes in my pantry and no one wants to use them. But I can't throw them away. I simply hate throwing away food so I needed to use it some where. Breads and buns are usually always a solution for that and  root vegetables are very commonly used in Finnish baking. So here comes my altered sourdough recipe for swedes! And surprisingly enough it tasted well, really well actually! But be aware that the swedes give taste quite easily. The amount I used is not huge but it gave enough taste for the bread. Of course if you are mad about swedes you can put a lot more!

300 grams (10.6 oz) sourdough starter (I have starter with rye flour)

600 g (1.323 lb) lukewarm water

900-1000 grams (1.984 - 2.205 lb) all purpose flour

3 tsp salt

appr. 20 grams  (0.7055 oz) dried, grated swedes 

some olive oil ( I never measure this)

Mix the ingredients except the oil. Knead the dough for a while and then add the oil. Knead some more and let the dough rest about 15-30 minutes and then knead again. Shape into bread and let it leaven about 6 hours under a baking towel. Bake in the 200 °C (400°F) for about an hour or so.

Beetroot Sourdough Bread

I still have dried beetroot in the pantry. Now I really have to use them quite fast since new harvest is on the way. I think I also need to check do I still have dried courgettes and carrots too. Those can be easily used in breads.

Yesterday I decided to use some of it in the bread I was making. It turned out really good. The children said it was the best bread ever. I was supposed to grind it into a powder but the pieces were so hard that my little machine could not handle it so I decided to mix some powdered beetroot and beetroot pieces which got soft after I soaked them for awhile. The end result was really good. I used about 50 grams into the bread in the picture. made the second one with about 100 grams and I think that was better one even though the smaller amount of beetroot was quite nice too. I guess it depends do you want lots of beetroot or little less. The beetroot also creates a little reddish color. It was quite pretty that way.

I like using vegetables in breads since that way you eat more veggies and don't even notice it. They also make a great difference in the dough. I highly recommend using them.

300 grams (10.582 oz) sourdough starter (I have starter with rye flour)
600 g ( 1.323 lb) lukewarm water
900-1000 grams (1.984 - 2.205 lb) all purpose flour
3 tsp salt
50-100 grams ( 1.764 - 3.527 oz) dried beetroot (you can use small pieces or grounded)
some olive oil ( I never measure this)

The Taika mug by Iittala

Mix the sourdough, water, and salt. Mix well and add the flour. Mix and add the oil. Knead for a while, lett the dough rest for about 30 minutes and then knead some more to get that viscosity. Once the dough feels right shape the dough into a bread and tuck it in to sleep on a papered baking tray for about 6-8 hours. Bake in the 200 °C (400°F) for about an hour or so.

Beetroot gave a nice taste for the bread. It is probably one of the best root vegetables to be used in dough.

Sourdough Carrot Buns

It really is hot in Finland. The heat wave has been upon us for some time now and my family thinks it could already go away. Warm is nice but hot is not.  Makes me wish winter would already be here. But that's how it is. You are never happy with what you have and you always think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Well, since it is so hot baking is pure pain when the oven spreads more warm air around the house. So, now I bake only what we really need and that is the daily bread. And today is time to make some delicious carrot buns by using the sourdough starter - which is probably the only one who loves the warm climate we now have. It's constantly hungry and demanding more food. Seems that our sweet little pet has turned into a monster! :D


300 g (10.582 oz) sourdough starter (I have starter with rye flour)
appr. 300 grams (10.582 oz) grated carrots
600 g ( 1.323 lb) lukewarm water
appr. 1000-1200 grams (2.205 - 2.646 lb) all purpose flour
3 tsp salt
3 tbsp honey
some olive oil ( I never measure this)

1. Peel and grade the carrots.
2. Mix the sourdough starter, lukewarm water, graded carrots and salt.
3. Add the flour. Mix and knead. Add more flour if needed. Add the oil.
4. Let the dough rest about 15-30 minutes.
5. Knead some more and make about 25 buns.
6. Leaven them on the papered baking tray for about 4 hours or so.

7. Bake in the 225°C (450°F) for about 20 minutes.

These were quite nice but I think I want more carrot in them so next time I am going to add more of it. This is similar amount of carrot I have seen in a bread that was sold at the stores a couple of years ago. But now that I think of it, it was nice bread and I liked it but I remember complaining then too that it had too little carrot in it. So maybe tomorrow our buns will have double amount of carrot. But to you all who don't wish to eat bread with that much carrot, this amount I used today will probably be just perfect.

Sourdough Courgette Buns

The last couple of days have been very interesting ones. We had a thunder storm during which we lost one of our pine trees and today another one needed to be cut down since it wouldn't have lasted the next storm. It was a close call that the tree did not fell on our house. Today I managed to somehow bake some buns between the normal chores and the tree disaster.

Today's buns are delicious. I decided to add about 4 cups of courgettes in it since well I have lots of courgettes and I hate throwing food away so if we are not going to eat them in salads or dishes we need to use them on baking! So that's why I ended up making these today.

Buns are usually always a bit more tastier than bread. There is more of that delicious crust and somehow it seems to taste sweeter on buns. And it's also nice to have that nice size little bun in your hand. And it's all yours to enjoy!

After working outside it's nice to have fresh buns straight from the oven. Butter them, let it melt on the bun and eat. After all the wood chopping and carrying these buns disappeared in no time!

300 g (10.582 oz) sourdough starter (I have starter with rye flour)
appr. 1 liter (appr. 4-5 cups) graded courgettes 600 g (1.323 lb) lukewarm water

1000-1200 grams (2.205 - 2.646 lb) all purpose flour2-3 tsp salt
some olive oil ( I never measure this)

1. Grade the courgettes and salt them lightly in a bowl. Wait about 30 minutes and remove the liquid from the courgettes but don't throw it away. Substitute part of the water with it.
2. Mix the sourdough starter, lukewarm water,  graded courgettes and salt.
3. Add the flour. Mix and knead. Add more flour if needed. Add the oil.
4. Let the dough rest about 15-30 minutes.
5. Knead some more and make about 25 buns.
6. Leaven them on the papered baking tray for about 4 hours or so.
7. Bake in the 225°C (450°F) for about 20 minutes.

Serina biscuits - Serinakakut

Vase by Muurla

Serina biscuits are great. (Serina = Serina is a woman's name, kakut=cakes)  The demerara sugar gives it a bit more deeper taste and those little almond pieces on the top really crown the whole beauty.

My husband's grandmother liked these a lot. And today when I baked these one of the children said that these are awfully good and I have to keep baking these more often. So I guess I will bake these more often then!

I found the Serina biscuit recipe from my grandmother's old cookbook. It was printed in a time when cookbooks had hardly any pictures. For some reason the lack of pictures does not matter when you read a really old cookbook but modern cookbooks seem somehow less interesting if they have very little photos. When baking and cooking photos are essential. It's nice to know how things are supposed to look like. At least I like to know. But in the end it's the recipe that really counts.

I am simply love old cookbooks. I have found a few from a antiquarian bookshop and a few I have found as a new editions. Those are great too but I do prefer the ones I can find from a antiquarian bookshops. They feel nicer, they have stories to tell and it's nice to give an old book a new home. Books are like good friends - they listen to you when you need an ear and they never abandon you - and in real good occasions they even give you a priceless advice.

Makes about 45 biscuits:

100g (3.527 oz) demerara sugar
200g (7.055 oz)  butter

1 egg

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla sugar

225-250 grams (7.937 - 8.818 oz) all purpose flour

-----

egg

nib sugar

crushed almonds

1. Mix the butter and sugar into a foam.
2. Add the egg and mix well
3. Mix the dry ingredients and add them to the dough.
4. Take small pieces of the dough and shape them in to balls and put on the papered baking tray.
5. Brush with egg and sprinkle with chopped almonds and  nib sugar.
6. Bake them in the center of the oven appr. 10 minutes in 200°C (400°F).

And like always remember to enjoy!

Finnish Skillet Oven Pancake - Pannukakku

Finnish Oven pancake - Pannukakku (pannu = pan, kakku = cake) is a quick and nice treat to make. You can easily make a savory version as well and add some meat, mushrooms and/or veggies in it.  Almost everything goes!

This is a sweet version and made just like my grandmother made it. And for that you need an oven proof skillet. Big or small - add the batter accordingly. The skillet I am using today is my mother's old one. It has served us well for a long time and looks like it will continue to do so.

My grandmother made pancakes in a skillet and it tasted so much different than the ones people usually make in baking trays. Not sure where the taste comes from - maybe it's the skillet or maybe because she made it with love. However, my mom makes the  skillet pancake too and she manages to do the same so maybe it's the combination of skillet and love. Who knows but it sure is good!


500 grams milk  (1.1023 lb) (you can use some other liquid as well)
195 grams (0.429 lb ) all-purpose flour
appr. 200 grams (0.440 lb)  sugar
1-1,5 tsp baking powder
0,5 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla sugar

1. Add the dry ingredients into a bowl.
2. Add milk and eggs.
3. Mix and let the batter rest for about 15-30 minutes.

The Moomin bowls mabe by Arabia :
The Hattifatteners and The Groke.

4. Heat the skillet on the stove and melt some butter in it. Be sure to use enough butter. Too little butter will change the taste of the skillet pancake. When the skillet is still hot pour the batter in it and bake in 200°C (400°F) for about  40-45 minutes  if you are using 24 cm skillet.

Finnish pancakes taste wonderful with fresh berries or with ice cream and berries. Whipped cream and berries are delicious too! Even honey goes well.  Enjoy this summery treat!

Granny's Carrot Raisin Cake

Cake server and sugar spoon "Let Them Eat Cake"
by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen

This is one of my favourite cakes. It is wonderfully moist inside and it has rich (but not too rich) flavour because of the carrots, orange peels, raisins and the powdered ginger! There are quite a few Finnish baking recipes that include carrots or some other root vegetable.

Carrots are wonderful in cakes. They bring a little texture in it but they also bring that much needed moistness which many cakes, in my opinion, does not have.

Cakes are also a very good reason to open the box of a beautiful cake server.  I fell in love with it in a minute I saw it and I bough three. So in time all my children will get  the cake server as well as sugar spoons, cake forks and such.Let Them Eat Cake by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is simply so beautiful that I ended up getting most pieces for each of my three children.

The plates and the sugar bowl I have found from the flea market some years ago and the table runner used to belong to my grandmother.

150g ( 0.331 lb) butter
170 grams (0.375) sugar

2 eggs

260 grams (0.573 lb) all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla sugar

1 tsp powdered ginger 

130 grams  (0.287 lb) raisins

70 grams (0.154 lb) candied orange peel

2-3 grated carrots

100 grams  (0.220 lb) sour milk

1. Whip the soft butter and sugar into foam.
2. Add the eggs one by one and mix well.
3. Mix all the dry ingredients and the grated carrot and sour milk.
4. Whip just so that you get all mixed.
5. Pour the batter into a buttered and floured cake tin.
6. Bake in the 175°C (350°F)for about 60-70 minutes. (A bit more if your carrots are really juicy.)  Enjoy!

Cake server and sugar spoon "Let Them Eat Cake"
by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen

Sourdough bread

Sourdough bread is heavenly. Compared to store bought plastic bag bread it is totally something else. Once you have tasted the sourdough bread you simply can't go back to eating those tasteless plastic monsters. So, consider yourself warned. Once you step onto the road of sourdough baking there is no turning back.

When you have your own little starter ready you can start baking. It well worth the effort!

I used the 1 2 3 method from Flo Makanai. And it works great. It is wonderful basic recipe and at least for me it works every time! This method means the following: Number 1 is for starter. I used 300 grams of it. The number 2 means the water. So I multiply 300 by 2 and get 600 grams which is the amount of water needed. The number 3 is for flour so I multiply that 300 by 3 and get 900 grams. Must say though that in most cases I need to add 1 kg of flour but flours are different in each country so you still need to "feel" the dough. But that's what my grandmother used to do too! Experience was the key ingredient! And don't forget the salt. Use the amount you feel is good - bread needs salt to became a bread but everyone has a different taste so add according to yours. I added about 3 teaspoons salt. And a little honey and olive oil and 4 teaspoons or oregano. I love oregano bread!

So my recipe looked like this: (and it's quite large loaf)

300 grams (0.661 lb) sourdough starter (I have starter with rye flour)
600 grams (1.323 lb ) lukewarm water
900-1000 g (1.984 - 2.205 lb) all purpose flour
3 tsp salt
4-6 tsp dried oregano
3 tbsp honey
some olive oil ( I never measure this)

I make the dough, knead for a while, letting it rest for about 30 minutes and then knead some more to get that viscosity. Once the dough feels right I make the bread and tuck it in to sleep on a papered baking tray for about 6 hours. Sometimes I keep it over night. Bake in the 200 °C (400°F)for about an hour or so.

The bread in the photo leavened about 4-5 hours which is a little short time but I was in a hurry and needed to get it done. I usually keep it about 6 hours or so. But in a family with small children it's not always an option. Things happen and even the sourdough bread needs to adjust a little.  But with a little shorter time it came out wonderfully! And the taste is so awesome! You guys really need to try it if you already haven't! Sourdough bread is what makes the world go round.

Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Starter is like a family member - old times Tamagotchi one might say. Sure thing is that a starter does feel like a pet. At least it needs a lot of love and time. You leave it behind and it's dead. You forget to feed it and water it - it's dead. So it does sound awfully much like a pet to me!

Sourdough baking has been a traditional baking method in Finland. My grandmother used to bake all their breads in a big baking oven and she used sourdough.  Now it seems that sourdough has been forgotten in many places. That is sad. The bread made with sourdough starter tastes so much better than when commercial yeast is used to leaven the bread. Starter brings totally different world into your bread. And it's not that hard to use either. Hardest things is to get that starter running in a jar on your kitchen counter or some other place that is warm enough for your new pet. Give it a try and you get to taste the best bread in a whole world!

My own little sourdough starter has been in our family ever since this spring. I had done it before with moderate success but this time I had a real struggle to get that starter up and running. But finally I did it and ever since that my starter has been a really lovely.

I started it with 50 grams of rye flour and 50 grams of water. Before that I tried it with dls and cups but it just didn't work. And I ended up having sourdough that did not work like it was supposed to and smelled something totally different that it was supposed to. Trust me - you know from the smell if your sourdough starter isn't what it is meant to be. Good sourdough smells mildly acid and little fruity. Bad sourdough starter smells simply bad.

On the first day I added 50 grams of water and 50 grams of rye flour, mixed it well and started to wait. Baking is something that can really build up your patience. So I waited for about 24 hours, mixed it a little couple of times and finally  it was all bubbly and happy looking sourdough starter. Then I started to feed it. I removed half of the starter and added another 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water, mixed it well and waited again. This time I needed to wait about 12 hours before it was all happy and bubbly. Then again I removed  half of it and added 50 grams of both water and rye flour. Then again the same thing after 12 hours. I continued this about a week and I had managed to create a working sourdough starter on my very own kitchen. You can start feeding it with some other flour too after 3-4 days. Tried that too and it works just fine. I gradually changed to flour though. Started half of rye and half of all-purpose flour. But in the end I went back to rye flour since I wanted to have a whole meal starter and I don't really want to keep several starters - at least for now.

Rolled Oats Biscuits - Kauralastut

These rolled oats biscuits (rolled oats= kaura, lastut=chips) are something so delicious that  when you start eating them you can't really stop so be sure to wear something loose and stretchy while starting to make these! Usually people like these when they are crispy and that they are if you store them in an airtight container. I however like these when they are NOT stored in an airtight container and they became a little chewy. I think then they taste even better! But even in this household the opinions vary so  it is safest to store some in a container and some in a bowl. That way everyone gets what they want.

The great thing about these is that they are terribly easy to make - and quick! 

You can prepare these without any flour if you wish - just add some more oatmeal when you do that. Or you can use rye flour instead of the wheat. Do what ever you wish - all options work really well. Tested them each. The ones in the photo are made with rye flour. Many of the coeliacs can eat rolled oats so without the flour (or you can use gluten free flour) these can be included in gluten-free diet as well. 

80 grams (2.822 oz)  rolled oats

75 grams (2.646 oz) melted or really really soft butter

100-140 grams  (3.527 oz) sugar

1 egg

1 tbsp all-purpose flour (or rye flour or rolled oats)

1 tsp vanilla sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1. Mix rolled oats and melted/really soft butter.

2. Mix the flour, vanilla sugar and baking powder and add the mix into the bowl with the rolled oats and butter. Mix well.

3. Add sugar (I usually make these with 1dl sugar. They are sweet enough like that.) and eggs. 

4. Use two tea spoons to shape small balls and put them on the papered baking tray. Be sure to left enough space between the balls since these will spread quite a bit.

5. Bake in the center of the oven in 175°C (350°F) about 8-10 minutes.

If you wish you can easily decorate these with chocolate stripes. Even though I do love chocolate I prefer these without it.

Finnish Deep Fried Pulla - Finnish Doughnut - Munkki

It's time to deep fry the pulla! And it's going to be delicious!

In Finland the deep fried pulla is called munkki. In English munkki means monk. The word munkki is used of the ball shape version of the doughnut. We also have the ones with hole on the middle and that is called donitsi.

Doughnuts are eaten all round the year in Finland but especially in the First of May is the time to make pulla dough and dig up the deep fryer! Ok, you can also use a big pot and fill it with oil.

The First of May doughnuts are usually eaten with mead (sima) which is often prepared in 10 liter buckets at home. We make it almost every year too. Home versions have practically no alcohol (well at least if you make it such way) and they are usually suitable for children too.

People who are travelling to their summer cottages often stop by on a gas station or similar place to have a cup of coffee and in many times they also buy some sort of doughnut. It may be called "monk", "monk pig" or something totally different but all in all it has been prepared from the same dough - it just looks different and may have a different filling. And believe it or not even though they are made from the same dough they do taste a little different. I guess the amount of dough you are deep frying effects on the result. So big doughnuts and small doughnuts taste a little different. I know that the feet in the "monk pig" do taste different that the rest of that doughnut.

500 grams (1.102 lb) milk

50 grams (1.764 oz)  baker's yeast

1 egg

2 tsp salt

 150- 200 grams (5.291 - 7.055 oz) sugar

1000-1100 grams (2.205 - 2.425 lb) all-purpose flour

200 grams (7.055 oz)  melted butter

1 tbsp cardamom

(apple or raspberry jam)

1. You need lukewarm milk so heat it up. 

2. Take a big bowl and pour a little warm milk into it and add the yeast. Mix well.

3. Once the yeast has dissolved add the rest of the milk, the spices and the egg.

4. Add 7 dl of flour and keep mixing with wooden spoon. Mix as long as the dough starts to look like a runny porridge. 

5. Add another 7 dl flour. Mix now with your hand. Keep kneading/mixing it as long as you have a nice dough in your hands. Then add the melted and cooled butter and knead some more. Once the butter is well in the dough continue kneading on the baking board.  Remember to knead well. Once you have nice smooth  dough with good viscosity in your hands you can put the dough into a bowl and cover it with a baking towel and let it rise until it doubles. That will take an hour or so.

6. Put the dough on a baking board. Divide the dough into 24 equal size pieces and shape them into
buns or if you want smaller ones divide it to about 40 pieces. The bigger ones are easier to fill with jam.

7. Let the doughnuts rest under a baking towel for about 30 minutes before starting to fry them.

8.Temperature of the oil should be 170 - 180°C. (340°F- 360°F) I often use olive oil. Fry each one about 3 minutes or so. Watch the colour, that will tell you a lot. Remember to turn the doughnuts once in the middle of the frying. Fry only a few at the time so that the oil will stay hot enough. These are ready once they get nice golden colour.

If you want to make doughnuts with holes in them make round balls and put your finger through the center and make the hole and then circle you finger in the hole to shape the doughnut. You can also roll a rope and turn that into a circle - use which ever method you prefer. End results may be a bit different though.

Once you have fried the doughnuts, let them cool down a while and when they are still a bit warm, roll them in the sugar and they are ready to be eaten. These are great when still a little warm but still very good when they have totally cooled down. You can also fill the doughnuts with the jam. Use a suitable piping nozzle and bag.

Fork Biscuits - Haarukkaleivät

My mom has baked Fork biscuits (haarukka=fork, leivät= breads) for as  long as I can remember. They are actually one my oldest's  favourite treats and one of my favourite recipes. The recipe is not complicated at all, it does not require many ingredients - mostly just basic ones which can almost always be found  in the pantry.

These biscuits have that childhood flavour in them and they reminded me of this old doll I got when I was tiny. The doll carries a lot of memories and stitches. It does not only remind of these biscuits but it also reminds me of my granddad who died almost 30 years ago. When I visited him at the hospital for the very last time I left this doll for him. So in a way I was with him till the end and he was with me.

It is funny thing that so many memories are connected with baking. Different scents bring different memories and today this was the memory that floated into my mind. It's a dear memory.

200 grams (7.055 oz) soft butter

175 grams (6.173 oz)  sugar  

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla sugar

2 tsp baking powder

490 -  520 grams (1.080 -  1.146 lb) all-purpose flour

1. Beat the sugar and butter into a foam.
2. Mix the dry ingredients and add them into the butter-sugar mix.
3. Divide the dough to two pieces and make a "rope" which you divide into 20 pieces. You should have about 40 pieces from the two "ropes".
4. Shape them into balls and put them on the papered baking tray.
5. Do the same things to the second piece of the dough.
6. Once the all biscuits are on the baking tray press a fork pattern on each. Then another one from another direction so that the patterns will cross.  Please, see the photo to get a better idea.
7. Bake in the center of the oven in 225 °C (450°F) for about 7-9 minutes.

Many times we make the biscuits bigger than these. Then this recipe makes only about 20 biscuits but they are really great like that. Then you need to bake them a little longer 10-15 minutes should make it.

Finnish bun - Finnish Pulla

Moomin cup "The Groke" by Arabia

Today is one of those rainy and cloudy days. The weather is warm but you just need something to cheer you up and since there is no sun shine to do that it was time to do some quick baking. I am glad that the rain did stop for a while so that  I could take some photos under the birch tree.  Even now when I am writing this I can hear the rain drops making that little sound on our roof. Summer rain -  it's sort of romantic.

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Pulla in all forms has been in the Finnish coffee tables probably from the beginning of time. It is sold in all stores and baked in most homes. Pulla can be really bad or it can be really delicious - it depends on the baker and the ingredients.

The scent of pulla is what makes home, a safe feeling, it brings memories from the childhood - probably even to those whose mother did not even bake! It's like a national scent I might say. OK, maybe I am exaggerating a little but that's how it feels. Pulla is the big part of Finnish baking traditions.

I don't like to use any machines when  making the pulla dough. Sure if you have Kitchen Aid or Kenwood it makes things easier and you get that viscosity in a heart beat. But you also lose the feeling. And in many times baking is all about a feeling. There is nothing more relaxing than kneading the dough, feeling the softness of it.  It's like you can sink all your troubles into the dough and then bake them in the oven and  turn them into something that smells and looks beautiful. And somehow it takes your troubles away at least for a while. Pulla is all the things that home is.

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You can make lots of different shapes with pulla dough. Use your imagination! Hedgehogs, cinnamon rolls, braiding, Boston pulla and tons of other possibilities are just around the corner! In the future I will add recipes for my Boston pulla and I will make some hedgehogs  - and something else too but I'll let that be a secret for a little longer.  So stay tuned! Now it is  the basic version called pikkupulla - literate translation is small bun.

This is the very basic Finnish pulla  recipe. If you want more festive and even more delicious version of the pulla, add 2 more eggs, 50g more butter and if you want you can add additional 0,5-1 dl of sugar too. This will make pretty great pulla dough!  You may have to add a bit more flour after all the other additions. I can guarantee this is going to be delicious!

Good ingredients can save even the worst baker - well at least they help a lot.  Pulla may not look pretty but with well chosen ingredients it at least tastes good! Please, if possible use butter instead of margarine. Olive oil I have tested a few times and it's all right but the texture of the pulla will change and the crumbs feel different than when baked with butter. Trust me - butter is the bakers best friend.

I have known people who make pulla dough into water. And the pulla tastes a little like water too and the end product even looks sort of grayish. Not pretty at all! And the taste which is the most important thing is ruined. Of course allergies are totally different story but even in those cases you can usually find something else than water. Rice milk, almond milk - have a try with something that suits your needs - well even that water, if it is the only option left. 

500 grams (1.102 lb) milk

50 g (appr. 2 ounces) fresh yeast

1 egg

2 tsp salt

150-200 grams (5.291 - 7.055 oz) sugar

1000-1100 grams (2.205 - 2.425 lb)  all-purpose flour

200 grams (7.055 oz) melted butter

(1 tbs cardamom) 
(raisins 130 grams/4.586 oz - if using add with the rest of the milk)

1. You need lukewarm milk so heat it up. 

2. Take a big bowl and pour a little warm milk into it and add the yeast. Mix well.

3. Once the yeast has dissolved add the rest of the milk, the spices and the egg(s).

4. Add 7 dl of flour and keep mixing with wooden spoon. Mix as long as the dough starts to look like a runny porridge. 

5. Add another 7 dl flour. Mix now with your hand. Keep kneading/mixing it as long as you have a nice dough in your hands. Then add the melted and cooled butter and knead some more. Once the butter is well in the dough continue kneading on the baking board.  Add some more flour if needed but be careful - too much flour will make the pulla hard and not that tasty. Softer dough makes better pulla but remember to knead well. It is the viscosity we are after when baking pulla. Once you have nice smooth pulla dough with good viscosity in your hand you can put the dough into a bowl and cover it with a baking towel and let it rise until it doubles. That will take an hour or so.

6. Put the dough on a baking board. Divide the dough into 24 equal size pieces and shape them into buns.
7. Let the buns leaven on a baking tray under a baking towel. After they have almost doubled their size brush with  egg (or with strong coffee) and sprinkle some nib sugar (and almond flakes) on the top.
8. Bake in the center of the oven in 200 °C (400°F) about 15-20 minutes until the pullas are golden brown.

If you want to make smaller pullas you can divide the dough into 40 pieces and bake them in 225 °C (450°F) about 10 minutes.

Once the pullas have cooled a little you can serve them with a big glass of cold milk. In my opinion that is the most delicious way to eat these but I have been told that coffee and tea are tasty too. And some people like to have these with cold or hot cocoa.  Well, what ever your choice is just remember to enjoy!

Gentry's Biscuit - Herrasväen Pikkuleipä

Small bowl "Kastehelmi" by Iittala
Platter Teema by Arabia

Gentry's biscuits are known as Herrasväen pikkuleivät in Finland. (herrasväen= gentry's, pikkuleipä=biscuit)

These biscuits are really nice to make. Traditionally they have been circles but I like to make heart shaped ones and nowadays people make what ever shape they like to. Cookie cutters are great! These are quite small in size - after all they are called pikkuleipä, small bread. The filling is usually  raspberry jam or marmalade but I have tried these with apple marmalade and they were heavenly! The dough is good too and sometimes I think I have eaten half of it before I am done with the biscuits!

My mother-in-law bakes these almost every time when we visit there and she also bakes these to almost every occasion. Many people make these for Christmas only but it's a shame to bake these only once a year. They are so delicious!

When we got married we had these biscuits on our coffee table. So there are quite a few memories to go with these. Maybe that's one of the reasons I like to make hearts instead of circles.

Makes about 60 biscuits.

400 grams (14.110 oz) soft butter

250 grams  (8.819 oz) sugar

2 eggs

480 grams (1.058 lb) all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder
(2 tsp vanilla sugar)

1. Whip the butter and sugar into soft foam.
2. Add eggs one at a time.
3. Add mixed all purpose flour and baking powder through a colander. Mix only what you need to get all mixed. We don't want the viscosity for this dough.
4. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let the dough cool in the fridge about an hour or so.
5 Roll out half of the dough. You need it to be about 3mm thick.
6. Use a cookie cutter to make the biscuits. Put them on a papered oven tray and let the tray with biscuits cool in the fridge for a while. That way biscuits keep their shape better.
7. Bake the biscuits in the center of the oven in 200°C (400°F) appr. 6-8 minutes. They need to stay light and not to get any colour what so ever so don't wait for them to turn into golden brown.
8. Once the biscuits have cooled so you can touch them, spread some jam or marmalade on a biscuit by using a small palet knife or cutlery knife. Don't add too much jam or it will mess the biscuit. Put another biscuit on the jam and roll the whole thing  in the caster sugar.
9. Store the biscuits in an air tight container.