Scandinavian Bread: Sultsina

Sultsina pasties are part of a traditional Karelian cuisine. Our family started to bake them when my grand aunt got a daugher-in-law from eastern Finland in the 1960s. Now they are beloved part of our family celebrations.

The original family recipe calls for unleavened rye dough and semolina porridge. I prefer rice or pearl barley porridge. I have filled sultsina shells with potato, wild mushroom and smoked fish salad too. Maybe not sultsinas anymore, but delicious! These variations have been a huge hit among my friends. 

I have also taken liberties with the shape of sultsinas. I make cones because they look prettier than the traditional shape.

18 pcs.

Shells:

4 dl (220 g) rye flour 

1 dl (65 g) wheat flour

1 tsp salt

2 dl (200 g) cold water

Filling:

2 dl (200 g) water

2 dl (170 g) short grain rice

1 L whole milk 

1 tsp salt 

Glaze: 

50 g butter 

1 dl (100 g) milk 

Combine the flours, salt and cold water. Shape the dough into a round ball. Cover the ball with plastic wrap an put it in the fridge.

Start to cook the porridge. Place the rice in a fine mesh sieve and rinse under cold water. Bring 2 dl water to the boil. Stir in rice and cook until water has completely evaporated. This takes couple of minutes. Pour milk into the kettle, reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for another 40 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in salt.

Make the shells while the porridge is simmering on the stove, but remember to stir the porridge once in the while.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it softly, for just a moment or two. Roll the dough into a rope. Cut the rope into 18 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Press to flatten. Roll out each ball into a 15-cm (6-inch) circle. Make them as thin as possible, but don't worry about the perfect shape. Some roughness looks good.

Sprinkle generous amount of flour between each shell and make an overlapping pile on the table. Cover the pile with plastic wrap.

Melt the butter and add milk into it.

Brush the excess flour away and place one shell on a cast iron pan or a griddle. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until bottom turns color. Turn over with a flat spatula and cook until light brown spots appear on the underside. Brush only the other side of each shell with butter-milk mixture and pile them buttered sides against each other. Cover with foil and cloth. 

Place some of the filling on the buttered side of each shell and roll them all up into cones. Serve immediately.