November 2016 - Scandinavian Bread

roll

Chewy Rolls

November 24, 2016

These rolls aren't the pretties small breads in the world, but the taste is awesome and the soft, chewy texture inside is just perfect. What's more, the recipe is super easy.

12 pcs.

5 dl (500 g) water

25 g fresh yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

12–13 dl (800 g) wheat flour

Dissolve yeast, salt and sugar in cold water. Gradually mix in the flour and knead the dough for 10 minutes.

Cover with a tea towel and let rise for an hour.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead about 3 minutes. Roll the dough into a rope. Cut the rope into 12 pieces. Shape each piece into a roll. Line two baking trays with parchment papers, place the rolls on them. Spray with water and leave to rise (uncovered) at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Place a roasting pan with plenty of water on the lowest rack of your oven and preheat the oven to 200°C. Spray the rolls with water again and bake for 25 minutes.

Let cool on a wire rack.

Quick Conversions and Other Useful Facts

November 23, 2016

Photo Hotel and Restaurant Museum, hrm.finna.fi, licenced under CC BY-ND 4.0 -licence.

Workers of restaurant Kantakrouvi, Kauhajoki FInland, in 1963.

Yeast

Fresh yeast has been used in all the recipes. If substituting dried yeast, use only half the specified amount and follow the instructions given on the package.

Baking times

Celsius to Fahrenheit (°C to °F) conversion

Learn how your oven behaves – and trust your knowledge. The instructions in the recipes are guidelines. Your experience tells you which time, temperature or shelf works best. The general rule is that baking times should usually be reduced for fan ovens.

150 °C 300 °F

175 °C 350 °F

200 °C 400 °F

225 °C 425 °F

250 °C 475 °F

275 °C 525 °F

Cup to deciliter (cup to dl) conversion

1 cup (US) 2,4 dl

1 cup (UK) 2,8 dl

Deciliter to grams (dl to g) conversion

1 dl = 7 tbsp

milk 100 g

buttermilk 100 g

water 100 g

wheat flour 65 g

rye flour 55 g

dark wheat flour 55 g

barley flour 55 g

graham flour 60 g

corn flour 55 g

rye malt for bread (flour) 60 g

oat flakes 35 g

rye flakes 35 g

spelt flakes 35 g

oat bran 55 g

wheat bran 20 g

linseeds 60 g

sunflower seeds100 g

pumpkin seeds 60 g

sesame seeds 60 g

nuts 60 g

raisins 60 g

Scandinavian dark syrup 140 g

honey 140 g

vegetable oil 90 g

butter, melted 90 g

rye

Finnish Christmas Loaf

November 16, 2016

I bake Islander Bread for Christmas, but my family likes traditional Finnish Christmas Loaf too. So, I have a habit of baking the latter in November. This is a lovely bread as such, but also a delicious toast for breakfast.

1 bread

3 dl (300 g) buttermilk
25 g fresh yeast
0,5 dl Scandinavian dark syrup (or light molasses)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp Seville orange peel powder (bitter orange peel powder)
2 tsp fennel seeds, coarsely crushed
3 dl (170 g) rye flour
3,5 dl (220 g) wheat flour
For the glaze:
syrup water (half and half)

Stir the yeast, syrup and salt into the lukewarm buttermilk. Add spices and rye flour. Gradually mix in the wheat flour and knead the dough for 6–8 minutes.

Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for about 40 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it. Shape the dough into a loaf and put it into an oiled tin.

Cover and leave to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake for an hour or so. Brush with syrup water after 40 minutes and the second time 10 minutes later.

Take the loaf out of the tin, cover and let cool on a wire rack.

rye

Linseed Bread

November 09, 2016

I have carried numerous sacks of carrots and linseeds to horses during the years, but they are tasty ingredients in a bread dough too.

1 bread

1,5 dl (150 g) water

1 dl (60 g) linseeds

4 dl (260 g) wheat flour

2 dl (110 g) rye flour

1 dl (100 g) sourdough

2 dl (200 g) lukewarm water

a pea-sized amount of fresh yeast

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp cooking oil

1 small carrot

Pour 1,5 dl of hot water over linseeds. Let cool. Add both flours and the sourdough. Dissolve a pea-sized amount of fresh yeast and salt into 2 dl of lukewarm water. Pour the water mix, oil and grated carrot into the bowl too. Knead for 8–10 minutes.

Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and shape it into a loaf. Put the bread into a well-floured proofing basket. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise at room temperature. It will take, at least, for one hour.

Put an old metal tin on the bottom shelf of the oven and preheat the oven to 275°C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and flip the bread on it. Put the bread into the oven and pour hot water into the tin at the same time. Turn the temperature down to 225°C. Bake for 25–30 minutes.

Let cool on a wire rack.

oat

Siblings

November 02, 2016

Pull-apart-rolls are called sibling rolls in Finland. So, I named these Siblings. This is an easy and quick recipe for beginners. I promise you, every sister or brother can bake these!

You can follow the recipe or cut the yeast in half (25 g). In the latter case the rise time is longer. It gives the yeast time to work, which improves the flavor of the rolls.

12 pcs.

5 dl (500 g) water

50 g fresh yeast

2 tsp salt

0,5 dl (40 g) cooking oil

3 dl (50 g) oat bran

10–11 dl (650-700 g) wheat flour

Dissolve yeast and salt in lukewarm water. Stir in cooking oil and oat bran. Gradually mix in the flour and knead until smooth and elastic.

Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it. Roll the dough into a rope and cut it into 12 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Line a baking tray with a parchment paper and place the rolls closely together on it.

Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. At the same time, preheat the oven to 225°C.

Sprinkle with cooking oil and oat bran. Bake for 20 minutes.

Cover and let cool on a wire rack.