Time to say goodbye

May 31, 2017



I'm hugely grateful to everyone who has travelled with me, read this blog and baked my recipes. You have been an absolute delight in my life and inspired me so much.

But, now it's time to turn this blog from an active website to an archive.

The website won't disappear. It will still be here as an archive. I hope you still enjoy the recipes and keep baking. 

roll

Sunday Rolls

May 17, 2017


Sunday Rolls are perfect for a romantic picnic or lazy Sunday morning breakfasts with the family.

18 pcs.

30 g fresh yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 dl (300 g) skimmed milk
1 egg
9 dl wheat flour 
100 g butter, softened
Filling:
75 g butter, softened
2 tbsp poppy seeds
Glaze: 
1 egg, lightly beaten
pinch of salt
poppy seeds

Stir the yeast, sugar and salt into the cold milk. Add egg. Gradually mix in 8 dl of wheat flour and 100 g of soft butter. Knead the dough about 5 minutes. Add some flour if the dough is still sticky. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for about an hour.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it gently. Divide the dough in half. On floured surface, roll out each one to a 10-inch wide rectangle. Spread the soft butter on the top and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Fold the rectangle into thirds and cut into triangles. Line two baking trays with parchment papers, place the rolls on them, cover and let rise about an hour.

Add a pinch of salt into the egg and whisk slightly. (The salt breaks down the globs, making the egg watery and easier to spread.) Brush the rolls with a beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds.

Preheat the oven to 250°C. Bake for 10 minutes.

rieska

Potato-Mushroom Rieska

May 10, 2017


Rieska is one of the traditional breads of Finland. These little breads are usually made from barley, but this time I used wheat flour. I also put some wild mushrooms in my rieska dough, because I love to walk in the forest and hunt wild mushrooms. My freezer is still full of them and the next autumn and heaps of new mushrooms are nearer than I want to admit in May. 

Smetana is one of the sour cream products widely used in Central and Eastern Europe. It is similar to crème fraîche (28% fat), which is a good substitute for smetana, but take notice, that the lighter sour creams sold in the US contain only 12 to 16% butterfat.

10 – 12 pcs.

2 potatoes (300 g)
120 g smetana
1,5 dl (0,75 cup, US) wild mushrooms, cooked and chopped
1 tsp salt
5 leaves of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tsp baking powder
4 dl (250 g) coarse wheat flour

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm. Peel and grate the potatoes.

Stir all the ingredients together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and shape it into 10 or 12 thin, round breads. Line two baking trays with parchment papers and place the rieskas on them.

Preheat the oven to 250°C. Bake for 15 minutes.

Enjoy the rieskas while still warm with a touch of butter..

granola

Granny's Granola

May 04, 2017


Granny's Granola is less sweet and darker version of my favorite granola. No sugar, just 4 tbsp of honey and black plums instead of sweet and colorful dried fruits.

Also, this granola is supposed to be, not black and burned, but very dark. Be careful, check and stir the granola often 10 to 15 minutes before the end of the baking time. Granola can burn very easily. 

8 dl (3 cup, US) old fashioned oats 
5 dl (2 cup, US) nuts, chopped 
4 tbsp chia seeds 
0,5 tsp salt 
1,75 dl (0,75 cup, US) coconut oil 
4 tbsp honey
3 dl (1 heaping cup, US) dried plums, chopped 

Combine the oats, roughly chopped nuts, seeds and salt in a large bowl. Mix the coconut oil and honey and pour the wet-mix into the dry-mix. Stir well. Line a large baking tray with a baking paper sheet and spread the granola on top. 

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Place the baking tray on the center rack of the heated oven. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Make sure the granola is completely dry and remove from the oven. 

Allow the granola to cool for 15 minutes. Sprinkle dried plums (cut in raisin-size pieces) on top. Stir well. Cool the granola completely.

Store in an airtight jar. Enjoy with yoghurt.

no-yeast

Turku Sourdough

April 26, 2017


This bread reminded me why I love to develop bread recipes. I like the magic of the process, which sometimes gives me The Best Bread in the Whole Universe. This bread, which I lovingly named after my home town, is one of those moments.

2 breads

First day

5 dl (500 g) water
5 dl (300 g) rye flour
2 dl (200 g) sourdough starter
1 tbsp honey

Mix together all the ingredients. Cover with a tea towel and leave to sit at room temperature until you see lots of bubbles, it takes a day or two.


2 dl (1 cup US) wheat berries
water

Cover wheat berries with water and leave the bowl on a table overnight. If the pre-dough isn't ready the next day, put the berries in the refrigerator until you'll use them. 

Second or third day

pre-dough
soaked wheat berries (at room temperature)
5 dl (500 g) lukewarm buttermilk
1 tbsp salt
2 dl (1 cup US) sunflower seeds
3 tbsp honey
2 dl (120 g) graham flour
14 dl (750 g) rye flour

Stir the wheat berries, buttermilk, salt, sunflower seeds, honey and graham flour into the pre-dough. Gradually knead in the rye flour and keep kneading the dough about 10 minutes.

Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Divide the sticky dough into two bread tins. Cover and leave to rise. 

Preheat the oven to 175°C and bake for 2 hours. Take the breads out of the tins and bake another 10 minutes. 

Let cool on a wire rack. When cooled, wrap the breads tightly and store in a cool place until the next day. Cut into thin slices and serve with butter.

Store in a cool place where Turku Sourdough will keep several days. Storing the bread in the freezer is a good solution too. 


wheat

Trios

March 30, 2017



Trios are my favorite picnic snacks because you don't have to butter them or put anything on top of the breads. I always think that we'll eat these with a salad, but it never goes that way. Someone is always digging in the food rucksack and Trios are eaten at once we stop and start open a blanket. It's impossible to resist these chewy and cheesy butter bombs!

12 pcs.

100 g butter, melted
3 dl (300 g) skim milk
50 g fresh yeast
0,5 tsp salt
50 g cheddar, grated
1 tbsp oregano, dried
about 9 dl (600 g) wheat flour
On top:
melted butter or vegetable oil
oregano

Dissolve yeast and salt in lukewarm butter-milk-mix. Add cheddar and oregano. Gradually mix in the wheat flour and knead the dough for 3 minute or until smooth and elastic.

Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 20 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a non-floured working surface and knead it. Roll the dough into a rope and cut it into 12 pieces, and then each of them into 3 even smaller pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and place 3 balls in each cup of a standard muffin pan.


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

Sprinkle with melted butter or cooking oil and oregano. Preheat the oven to 225°C. Bake for 15 minutes. 


Let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy! After an hour there won't be any bread left.

rye

Onion Bread

March 26, 2017


Crispy fried onions give a lovely taste to this bread, but if you don't like onions, don't use them. I can guarantee, that you like the breads anyway.

 2 breads

First day (evening)

1 dl (100 g) sourdough starter
3 dl (300 g) lukewarm water 
3 dl (180 g) bolted rye flour 

Mix together all the ingredients. Cover with a tea towel and leave to sit at room temperature (22–24° Celsius) until the next day.

Second day

3 dl (300 g) lukewarm water
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey
1 dl (0,4 cup US) fried onions, dried and crushed
10 dl (650 g) wheat flour
about 1 dl (60 g) bolted rye flour 

Blend all the ingredients with the starter dough and knead until the dough feels smooth. It takes 6–8 minutes. (Knead 6 minutes. If the dough still feels sticky, add bolted rye flour and continue the kneading process for couple of extra minutes.)

Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 4 hours or until the dough has almost doubled in size. (The dough is ready for baking, if it slowly springs back, when you gently push a finger against the dough.)

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it gently. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Shape the pieces into two round loaves and put them into floured baskets. Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 1,5–2 hours.

Put a baking tray into the oven and preheat it to 275°C. At the same time, put a sheet pan on the bottom rack to get it hot too. Using the parchment paper slide the breads into the hot baking tray and put them into the oven. When you do this, remember to throw ice cubes onto the heated sheet pan too. Reduce the temperature to 200°C and bake for 40–50 minutes. 

Let cool on a wire rack. 

rye

Sunny Blueberry Loaf

March 16, 2017


2 breads

50 g fresh yeast
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey
6 dl (600 g) water
0,5 dl (50 g) sunflower seeds
1 dl (60 g) crushed linseed-dried blueberry-mix
3 dl (170 g) fine/bolted rye flour
about 11 dl (650 g) dark/yeast bread wheat flour

Stir the yeast, salt and honey into the lukewarm water. Add sunflower seeds and linseed-blueberry-mix. Whisk 3 dl rye flour into the mixture. Gradually knead in the wheat flour and keep kneagdin the dough until it's smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes. 

Form the dough into two loaves on a floured work surface. Line a baking tray with parchment paper, place the breads on it, cover and leave to rise for 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake for about 40–50 minutes. The bread is ready if it sounds hollow, when you knock on its base.

grilling

Shoe Soles

March 10, 2017


During the winter months I like to cook lentil soup and it means Shoe Soles too. I don't remember how this tradition started, but I always bake this bread with the soup. This is not a Scandinavian recipe, more like a bread from India, but it's something we eat regularly. It's nice to eat it with hands and tear bits from the chewy bread.

5 dl (325 g) wheat flour
0,5 tsp salt
50 g butter, melted
2 dl (200 g) milk 

Mix together the dry ingredients. Add the melted butter and lukewarm milk. Knead for a while. 

Cover with the tea towel and let set for 30 minutes. 

Use your hands to form the dough into balls. Heat an cast iron skillet. Butter the pan. Working with one ball at a time, flatten it into a disc and cook each Shoe Sole for 1–1,5 minutes per side.


crispbread

Dill Crispbread

March 03, 2017


Dill Crispbread is a hard Scandinavian-style crispbread, healthy and full of taste. Full of Scandinavian taste as rye and dill are important staples in our cooking tradition.

If you don't have a sourdough starter in the fridge, you can substitute it with 10 g fresh yeast, 100 g lukewarm water and 50 g rye flour.

18 pcs.

2 dl (200 g) sourdough starter 
2 dl (100 g) rye flour 
2 dl (200 g) lukewarm water

Mix together the sourdough starter, rye flour and water. Cover with a tea towel and leave at room temperature for 12-14 hours.

0,75 tsp salt 
1 tbsp dried dill
1 dl (60 g) linseeds 
2 dl (100 g) rye flour 

Stir together the sourdough starter mix, salt, dill and linseeds. Add the flour and knead about 2 minutes. 

Turn the dough out onto a parchment paper. Roll out the dough to a thin sheet. Use a patterned rolling pin or poke the surface randomly with a fork. Cut the sheet into squares with a knife or a roller cutter. 

Place the sheet on a baking tray with the help of the paper. Cover with a plastic wrap and let rise about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 225°C. Bake for 10 minutes. Divide to pieces and bake for an additional 5 minutes if the bits doesn't seem to be dry.

Let cool on a wire rack.


sourdough

Aniseed Bread

February 25, 2017


Aniseed Bread is a kind of sourdough bread for those, who don't have time to bake with sourdough starter in the traditional way. This makes a really good toast too.

1 bread

3 dl (300 g) lukewarm water
3 tbsp honey 
1,5 tsp salt
3,5 dl (400 g) sourdough starter
0,5 dl (50 g) vegetable oil
1 package dry yeast
1 tbsp aniseed
about 10 dl (600 g) wheat flour

Dissolve honey and salt in lukewarm water. Add sourdough starter and vegetable oil. In a large bowl, combine aniseed, dry yeast and 5 dl flour. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir. Gradually mix in the rest of flours and knead the dough for about 8 minutes. 

Cover and leave to rise for an hour.

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

Cover and leave to rise for an hour. 

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake for 30 minutes. 

Let cool on a wire rack.

leftover

Giant Rolls

February 18, 2017


Usually I sweeten malt breads with syrup. This time I was going to do the same, but then I saw an overripe banana on the kitchen table. Why not use it instead of syrup? I like to reduce wasted food at home. And so, I was ready to try! The banana worked well. It sweetened the bitterness of malt, but it was impossible to taste it in the bread. 

6 pcs.

2,5 dl (250 g) water
2,5 dl (250 g) mash (leftover from brewing beer)
50 g fresh yeast
1,5 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey
1 overripe banana
1 dl (50 g) oat bran
about 10 dl (650 g) wheat flour

Dissolve yeast, salt and honey in lukewarm water-mash-mix. Add the mashed banana and oat bran. Gradually mix in wheat flour and knead the dough for 10 minutes. (It's impossible to tell the exact amount of flour to use, it depends on the moisture of the mash. But, less is always better than too much.)

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

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead about 3 minutes. Roll the dough into a rope. Cut the rope into 6 pieces. Shape each piece into a roll. Line two baking trays with parchment papers, place the rolls on them. 

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

Preheat the oven to 225°C. Bake for 15 minutes. 

Let cool on a wire rack.

barley

Sourdough Rolls

February 12, 2017


12 pcs.

5 dl (500 g) cold water
5 g fresh yeast
1 tsp salt
2 dl (200 g) sourdough starter
2 dl (120 g) barley flour
8 dl (500 g) wheat flour

Dissolve yeast and salt in cold water. Add sourdough starter. Gradually mix in the flours and knead the dough for 5 minutes.

Cover the bowl, place it in the fridge and let the dough sit for twelve hours.

Bring the dough to room temperature. Fold. Cover and let it rest for an hour.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it lightly. Roll the dough into a rope. Cut the rope into 12 pieces. Fold each piece into a ball. Line two baking trays with parchment papers, place the rolls on them.

Cover and leave to rise.

Put a sheet pan on the bottom rack to get it hot and preheat the oven to 250°C. When you put your rolls in, throw ice cubes onto the heated sheet pan. Bake for 10–12 minutes.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack.


oat

No-knead Sourdough Grain Bread

February 02, 2017



1 bread 

First day 

6 dl (600 g) boiling water 
3 dl (180 g) oat grains
3 dl (350 g) sourdough starter 

Pour hot water over the oats. Let cool till lukewarm. Add the sourdough starter. Cover with a tea towel and leave at room temperature (22–24°C) overnight. 

Second day 

the starter mix from the day before 
3 dl (180 g) cracked wheat
2 tsp salt 
3 dl (180 g) rye flour  
3 dl (200 g) wheat flour 

Blend cracked wheat, salt and the flours with the starter mix. Pour the mixture into a greased 2-liter tin. Cover with a tea towel and let rise at room temperature. (This takes several hours.) 

Preheat the oven to 180°C and bake for about one hour and 45 minutes. 

Let cool on a wire rack.


roll

Lava Rolls

January 25, 2017


My son is interested in volcanoes. He asked me to bake lava rolls. Lava rolls? There's a challenge! What lava rolls should look like? They should look like lava, of course!

Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing, but I had five tricks up my sleeve to get the right look. First, I made a moist dough. This way the shape of Lava Rolls will be a bit unpredictable. Second, I kneaded the dough only 5 minutes, because I didn't want it to be strong. Instead, I hoped that the rolls will be tearing in the oven. For the same reason I didn't let the rolls rise properly. I was hasty. Fourth secret was the quark dough, which will make the crumb pale. Color palette will be perfect if the oven temperature is hot and the rolls are in the oven as long as possible without burning. At this point, all this was pure speculation, but when I saw the outcome, I was pleased with it.

 Add wheat flours, knead the dough 10 minutes, let the rolls rise a little bit longer and decrease the oven temperature to 200°C, and - Voilà! - you get ordinary rolls with no lava in sight. 

 12 pcs.

250 g quark
2 dl (200 g) milk
50 g fresh yeast
1 tsp salt
0,5 dl (70 g) honey
1 tbsp caraway seeds
0,5 dl (50 g) butter, melted
2 dl (100 g) bean flour
7 dl (450 g) wheat flour

Dissolve yeast, salt and honey in lukewarm quark-milk-mix. Add caraway seeds and melted butter. Gradually mix in the flours and knead the dough for 5 minutes. 

Cover with a tea towel and let rise.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 3 minutes. Roll the dough into a rope. Cut the rope into 12 pieces. Shape each piece into a knot. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the rolls on it. It's lots of rolls on one tray! Rolls might touch each other in the oven, but it's quite ok, because they are "lava".

Cover with a tea towel and let rise.

Preheat the oven to 225°C and bake for 20 minutes. 

Let cool on a wire rack.

tin

Breakfast Bread

January 18, 2017


This is a lovely bread for breakfast and also a perfect match with Scandinavian-style mushroom salad.

The recipe is very versatile. You can replace milk with water and walnut oil with ordinary cooking oil. You can also use any kind of nuts. 

1 bread 

4 dl (400 g) milk 
1 dl (80 g) dried peas, crushed 
30 g fresh yeast 
1 tsp salt 
1 tbsp honey 
0,5 dl (50 g) walnut oil 
1 dl (60 g) walnuts, chopped 
0,5 dl (30 g) sesame seeds 
8 dl (520 g) wheat flour 

Boil up the milk and pour it over the crushed peas. Let cool. Stir the yeast, salt and honey into the lukewarm milk mix. Add oil, nuts and sesame seeds. Gradually mix in the wheat flour and knead the dough for 8–10 minutes. 

Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for about 30 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 175°C. Bake for 50–60 minutes. 

Let cool on a wire rack.


granola

Paradise Granola

January 12, 2017


Paradise Granola brings sun to any breakfast. It's so hard to resist this treat that sometimes we all go to the granola jar and eat this like candy. You might be tempted to do likewise.

7 dl (250 g) old fashioned oats 
2 dl (120 g) nuts, crushed 
1 dl (35 g) coconut flakes, coarsely crushed 
2 tbsp cane sugar 
2 tsp vanilla sugar 
0,5 tsp salt
1 banana 
0,5 dl honey 
0,5 dl (45 g) coconut oil 
0,5 dl (50 g) water 
0,5 lemon, juice 
1 tsp vanilla sugar 
100 g chocolate, chopped 
1 dl (60 g) dried mango, chopped 

Combine the oats, roughly chopped nuts, coconut flakes, cane sugar, vanilla sugar and salt in a large bowl. Mash the banana and mix it with coconut oil, water, lemon juice and vanilla sugar. Pour the wet-mix into the dry-mix. Stir well. Line a large baking tray with a baking paper sheet, spread the granola on top and press it down with the back of a spoon as firmly as you can.

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Place the baking tray on the center rack of the heated oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, flip over and put the granola back into the oven. Bake for another 20 minutes. Make sure the granola is completely dry and remove from the oven. 

Break the granola in rough pieces. Set aside to cool. Add chocolate and mango to the granola. Mix and store in an airtight jar. 

Enjoy with yoghurt.


malt

Sourdough Bread

January 05, 2017


This bread has character! It has strength like rye breads even though it's a wheat bread. What's more, it keeps well and only gets better after a day or two. 

 1 bread 

First day 

2 dl (200 g) water 
2 dl (130 g) wheat flour 
1 dl (100 g) sourdough starter 

Combine the ingredients in a baking bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave at room temperature (22–24°C) overnight. 

Second day 

the starter dough from the day before 
1 dl (100 g) lukewarm water 
1 tsp salt 
1 tbsp caraway seeds 
3 tbsp bread malt 
4 dl (260 g) wheat flour 

Blend lukewarm water, salt, seeds and bread malt with the starter dough. Add wheat flour and knead for 5 minutes. Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rise for 15 minutes at room temperature. Fold. Cover and let rise for 15 minutes. For the second and the third fold, repeat as the first fold. For the fourth and final fold, repeat the folding as before and shape the dough into a round bread. Put it into a proofing basket. Cover with a tea towel and let rest in the refrigerator overnight. 

Third day 

Take the bread from the fridge, let it come up to room temperature and rise until it has almost doubled in size. 

Preheat the oven to 250°C. Line a baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper and flip the bread on it. Score and put the bread in the oven. Reduce the temperature to 225°C and bake for 20 minutes. 

Let cool on a wire rack.