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.

leftover

Winter Bread

December 22, 2016


A traditional Finnish Christmas bread is marked with a cross on the top, sweet and full with spices. A good addition is leftover mash as many Finns are brewing kotikalja (a malty low-alcohol, home-made table beer closely resembling kvass) for Christmas. This is one version of these breads, which are lovely addition to breakfast breads throughout the winter.

1 bread 

2 dl (200 g) mash and 1,5 dl (150 g) water 
or 3 dl (300 g) boiling water and 0,5 dl (40 g) rye malt 
30 g fresh yeast 
1 tsp salt 
1 dl (140 g) Scandinavian dark syrup (or light molasses) 
3 tsp Seville orange peel powder (bitter orange peel powder) 
2 dl (230 g) sugared lingonberry mash 
2 dl (100 g) rye flour 
9 dl (500 g) dark wheat flour 
50 g butter 
For the glaze: 
syrup water (half and half) 

Stir the yeast, salt and syrup into the lukewarm mash and water mix. Add Seville orange peel powder and sugared lingonberry mash. Gradually mix in the flours and knead the dough for couple of minutes. Add soft butter and knead for further 8 minutes. 

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

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it gently. Take a piece of dough aside. Form the rest of the dough into a round loaf and place it on the baking tray. Decorate the bread with the piece of dough you set aside using water as a glue. 

Cover and leave to rise for 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Brush with syrup water and bake for an hour and 15 minutes. Brush with syrup water after an hour again and the third time 10 minutes later. 

Cover and let cool on a wire rack.



leftover

Lingonberry Bread

September 21, 2016


Approximately 500 million kg of berries grow in Finland’s forests every year. Despite urbanization, the tradition of picking wild berries is a common autumn occupation for more than half of Finns, irrespective of their age or socioeconomic status. 

 I love to walk in the woods with my little boy and return home with blueberries, lingonberries, raspberries, cloudberries and mushrooms. I usually put them in freezer boxes and freeze them. 

One thing is for sure, autumn is not an autumn without refreshing lingonberry juice. Luckily, we have forests full of lingonberries, the red gold of the Nordic forests, this year. It was easy to pick 3 kg of berries and it was a blessing I didn't have to put them into the freezer, it was full in September.

The sieved juice leaves some lingonberry pulp behind. I add the pulp to bread doughs, smoothies or porridges within 24 hours or freeze it for use in later. 

If you don't make the juice, substitute the leftover berry mash with mashed lingonberries. The pulp is not as dry as the sieved mash from the juice, but the recipe will still work just fine. 

Lingonberry juice


about 4 L (17 cups, US) 
3 kg lingonberries 
1,5 kg water 
1 tbsp tartaric acid 
400–450 g sugar per 1 kg juice 

Clean, rinse and mash the lingonberries. Add the water. Stir. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight. 

Sieve and measure the juice. (Put the mashed lingonberries aside for further use.) Add tartaric acid and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. 

Bottle in clean bottles. Serve cold with water or mineral water. The juice will last for up to 4 months in a cool, dark place like your pantry or the refrigerator. 

Lingonberry bread


2 breads 

5 dl (500 g) water 
50 g fresh yeast 
1,5 tsp salt 
1 dl (140 g) Scandinavian dark syrup (or light molasses) 
3 dl (1,2 cup, US) lingonberry mash (leftover juice lingonberries) 
2 dl (70 g) rye flakes 
50 g melted butter 17 dl (1100 g) wheat flour

Stir the yeast, salt and syrup into lukewarm water. Add lingonberry mash, rye flakes, melted butter and wheat flour. knead the dough for 8–10 minutes. 

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

Pour the mixture into the prepared 2-liter baking tin and level the surface. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake for 50–60 minutes. 

Let cool on a wire rack.


leftover

Malted Orange Rolls

September 07, 2016


In the summertime I make often cheese and home-made beer. Consequently, I have lots of whey and mash in my freezer at the moment. If you don't have them, you can replace mash with malt and hot water and whey with water (or, in this case, orange juice mixed with water). 

 20 pcs.

 2 dl (200 g) mash (leftover from brewing beer)
8 dl (800 g) whey
50 g fresh yeast
1 tbsp salt
1 orange, grated zest and juice
1 dl (140 g) Scandinavian dark syrup (or light molasses)
4 dl (150 g) rolled oats 
20–22 dl (1300–1400 g) wheat flour

Stir the yeast, salt, orange (zest and juice) and syrup into lukewarm whey/mash mix. Mix in the rolled oats. Keep kneading and adding wheat flour. It's impossible to tell the exact amount of wheat flour to use, it depends on the moisture of the mash and the amount of juice in the orange. But, less is always better than too much. Leave the dough as moist as you can. It's supposed to be moist and wet. 

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 20 minutes. 

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Use a dough scraper to assist you and fold the dough gently couple of minutes. Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a rope. Cut each rope into 10 pieces. Shape each piece into a roll. Line 3 baking trays with parchment papers, place the rolls on them, cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 225°C. Bake for 15–20 minutes. 

Let cool on a wire rack.


leftover

Potato Rolls

August 17, 2016


The addition of mashed potatoes makes for some deliciously moist, soft bread. So, if you have some leftover mashed potatoes, it's a time to use them to make these wonderful rolls.

12 pcs.

5 dl (500 g) milk
50 g fresh yeast 
2 tbsp honey 
2 tsp salt 
2 tbsp caraway seeds 
0,5 dl (50 g) cooking oil 
2 dl (1 cup, US) mashed potatoes 
about 15 dl (1 kg) wheat flour 

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast, honey and salt in lukewarm milk. Stir in caraway seeds, cooking oil and mashed potatoes. Gradually mix in the flour and knead the dough for 10 minutes. It's impossible to tell the exact amount of wheat flour to use, it depends on the moisture of the mashed potatoes. If you are unsure, a little 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 and cut it into 12 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Line two baking trays with parchment papers, place the rolls on them, cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 225°C. Score the rolls with a sharp knife or a razor blade attached to a grilling stick. Bake for 15 minutes. 

Let cool on a wire rack.


leftover

Thinner's Bread

June 30, 2016


I was thinning out seedlings in a kitchen garden when I looked at the tiny vegetables closer. They were so pretty that I didn't had a heart to toss them away. I put them into a bread dough - where else!  This time I was thinning out radish and cabbage rows. Both of them have a strong taste and I thought it was wise to use only 2 dl of seedlings. If you have milder vegetables, you can safely use 3 dl.

 If you don't have a vegetable garden, go and get something green from the nearest grocery.

1 bread

First day, evening

1 dl (100 g) sourdough starter
4 dl (400 g) lukewarm water
7,5 dl (490 g) wheat flour

Combine the starter, water and flour in a mixing bowl. Cover with a tea towel and store the starter dough in the refrigerator overnight.

Second day

1 dl (100 g) lukewarm water
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp honey
2 dl (1,8 cups, US) seedlings, rinsed and chopped
4 dl (260 g) wheat flour

Blend lukewarm water, salt, honey and seedlings with the starter dough. Keep kneading and adding flour for 10 minutes.

Cover and leave to rise until doubled in size. 

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Use a dough scraper to assist you and fold the dough gently. Shape it into a loaf. Line a baking tray with a parchment paper and put the bread on it. 

 Cover and leave to rise.

Preheat the oven to 250°C. Moisten the top with a spray bottle and put the bread in the oven. Turn the temperature down to 200°C and bake for 30 minutes.

Let cool on a wire rack.

leftover

Gardener's Rolls

April 08, 2016


Make the most of leftover potatoes with this easy recipe for delicious rolls. This is one of my favorite recipes, because chives take a normal bread dough and turn it into something heavenly. 

I love chives, which have great taste and an interesting history. The usage of chives dates back 5000 years, although they have not been cultivated in Europe until the Middle Ages. Chives were grown in kitchen gardens and used as a medicine. In Finland, people have relied on chive as a treatment for cough, shortness of breath, wounds, scurvy, and rheumatism. 

12 pcs.

5 dl (500 g) lukewarm water 
50 g fresh yeast 
2 tsp salt 
2 tbsp honey 
2 (250 g) boiled potatoes 
50 g melted butter 
2 tbsp dried chives 
14 dl (900 g) wheat flour 

Dissolve yeast, salt and honey in the lukewarm water. Add boiled and grated potatoes, butter and chives. Gradually mix in the wheat flour and knead the dough about 8–10 minutes. 

Cover and leave to rise at room temperature 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 and dip the tops into flour. Line a baking tray with a parchment paper and place the rolls on it. 

Score the rolls and let them rise at room temperature for 30 minutes. You can score the rolls with a sharp knife, but a razor blade attached to a grilling stick is the right tool to me. I just love this DIY tool! 


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

Let cool on a wire rack. 

Gardener's Rolls keep well at room temperature. You can bake them in the evening and serve them at the morning coffee with scrambled eggs. Unbelievable good!

leftover

Rye Bread Dessert

March 03, 2016



One thing that will inevitably happen if you love and eat rye bread, some day you have a dried bread on your table. This is a delicious way to use the leftover rye bread and to turn it into an incredibly tasty dessert. I have won a recipe contest with this recipe and got a pile of pans, which I still use in my kitchen.

 200 g dried rye bread
25 g butter 
70 g sugar 
35 g brown sugar 
130 g good quality dark chocolate 
400 g fresh apples 
the juice of 1/2 lemon 
75 g crushed almonds 
1 dl (100 g) heavy whipping cream 
1 dl (100 g) natural yoghurt 
1 tbsp sugar 
Decoration: 
dried apple slices 
grated chocolate 

Grate the dried bread. Place the butter in a pan and melt it. Add sugar (white and brown) and the grated bread. Fry until the mix has a rich, dark color. Let the bread mix cool completely. Grate the chocolate and add it into the bread mix. 

Make sure the cream is very cold and beat it until soft peaks form. Add 1 tbsp of sugar and the natural yoghurt into the whipped cream. 

Mash the fresh apples into a thick puree. Add the lemon juice and crushed almonds into the puree. 

Layer the bottom of a dessert bowls with bread mix, apple mix, and half the whipped topping. Repeat layers. Decorate with apple slices and grated chocolate.

leftover

Mash Rye Bread

February 17, 2016


The dough of Mash Rye Bread is sticky. Let your mixer do the hard work if possible.

2 breads

First day, evening 

1 dl (100 g) sourdough starter
2 dl (200 g) lukewarm water
2 dl (110 g) rye flour
Combine the starter, water and flour in a mixing bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave at room temperature overnight.

Second day

2,5 dl (250 g) lukewarm mash
0,5 dl (50 g) lukewarm water
1 dl (140 g) Scandinavian dark syrup (or light molasses)
2 tsp salt
3 dl (200 g) wheat flour
1 dl (0,5 cup, US) dates, chopped into raisin-sized pieces
3 dl (160 g) fine, light rye flour (bolted rye flour, sieved rye flour)
4 dl (220 g) rye flour

Stir the mash, water, syrup and salt into the starter dough. Gradually mix in the flours. Add the dates. Knead the dough for 8–10 minutes.

Cover and leave to rise at room temperature until doubled in size. This takes about 4 hours.

 I like dense bread and this is why I totally "destroy" the bread at this point. I turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it. Then I divide the dough into two equal pieces, shape the pieces into two long loaves and put them into two oiled bread tins. I preheat the oven and let the breads rise only the time the oven is warming up, only 20 minutes or so.

 If you like fluffy breads, don't knead the dough. Divide the dough gently into two equal pieces, shape the pieces into two long loaves and put them into two oiled bread tins. Cover and leave to rise for two hours.

Preheat the oven to 250°C. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the temperature down to 200°C and cook for a further 40 minutes. 

Cover and let cool on a wire rack. When cooled, wrap the breads tightly and serve them the next day.

 The bread stores well at room temperature and after couple of days it's perfect for toasting.

leftover

Carrot Rolls

February 03, 2016


In midwinter I have a habit of pressing carrots, oranges and ginger through a juicer when I'm feeling a little under the weather. 1 kg of carrots leaves 2 cups of dry carrot pulp behind. I add the pulp to bread mixes within 24 hours or freeze it for use in recipes later. 

If you don't make juices, substitute the leftover juicer pulp with regular grated carrots. This pulp is not as dry as the carrots from the juicer, but the recipe will still work just fine. 

14 pcs.

5 dl (500 g) buttermilk 
50 g fresh yeast 
1,5 tsp salt 
2 tbsp honey 
1 tbsp fennel seeds, coarsely crushed 
5 dl (2 cups, US) grated carrots 
1 dl (60 g) graham flour 
about 13 dl (850 g) wheat flour 

Stir the yeast, salt, honey and crushed fennel seeds into lukewarm buttermilk. Mix in the grated carrots and graham flour. Keep kneading and adding wheat flour until the dough is bouncy and elastic. This will take about 8 minutes.

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

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it softly, for just a moment or two. Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a rope. Cut each rope into 7 pieces. Shape each piece into an oval ball. Line two baking trays with parchment papers and place the rolls on them.

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

With a sharp knife, score the rolls. Preheat the oven to 225°C. Bake for 15 minutes. 

Transfer to a wire rack, cover and let cool.

leftover

Date Bread

December 10, 2015



I always have whey and mash in my freezer, because I make cheese and home-made beer.
If you don't have them, you can replace whey with water and mash with malt and hot water.

 2 breads

 5 dl (500 g) whey
1 dl (0,4 cup US) mash
25 g fresh yeast
1 tsp salt
1 dl (140 g) Scandinavian dark syrup (or light molasses)
1 dl (60 g) graham flour
1 dl (55 g) coarse rye flour
2 dl (110 g) bolted rye flour

5 dl (325 g) wheat flour 
8 pcs. dried, soft dates

Cut the dates into raisin-size pieces. Put them into a bowl and sprinkle some wheat flour on them. Shake until the pieces are covered with flour. This way the chopped dates won't stick to each other and you can easily use them in the recipe. 

Stir the yeast, salt and syrup into the lukewarm whey and mash mix. Gradually mix in the flours. Add the dates. Knead the dough for 6–8 minutes.

Cover and leave to rise at room temperature until doubled in size. 

Put the dough into two greased tins. Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 40 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake for 50–60 minutes. The bread is ready if it sounds hollow, when you knock on its base.

Cover and let cool on a wire rack.


leftover

Christmas Bread

November 18, 2015


This festive rye bread combines all the best parts of Christmas, almonds, dates and dark chocolate. How could you resist it? 

What's more, you can bake this bread with sourdough starter or with yeast. 

Home-brewed beer are part of our Christmas as well as Easter and I never throw away any leftover mash. Instead, I recycle it into my breads. Mash gives a lovely, deep flavour to all kinds of breads. No wonder I have added some mash into this dough too.

2 breads

First day (morning) with sourdough 

1 dl (100 g) sourdough starter
1 dl (100 g) lukewarm water 
2 dl (110 g) dark wheat flour (yeast bread wheat flour) 

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

First day (morning) with fresh yeast

2 dl (200 g) lukewarm water 
2 dl (110 g) dark wheat flour (yeast bread wheat flour) 

Mix together lukewarm water and flour. 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
1,75 dl (0,75 cup US) mash
1,5 dl (210 g) Scandinavian dark syrup (or light molasses)
(25 g fresh yeast) 
5 dl (325 g) wheat flour
1 dl (0,4 cup US) dates, raisin-size pieces
1,5 dl whole almonds with skins75 g chunky bits of dark chocolate 
about 7 dl (400 g) rye flour 

Decoration: whole almonds with skins 

Blend lukewarm water, salt, mash, syrup (and fresh yeast) with the starter dough. Usually you don't have to use commercial yeast if you are baking with the sourdough starter, but if your starter seems to be a bit lazy, you can add 10 g yeast into the dough. It doesn't spoil the bread. 

Add the wheat flour and whip vigorously couple of minutes. Mix in dates, almonds, chocolate and gradually more rye flour and knead until the dough feels smooth, but still a little sticky. This time the dough is ready even if it's still sticking to the sides of your mixing bowl. 

Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 8 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 long loaves and put them on a parchment paper. Attach the almonds on the top of the breads by slightly pushing them down.

Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 2 hours.

Put a baking tray into the oven and preheat it to 275°C. Using the parchment paper slide the breads into the hot baking tray and put them into the oven. Reduce the temperature to 200°C and bake for 50–60 minutes. 

Cover and let cool on a wire rack. Wrap the breads into tea tovels and wait until the next day to cut them.


barley

Mashed Potato Bread

September 22, 2015


I'm passionate about reducing food waste. Bread is a good way to use up leftover ingredients, including mashed potatoes, which are one of the most common kitchen leftovers. 

 5 dl (500 g) lukewarm water 

2,5 dl (1 cup) mashed potatoes 
1,5 tsp salt 
50 g fresh yeast 
1 dl (90 g) cooking oil 
3 dl (160 g) barley flour 
9 dl (590 g) fine, dark wheat flour (yeast bread wheat flour)
cooking oil
finger salt 

Stir the mashed potatoes, salt, yeast and cooking oil into the lukewarm water. Gradually mix in the flour. Knead the dough for about 8 minutes until smooth.

Cover and leave to rise.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it gently. Line a baking tray with a parchment paper and place the dough onto it. Flatten the dough with your hands. 

Cover and leave to rise.

Poke the surface randomly with your fingers. Drizzle the top with cooking oil and pat some finger salt on it. 

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake for 20 minutes.


barley

Barley Water Bread

September 01, 2015


My granny loved all kinds of good housewife's recipes. She would have liked this Barley Water Bread too because it helps me to use up two leftover ingredients. Nothing gets wasted in this house!

Barley water is one of our most loved summer drinks. Usually it's served with ice cubes and lemon slices to beat the summer heat. But, a batch of Barley water means some leftover barley. And, if you've ever made cheese, no doubt you know how much whey there is afterwards. No wonder I often have some leftover whey too. This bread comes to my rescue.

If you don't want to make Barley water, just boil 4 tbsp pearl barley and 5 dl water. Place the pearl barley and water in a pan. Bring the water to the boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Pour mixture through a sieve to separate the barley grains from the water. (You can do this the day before.) 
If you don't have whey, replace it with water.

Barley water

2 L 

4 tbsp pearl barley 
1,5 L water 
juice of 3 lemons 
3 tbsp honey 
7 dl mineral water 
ice cubes 
lemon slices 

Place the pearl barley and water in a pan. Bring the water to the boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Pour mixture through a sieve to separate the barley grains from the Barley water. 

Add the lemon juice and honey. Stir and leave to cool. 

Add the mineral water. 

Garnish with lemon slices and ice cubes, and serve. 

Barley Water Bread

2 breads

5 dl (500 g) whey (or water)
25 g fresh yeast
the leftover pearl barley
1,5 tsp salt
2 dl (100 g) fine, light rye flour (bolted rye flour)
about (850 g) 13 dl fine, dark wheat flour (yeast bread wheat flour)
2 tbsp cooking oil 

Stir the yeast, leftover barley, salt and rye flour into the cold whey. Mix in the wheat flour. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. Add the cooking oil (and flour if necessary) and keep kneading another 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and feels bouncy and elastic.

Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it gently. Divide it in half. Shape each half into a long loaf and twist. Put the breads on a parchment paper. Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes. 

Preheat it the oven to 250°C. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn the temperature down to 200°C and bake for a further 20 minutes.

Let cool on a wire rack. 

These breads will keep well at room temperature, but you can also freeze them.

leftover

Kvass

August 21, 2015


Sometimes we all have an old bread (or two) in our kitchen. It's always a joyful challenge for me because I hate throwing away food. I try to find smart ways to use these leftover breads up. I will also post these recipes to my blog even though they are not baking recipes.

Non-alcoholic bread beer, kvass is brewed from dried rye bread.

7 l (7 kg) water
500 g rye bread 
2 dl (170 g) sugar
fresh yeast

Cut the bread into slices and place the pieces in the oven heated to 175°C. Take them out when they are dried.

Place the dried rye bread pieces in a large pot and pour 7 l of boiling water over them. Cover the pot with a lid and leave it at room temperature overnight. 

Carefully and slowly pour the liquid into another container through cheese cloth.

Add 1 dl sugar into the liquid. Caramelize the rest of the sugar (1 dl) and add it into the liquid too.

Put a pea-size piece of fresh yeast into every one-liter bottle. Pour the liquid into the bottles. Let rest at room temperature for 5–7 hours.

Store the bottles in a cool place away from direct sunlight. The kvass is ready after 3 or 4 days.



leftover

Heart Rolls

July 28, 2015



My sweet little boy asked me to bake heart-shaped rolls "because we love each other so much". How could I say no? 

 10 pcs.

 1,5 dl (150 g) mash (leftover from brewing beer)
3,5 dl (350 g) water

25 g fresh yeast
1 tsp salt
1 dl (35 g) rolled spelt flakes
1 dl (60 g) apricot marmalade
0,5 dl (70 g) honey
4 dl (220 g) rye flour
about 7 dl (450 g) wheat flour

Stir the yeast and salt into lukewarm water/mash mix. Mix in the rolled spelt flakes, apricot marmalade, honey and rye flour. Keep kneading and adding wheat flour until the dough is bouncy and elastic. It's impossible to tell the exact amount of wheat flour to use, it depends on the moisture of the mash. If you are unsure, a little less is always better than too much.

 Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it gently. Roll the dough into a rope. Cut it into 10 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Make a slit, 1/2 lengthwise, on the side of each ball. Pull cut ends apart. Place on a parchment lined tray.

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

Preheat the oven to 250°C. Bake for 10–12 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack, cover and let cool.


leftover

Cheese Scones

July 20, 2015


This recipe is perfect choice when your friends drop by for a surprise visit. 

 Caraway seed is widely used in Scandinavian cooking. It will give a licorice like taste in the scones. If you like, add some into the dough, or leave it out. If you don't have caraway seeds, the best substitute for them are dill seeds or anise seeds. 

 Västerbotten cheese is a hard cow's milk cheese with a fat content of 31% and strong flavour. You can substitute it whatever strong cheese you like best. These delicious scones are also a wonderful way to use up some leftover cheese.

 8 pcs.

 4 dl (250 g) wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
0,8 tsp salt
2 tsp caraway seeds
1 dl (40 g) Västerbotten cheese, shredded
50 g butter, melted
2 dl (200 g) milk

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and caraway seeds. Add the shredded cheese and mix through the flour mixture.

Pour the melted butter and milk into the mixture, stirring with a spatula to make a soft dough. Add some extra milk if the dough looks dry.

Line the baking tray with a parchment paper. Divide the dough in half and place it on the baking tray. Pat out the pieces of dough into two rectangles, about 5 mm thick.

 Using a floured cutter, cut out 8 scones. Poke with a fork.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Serve, still warm, with lashings of butter.

leftover

Clay Pot Bread

June 01, 2015


If you have a clay pot, now it's time to put it into use. This delicious bread is one of my favorites, not least because it will only take minutes to make it ready for the oven. 

 The bread has strong flavor and dense consistency, which make it perfect base for irresistible party bites. It's easy to slice the bread and then cut the shapes out of the bread e.g. with a flower cookie cutter.

 Pea flour give flavor to the bread, but if you have difficulties to find pea flour, replace it with barley flour. 

 Scandinavian dark syrup, unlike American dark corn syrup, is processed from sugar beets. Thus, a good U.S. equivalent is American light molasses. The syrup is a bit sweeter than the molasses, but it's close enough that the substitution works well. Here I have used bread syrup, which contains 20 % malt extract.

 1 bread

50 g fresh yeast
5 dl (500 g) whey (or water)
1,5 tsp salt
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp caraway
0,5 dl oil
1 dl (70 g) bread syrup
1 dl (100 g) sunflower seeds
2 dl (100 g) pea flour
8 dl (550 g) bread flour

 Soak the pot and the lid in cool water for 20 minutes.

 Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm whey in a bowl. Mix in salt, crushed fennel seeds, caraway, oil, bread syrup, sunflower seeds and the flour mix. Stir until smooth.

 Pour the mixture into the greased clay pot. Cover and place the pot in a cold oven, setting the temperature for 200°C and bake (without removing the lid) for about 1 hour 30 minutes. The exact time depends on your oven.

 Slide from the pot, cover and cool on a wire rack.

leftover

Peppered Potato Bread

April 28, 2015

Potato BreadThis bread is my way to use up leftover potatoes and make something delicious out of them. Dill and black pepper give a nice twist to the bread, but you can make the dough without them if you wish to do so. On the other hand, the bread is not overpowered with the taste of dill and pepper. You might want to season the dough even more.

 1 big loaf

 2 boiled floury potatoes

5 dl (500 g) water
50 g fresh yeast
1,5 tsp salt
2 tsp dried dill
0,5 tsp black pepper
11 dl (700 g) wheat flour

Grate the potatoes into the lukewarm water. Stir the yeast and salt into the water. Add dill and black pepper. Gradually mix in the flour. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, adding more flour as necessary, until the dough is smooth and bouncy.

Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rise at room temperature about 30 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and bouncy again. Form the dough into a large loaf. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the bread on it. Cover and leave to rise for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the loaf and slash the dough with a sharp knife.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake for 30–40 minutes.

Let cool on a wire rack. 



leftover

Molasses Rolls

April 21, 2015


Egg cheese and home-brewed beer with juniper berries are part of our Christmas as well as Easter. So, it's no wonder that I always have some whey and mash in my freezer in spring. This means lots of baking with these leftover ingredients. 

This recipe was inspired by dark molasses, which I had been looking for many years, but it wasn't an easy task here in Finland. I was overjoyed, when I finally found a can in my local grocery store.

 24 pcs.

 5 dl whey
4 dl mash (leftover from brewing beer)
50 g fresh yeast
3 tsp salt
1,5 tbsp caraway seeds
3 tbsp oil
1 dl dark molasses
3 dl dark syrup (or light molasses)
1 dl talkkuna flour * (It's not the same, but you can replace this with wheat flour.)
1 dl oat bran
3 dl coarse ground rye flour
about 15 dl wheat flour

 * Talkkuna flour is a mixture of half-cooked, dried and usually roasted grains milled into flour. It's a traditional Finnish, agrarian food, which is making a comeback lately. It's most often eaten with yogurt, buttermilk or other milk products. Nowadays it's also a trendy ingredient in cakes, pies, muffins and smoothies. 

 Stir the yeast and salt into lukewarm whey/mash mix. Mix in the caraway seeds, oil, molasses, syrup, talkkuna flour, oat bran and rye flour. Keep kneading and adding wheat flour until the dough is bouncy and elastic. It's impossible to tell the exact amount of wheat flour  to use, it depends on the moisture of the mash. 

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

 Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it gently. Divide it in half. Roll each half into a rope. Cut each rope into 12 pieces. Put the rolls, cut side up, on parchment papers. Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 20–30 minutes.

 Preheat the oven to 225°C. Bake for 13–15 minutes.

 Transfer to a wire rack, cover and let cool.