Source: Finnish Bread Information
Bread, Finnish Staple Food
Bread has had and continues to have a unique place in Finnish food culture. Maybe you have been walking in Finnish supermarkets and wondered, do we need all this selection? Some large supermarkets boast even 1000 different bread types, (this was in the news lately, actually) which might sound excessive. But that only describes how important bread is for Finns.
In the past, bread and salt were used in many celebrations as symbols of luck and blessings.
Cheat bread or pettuleipä
During times of scarcity, people turned to pettu. Pettu is a Finnish definition for cheat or emergency bread, but pettu is actually made of trees and mixed with rye. Pettuleipä is made by removing the outer bark layer from a pine tree. The inner layer, called nila, is shaved into thin strips, which are dried, heated and ground into flour. The Sámi people have long used ingredients from pine, spruce and birch in their food preparation, and 1600 - century Finnish people made emergency or cheat bread from wood chips, lichen and moss or mixed them into normal bread flour.
Bread map is divided into East and West
Finland has an exceptionally diverse and varied bread culture with some regional variations. There are two main areas: Western and Eastern Finland. In the past, the west was known for hard bread, while the east preferred soft bread and pies. Western Finns baked sour rye bread in outdoor ovens or separate brick ovens twice a year, drying the loaves on sticks. The bread is called reikäleipä, as it has a hole in the middle for the drying process. In Western Finland, the flavored and somewhat sweet bread, such as archipelago bread, buttermilk loaf, and bread with raisins or cumin, is popular.
Funnily enough, although I am from Eastern Finland, I grew up with reikäleipä (hole bread) and to be honest I got so fed up with it that I have not eaten it since. Luckily the bread selection is much wider nowadays.
My other dear favourite was rieska, which is a very dense flat bread made of barley or oat, and sometimes with potato as an additional ingredient. My grandmother used to make them in a large brick oven, and she could make as many as 20 and spend all her day making the rieska. Rieska is clapped completely flat with and it stays unleavened. When eating, it gives your jaw muscles a proper training, but it is very healthy and pure fibre.
In the East, soft, loaf-like rye bread was baked weekly in indoor ovens. Other grains, such as barley, as well as buckwheat and oats, were used to make flatbreads. Eastern Finnish bread culture still revolves around the dark traditional rye bread, with significant roles played by Karelian pastries and various buns.
In the central regions of Finland, almost all types of bread are enjoyed.
Source: Pixabay
Rye bread is healthy and important
Rye bread, especially, holds a strong symbolic value for us. However, rye bread has changed its form over time. Alongside round loaves and flatbreads, sliced bread and ready-made slices have become popular. Bread made with sourdough has become a trendy product in neighbouring countries like Sweden and Norway, and a similar phenomenon can be observed here in Finland. It's like going back to our roots. Additionally rye bread is being promoted as a fibre-rich, healthy alternative, which has increased its popularity even more.
The most sold bread today is surprisingly something that you cannot find anywhere else in the world. It is namely rye bread that is square or circle in shape but it has a torn outlook. This bread has become more popular in recent years, thinner and thicker variations, as well as the dark delicacy that has alder-smoked buckwheat. In many supermarkets they run out of some variations of thinner dark alder smoked bread as we have read in the news.
Source: Finnish Bread Information
Pulla, sweet buns or bread
In the past, pulla (sweet bread) was an unreachable delicacy, as wheat bread became common only in the late 1800s. Other sweet pastries included gingerbread, wheat rings, and waffles, which were made or bought in cities for festivities.
The story of white flour is an interesting indication of the eternal cycle related to food culture. Many foods that were once part of the diet of upper social groups have become accessible to lower social groups and lost their status as luxuries. A good example of this cycle is bread and sweet pastries made from white flour, which were delicacies for the upper class. During the 1900s, with the development of milling technology, they became common food for the entire population. In the past couple of decades, the consumption of whole-grain bread has increased, and it is now being consumed in higher social classes. Pulla is no longer a luxury.
Remember this!
In the end, here is a tip for you guys! You should never store bread in your fridge. The best way is to buy a bread box and keep it there or alternatively freeze it and just take out the amount you eat that day or that moment. You can easily microwave or toast your slices and you get the wonderful smell of freshly baked bread each time you enjoy it!
I hope you find this article delicious!
Minna, OLS Community Manager – Finnish
Source: Pixabay