Authentic pies are baked in the Bomba Karelian Pie Workshop

The handsome log house stands in front of Pielinen, colorful and rugged. I am in Nurmes, North Karelia, and the house in front of me is the house of Bomb. The impressive building is 35 meters long and 13 meters wide, and 16 kilometers of logs have sunk into it. The Bomb House was opened in 1979, but what is it really and where does the special name come from?

The original Bomba house was located on the eastern shore of Lake Suojärvi in ​​the village of Kuikkaniemi in Vyborg County. The house was built Yegor Bombin to his only son Dimitri Yegoroville in 1855.

The Bomba House was built without the use of any iron nails. About 13,000 wooden pegs were used for construction.

Demolition of the original Bomb began in June 1934. The idea of ​​rebuilding the house was presented in 1960. The project was initiated by the Suojärvi Parish Association. A suitable location was found in Nurmes and it was decided to build a Karelian village around the house.

Each room has its own customs

Downstairs in Bomba you will find café facilities with a restaurant shift manager Tiina Pikkarainen shows how real Karelian pies are made. Here, in the heart of North Karelia, if somewhere, it is known how to make them. Information will also be shared with tourists this summer, when Karelian pie workshops will be held for tourists at the Bomb House.

However, Pikkarainen says that there are also different variations in the way Karelian pies are made in North Karelia, because every room has its own ways.

However, one thing is the same in every living room: the dough or kakkara is pounded as thin as possible.

– So thin that Pielinen hears when he looks at the dough against the window, Pikkarainen instructs.

– The shape of the sausage is a matter of taste. Others make ovals, I make rounds myself, he continues.

Then add the rice porridge, which is spread with a spoon in the middle of the pie base. Pikkarainen instructs to leave an edge of 1-1.5 centimeters on the edges for creasing.

Wrinkling begins in the middle and is done with the thumbs and forefingers.

– The edges must not be sharp or burn in the oven.

The oven is as hot as possible

Karelian pies are always baked in the oven that is as hot as possible. Because they do not rise, the pies can be placed on the baking sheet densely side by side.

– The pies are allowed to get a beautiful golden brown color in the oven.

After baking, the bombs are dipped in hot melted butter.

– There are many schools here. Some use a mixture of milk or melted butter.

The pie tin one after the other arrives from the oven steamingly hot. Oven-fresh and hot pies are dipped in melted butter. The aroma fills the living room and eggs are served with the freshly baked pies.

The Karelian pie workshop, which started in the spring, has been well received by tourists.

– We have received really good feedback. It’s been nice to watch how different and different ages enjoy baking pies. It has seen laughter and genuine joy, as it should be in Karelia, says the hotel manager of Break Sokos Hotel Bomba, located next to Bomb’s house. Sanna Tenhunen.

Karelian pies also trade at the hotel’s breakfast. 700–1000 pieces of Pielispakari pies are served weekly with breakfast.

– Bomb’s total consumption is about 50,000 pies a year, Tenhunen says.

Karelian pies are certainly the most famous local delicacy, but there are other traditional delicacies, including vatruskas and sultsvas, which can be found in the café’s display case. Local fish pizzas made by the local bakery Rautavaara Bakery, which are filled with canned fish from Pielinen Fish Processing, are also real local food.

– Pielinen Kalajaloste catches fish from Pielinen and the fish factory is a stone’s throw from the hotel. You can hardly get any closer to local food, Tenhunen says.

Authentic Karelian pies

Pie dough:

1 liter of water

950 g of rye flour

900 g of wheat flour

150 g butter

suitably salt

Porridge filling:

3.75 l of whole milk

2.5 l of water

1700 g of wood rice

suitably salt

in addition to butter

1. Boil the porridge the day before.

2. Add water and rice to the pan. Once the water is absorbed into the rice, add the milk in small batches. Bring the porridge to a boil and stir in between. Finally add salt and butter.

3. Prepare the dough by adding the other ingredients to the water. Mix until smooth.

4. Rotate the dough into a rod and cut it into small pieces. Beat the pieces into sticks, stack them on top of each other and cover with cling film to prevent them from drying out.

5. Roll the dumplings into thin round or oval shells. Spread rice porridge on top and crease.

6. Bake at 250 to 300 degrees until the pies are beautifully colored. Grease the pies from the oven with melted butter.