Rye bread is the national dish of Finns.
Rye bread has a strong position in the hearts of Finns. After all, it has been voted the national dish of Finland.
Today is again the day of Finnish national food, rye bread. Rye Day is now celebrated for the sixth time.
According to the bread survey and a consumer survey conducted by Pro Ruis ry in 2021, the most popular breads on the Finnish table are made from rye.
79 percent of respondents say they prefer rye bread. According to the survey, consumers also consider rye bread to be the healthiest bread option, as 87 percent of respondents consider rye bread to be healthy.
One slice of rye bread contains about 14 grams of whole grain. Jenni Gästgivar
According to Leipätiedotus ry’s delivery statistics for bakery products, Finns eat just over 40 kilos of bread a year, of which about 33 kilos are domestic soft bread. Almost half of the domestic soft bread is rye bread, just over 15 kg.
– Finns eat the most rye in the world and it tastes best to us, Bread Information Project Coordinator Terhi Virtanen notes.
Did you know
Rye is the most important source of whole grains in the Finnish diet.
This is evident from a study conducted by THL in 2021 based on Finravinto 2017.
According to the study, men get an average of 63 grams and women get 47 grams of whole grains a day.
More than half of this is obtained from rye bread.
One slice of rye bread contains 14 grams of whole grain and 28 grams of rye porridge.
Adequate intake of whole grains reduces the risk of many common diseases, such as type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and colon and rectal cancers.
Adequate whole grains in the diet also help with weight management.
Riitta Rantanen has taken many rye bread courses. Jenni Gästgivar
Bake the rye bread yourself
Baking rye bread feels like an overwhelming contract, but it’s not. However, it is true that rye bread needs time, so it is not about any instant bread.
Don’t be afraid of long instructions. Feel free to just bake.
There are several root options
If you have a treasure like dough root, take good care of it. Without it, no rye bread is produced.
1. Frozen dough root: remove the freezer bag and place it in the baking dish until it has melted. It just melts at room temperature in the water used in the dough in about an hour. Note! The root cannot be thawed in the microwave!
2. Put about 0.5 dl directly in the baking dish and add water. Allow to melt for 1 hour and stir in the flour
3. A root left in the baking dish, left to dry on the bottom and edges of the baking dish. Add water and flour as instructed below.
Making rye bread is not difficult, but it takes many days. Jenni Gästgivar
Help with real real rye bread
(The serving will be about 4-5 hole breads or 2-3 loaves)
piece of rye bread root (approx. l dl)
2 liters of cold or lukewarm water (NOT hot!)
3 pounds of rye flour
1.5 – 2 tablespoons salt
First it is fermented
The acidification lasts for a couple of days and has two stages of initial acidification and acidification.
First, the initial acidity.
1. Put the root in the baking dish, add water and 3-4 dl of rye flour to create a lean, frothy mixture. Cover the dish with a baking sheet and let the root “wake up” for about a day.
It is best to wake up at room temperature between 20 and 27 degrees. You can stir the mixture a few times during acidification. Even at this stage no acidification is seen in the mixture. That is, it does not bubble or otherwise behave acidically.
2. After about a day, mix salt and about 1 liter of flour in a water flour pan to create a loose dough. Let the dough sour further for about 1 day. You can mix between 2-3 times, it will air out the dough and promote acidification.
The dough is suitably acidified when it starts to rise and even air bubbles form. If this does not happen, add a little flour, mix well and wait.
3. After about two days, baking begins.
Knead the dough with so much flour that the dough becomes elastic but not hard (compare to the bun dough, but remember that the rye bread dough does not come off the hands and the edges of the pan like the bun dough). Let rise with a cloth for 30-45 minutes.
Finally baked
4. Sprinkle flour on the baking tray. Take about two fists of dough for each loaf. Shape the dough into a ball and pat it on a baking board with a round, flat bread about 2 inches high (the loaves are shaped and left to rise in the middle as higher cones).
5. Make a hole in the middle of the perforated bread with a drinking glass or pepper mold, for example, lightly prick both the loaves and the perforated bread with a fork and let rise for 30 minutes. covered with a cloth.
6. Bake in a standard electric oven at 200 degrees for 40-45 minutes, in a convection oven at 200 degrees for 30-35 minutes or in the initial heat of the baking oven for 25-40 minutes, with the following ovens for 40-45 minutes.
If you are baking a piece of rye bread, make the dough a little harder than the perforated bread dough and cook for about 5-10 minutes longer.
Tip!
The bread is ripe when the crust is hard and the bottom “rubs” when tapped. Wrap the hot breads in a baking sheet immediately after baking for about five minutes to keep the breads from hardening!
Riitta Rantanen, who has organized numerous rye bread courses, gave instructions and advice.