Finnish bread facts for kids
Five types of Finnish rye bread (top to bottom/left to right): limppu, reikäleipä, a loaf, commercial pre-halved rye bread, and hapankorppu
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| Type | Bread |
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| Place of origin | Finland |
Bread is a very important food in Finland. People in Finland eat bread with almost every meal. Many different kinds of bread are made there. In the Åland Islands, a Swedish-speaking part of Finland, you can find breads that are very similar to those in Swedish cuisine.
Contents
Rye Bread: A Finnish Favorite
Rye bread is a dark, sour bread that is very popular in Finland. It is called ruisleipä or hapanleipä (which means "sour bread") in Finnish. This bread is also popular in other Nordic countries.
Finnish rye breads are usually not as oily or moist as German rye breads. They are also not sweet and do not often have spices like caraway. While traditional rye breads are still loved, there are also softer, more modern versions available today.
Limppu: The Traditional Loaf
Limppu is a traditional rye bread from Eastern Finland. It is a dark, sour, and dense bread. It is always round and shaped like a bulb. Even though it is dense, it is soft enough to bite easily.
This bread was usually baked regularly throughout the year. In Western Finland, people used to bake less often but stored their bread for a long time. Limppu is also common in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. This is because many Finnish immigrants settled there.
Reikäleipä: Bread with a Hole
Reikäleipä means "hole bread" in Finnish. It is a traditional rye bread from Western Finland. In the past, people would dry this bread near the kitchen ceiling. This helped to keep it fresh all winter long.
Today, you can find reikäleipä in many forms across all of Finland. It is available at any time of the year.
Popular Rye Breads You Can Buy
Vaasan Ruispala, which means "rye piece," is a very popular bread in Finland. It is similar to reikäleipä but is smaller and rectangular. It is designed for easy single servings. Ruispala has a more moist texture, similar to some German rye breads. It comes as two pre-cut halves, which helps keep it fresh.
Other popular rye breads include Fazer's Ruispuikulat and Oululainen's Reissumies. Ruispuikulat are oblong, while Reissumies are round. Both of these breads are more traditional than Ruispala in their recipe. They mainly change the size and shape of the classic reikäleipä.
Jälkiuunileipä: Baked with Leftover Heat
In Western Finland, people used to bake a lot of bread at once, but not very often. In the East, they baked smaller amounts, but at least once a week. An old tradition was to bake all the bread for the year over just a few days. This was done in a large oven that took a long time to cool down.
Jälkiuunileipä means "after-oven bread." It was baked using the leftover heat in the oven after the main baking was done. The longer baking time at a lower temperature gives this bread a darker color. It is also very dense and hard, almost like a fruit cake. You can find it in the traditional reikäleipä shape or in rectangular forms.
Crispbread: Thin and Crunchy
Crispbread, called näkkileipä, is a thin, crunchy rye bread. It is made by drying leavened rye dough. Sometimes, it is made using sourdough. Crispbread is very common in all Nordic countries. If stored correctly, it can last for a long time without spoiling.
A type of crispbread is a thin, sour, rectangular crisp called hapankorppu. Rectangular crispbread is often found in schools and other institutions. Popular brands include Koulunäkki and Kunto.
Wheat Bread: For Pastries and More
Traditionally, wheat was not as common in Finland as rye or barley. Because of this, wheat was mostly used for baking pastries, scones, and pulla. Today, wheat flour is often mixed with other flours. It is used to make foods like Karelian pasties and meat pies.
Vesirinkeli: The Water Ring
Vesirinkeli means "water ring." It is a small, ring-shaped bread made from wheat flour and yeast. It looks a lot like a bagel. You can find vesirinkeli in several different types and flavors.
Other Delicious Finnish Breads
Finland has many different kinds of breads. Here are some other important types that are not made mainly from rye or wheat.
Oat Bread: A Healthy Choice
In 2019, Finland produced a lot of oats, about 1.19 million tonnes. Oats are the most common grain grown in Finland. Bread made from oats is popular, though not as popular as rye breads. Oats are often used to make soft rolls. These rolls are sometimes flat and pre-cut into two halves.
Potato Bread: Soft and Fluffy
The potato arrived in Finland later than other foods. However, it became a very important part of the Finnish diet. Potatoes are now used in many kinds of breads. Dough made with potato usually turns out very soft. This makes the bread moister and fluffier than plain wheat or oat bread.
Christmas Bread: Festive Flavors
There are several types of Christmas breads in Finland. Most are made like a basic limppu. However, they often include molasses and other holiday flavors. These can be orange, cinnamon, fennel, aniseed, and caraway.
Korppu: A Dried Rusk
Korppu is a dried, hard, and crisp rusk. It looks like a small bread roll that has been cut in half. Sweet versions of korppu are often sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. There are also flat, unleavened types of korppu, usually made from rye or oats.
Rieska: The Soft Flatbread
Rieska is a soft flatbread that is usually made from barley. It is unleavened, meaning it does not use yeast to rise. Simple rieska has only flour, salt, and water. However, bakeries often add yeast.
Rieska has many local varieties across Finland, with different ingredients and ways of making it. It is usually baked in an oven. Sometimes, it is cooked on a frying pan, like a pancake, or even on a heated stone. The dough can also be made from rye or potato. Milk rieska is a traditional food in the Ylivieska area, and it is made with milk instead of water.
Sweet Treats: Confectionery
Pulla: A Sweet Cardamom Bread
Pulla is a sweet bread flavored with cardamom. It is made with yeast and often served with coffee. The usual recipe includes milk, sugar, wheat flour, and butter. Yeast and a tiny bit of salt are added, along with cardamom or saffron for spice.
Pulla is similar to a brioche but is drier because it does not have eggs in the dough. Unlike many other sweet breads, pulla is not usually buttered. When it is flavored with cinnamon and sugar and cut into spirals before baking, it becomes korvapuusti, which is a cinnamon roll.
Sokerikorppu: Sweetened Rusk
Sokerikorppu is a type of korppu (the dried rusk mentioned earlier) that is sweetened with sugar and spiced with cinnamon.
See also
In Spanish: Pan finlandés para niños
