Limpa facts for kids
Freshly baked loaves of limpa bread
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| Alternative names | Vörtbröd |
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| Type | Rye bread |
| Region or state | Scandinavia |
| Main ingredients | Rye flour, molasses, butter, brown sugar, yeast, wort |
| Variations | Caraway, fennel, anise, orange peel, beer, raisins, prunes |
Limpa is a yummy, sweet bread from Scandinavia. The name "Limpa" means Loaf in Swedish. It's a special type of rye bread that's very popular in Swedish cuisine.
This bread uses yeast to make it rise and become fluffy. It gets its sweet taste from brown sugar and a thick syrup called molasses. Limpa bread often has a mix of tasty spices. Some common spices are anise, caraway, fennel seeds, and even a bit of bitter orange.
People often bake Limpa bread during the Christmas season. These festive loaves are sometimes called vörtbröd in Swedish. Besides the usual spices, they might have orange peels, raisins, or even dark beer. A special ingredient called wort gives Limpa its unique flavor and look. This makes it a bit like a malt loaf. Limpa is a classic dish for a traditional Swedish Christmas Eve meal, called a smörgåsbord or julbord. It tastes great with jams, jellies, or cream cheese.
How Limpa Bread is Made
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Making Limpa bread starts with a few simple steps. First, you gently boil molasses, brown sugar, caraway seeds, wort, and water. Then, you add butter or shortening and some citrus rind.
Once this mixture cools down, you mix it with active yeast and rye flour. The dough then gets to rise, which means it gets bigger and puffier. After the first rise, you add more flour and knead the dough. Kneading helps make the bread smooth and ready for its second rise. Before baking, the tops of the loaves are brushed with melted butter. Then, they are baked until golden brown. Some recipes might mix the molasses liquid with dry ingredients after the rye flour has been soaked in hot water.
What's in Limpa Bread?
In the past, Limpa bread was made with fermented brewer's wort. This is why its Swedish name is vörtlimpa or vörtbröd, meaning "wort loaf" or "wort bread." Today, some recipes still use stout beer to give it that special flavor.
The ingredients can change a bit depending on the recipe. For example, some recipes use cardamom instead of caraway. Others might not include orange peel at all. In the United States, Limpa bread is often known for its lovely orange and spice flavor.
Molasses gives this brown bread its rich color. It's usually made with a mix of rye and other flours. Depending on the recipe, other flours like cornmeal, whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour can be added. To get the orange flavor, bakers might use orange oil or orange zest. While not always traditional in northern Sweden, some recipes add raisins or prunes. This is more common in southern Sweden, where wort bread became popular later on.
See also
In Spanish: Vörtbröd para niños
