Comments on: Finnish Rye

By: c.t.h.

c.t.h. — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 01:07:19 +0000

Susan,

This is a great bread, and though Finnish, reminds me of the bread we got at the bakery where I grew up in Hungary more than anything else I’ve come across.

A question: I’ve made this a couple times, and both times the dough after fermentation is still sticky and difficult to form into boules. Is this normal? The rise is just fine at both stages, and the crust and crumb are lovely, but on the whole the loaf is rather flat. Should I simply use less water before adding the soakers?

Thanks,

CTH

By: sizzle4

sizzle4 — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 03:56:56 +0000

I just made this bread and it is delicious (!!!) even though I managed to add too much water and the crust is a little too done, I am still very impressed.

By: Jan

Jan — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:13:30 +0000

Traditional finnish country rye doesnt have any wheat flour or yeast. And rye is always whole flour since its the only type you can get in finland.
Only ingredients are rye, water and seasalt with sourdough.

By: aleksi

aleksi — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:01:08 +0000

my finnish rye bread:
1st day
100 rye flour
100 water
^including rye starter
mix and let it rest on room temperature over night

2nd day
add:
100 rye flour
100 water
7 salt
proof breads about 2 hours

very simple

By: Jan

Jan — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:37:56 +0000

I have been searching the internet for a Finnish Sourdough Rye Bread recipe without using other flours and without using instant (or any) yeast in the final recipe. My daughter is allergic to commercial yeast and Wheat but can eat Rye, so I am attempting to make some bread she can eat. I heard from a friend that there are some good Finnish recipes for this type of bread one can make from scratch, but so far I have not come across any. Would any of you happen to know of this recipe? (I happen to live in Asia where I do not have the benefit of finding a ready-made starter anywhere.)

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:13:43 +0000

Patsy, you are very kind! The recipe calls for cracked wheat, which I always though was the same as bulgur. Thanks for setting me straight and I removed the “(bulgur)” from the recipe. The courses I’ve taken at SFBI have been on average about 50% home bakers (including me) so I definitely don’t think you’d be the only amateur and they are very welcoming to all.

By: Patsy

Patsy — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:09:58 +0000

Susan, this is an amazing blog! Your shaping tutorials are the best I have seen & the breads look utterly perfect.
I have two questions;
Is it bulgur or cracked wheat in the Finnish rye? The bulgur is processed with steam and will be a lot softer after soaking than cracked wheat.
Are the classes at the San Francisco Baking Institute suitable for home bakers? I have often hankered after some guidance but would hate to be the only amateur in a professional class.

By: Tiia

Tiia — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:28:14 +0000

Being Finnish, I’m plenty used to this bread, and I do agree that I’d not eat it everyday either. As a child, and to some extent still, I simply butter the bread with unsalted butter and tear off the crusts (unfortunately, I was never a fan of them).

I’ll have to bake this, as I can get this readily in shops, so we’ll have to see how my own baking measures up.

By: Susan

Susan — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 22:06:27 +0000

jkandell, I’ve not made the one in Artisan Baking but this is very similar to it. The major difference, as far as I can tell, is that it uses cracked rye instead of cracked wheat. I will try it soon.

By: jkandell

jkandell — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:07:05 +0000

Have you compared this to the similar Finnish rye in Maggie Glezer’s book? That’s a favorite of mine. Soaked flax has the consistency of egg whites, and produces an interesting moist crumb.