rågbröd
RYE BREAD
makes 2 loaves
Freshly baked bread is a tradition in Sweden, as evidenced by the number of bakeries you will find in any Swedish city. But home baked is always best, and this hearty rye bread is the perfect base for any kind of smörgås. This recipe uses an old Swedish tradition of scalding the rye flour before making the bread. This makes for a richer and fuller bread. Adapted from the book
Vår Kokbok
, this recipe uses prunes, which gives it just the right sweet flavor, in place of the traditional Swedish mörk sirap (dark syrup).
first dough
3 cups (12.75 ounces, 362 grams) rye flour
3 cups (720 milliliters) water
second dough
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
5 tablespoons warm water (about 110°F/43°C)
8 prunes
4 teaspoons whole anise seeds
3 cups (15 ounces, 426 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons salt
To prepare the first dough, place the flour in a bowl. Bring the water to a boil and pour it over the flour. Work the flour and the water together with a large spoon or spatula. The dough will be very sticky. Cover the bowl and let stand at room temperature until completely cool. For best results, the dough should sit for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
To prepare the second dough, in a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 2 tablespoons of the warm water. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
In a blender or food processor, mix together the prunes and the remaining 3 tablespoons of water until you get a smooth and sticky consistency.
Crush the anise seeds slightly with a mortar and pestle. In a large bowl, mix them with the flour and salt. Add the yeast, the prunes, and the first dough. Work together well. This dough is heavy and a little hard to work with; instead of working together in the bowl, you may prefer to work it directly on the countertop.
Transfer the dough to a flat surface and knead it with as little extra flour as possible. The dough should be a little sticky and dense. In fact, it may feel so dense that you will fear it baking into a hard rock. Not to worry, it won’t. Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes.
Grease a baking sheet. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and shape each piece into a 12-inch- (30.5-centimeter-) long loaf. Place on the baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour. The loaves will have small cracks on the surface.
While the bread is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
When the loaves have finished rising, bake for about 40 minutes. The bread should become a dark brown color; if you knock at the bottom of the loaf, it should have a hollow sound. Remove from the oven and let the loaves cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing.
The bread will keep 2 to 3 days in a paper or plastic bag. To store longer, freeze the bread once it has cooled, either whole or sliced.
knäckekex
CRISPBREAD CRACKERS
makes 100 to 120 crackers
Knäckebröd is right up there with meatballs and herring in terms of iconic Swedish food. The crispbread that is served with almost every meal is a staple in most Swedish households. Baking traditional knäckebröd is an involved process, and it’s so readily available in Sweden that few people venture to make it themselves. This cracker version, however, is a simpler way to try your hand at making this culinary cornerstone. If you don’t have caraway seeds on hand, rosemary, crushed fennel, or anise seeds are also excellent toppings. These crackers are delicious served with a little chèvre and
Fig Preserves
or as a typical Swedish smörgås with sliced cucumber.
1 cup (240 milliliters) water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons honey
1 cup (4.25 ounces, 120 grams) rye flour
1¾ cups (8.75 ounces, 248 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon caraway seeds, toasted (see
this page
) and crushed
2 teaspoons flaky sea salt
Heat the water until warm to the touch but not scalding, about 110°F (43°C). In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 2 to 3 tablespoons of the water. Stir a few times and mix in the honey. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes, until bubbles form on top of the yeast.
In a large bowl, mix together the flours, the yeast mixture, and the remaining water. Work together well with your hands, until you can make the dough into a ball.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured flat surface and knead it for about 2 minutes. The dough should feel slightly sticky. Return the dough to the bowl, cover,
and let rise at room temperature in a draft-free place for at least 6 hours or overnight. The dough can also rise overnight in the refrigerator; remove it from the refrigerator an hour before you plan to bake.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Add the caraway seeds and sea salt to the dough and knead it for about 2 minutes on a lightly floured flat surface. Add more flour if necessary. The dough should feel smooth and the surface should not feel sticky.
Divide the dough into 8 equal balls. Flour a flat surface and your rolling pin and roll out each ball until very thin (as thin as the caraway seeds). To prevent the dough from sticking, it’s a good idea to roll a little, add flour to the surface if needed, then flip the dough over and roll some more. Continue until the dough is rolled thin.
Cut the dough into 3-inch (8-centimeter) squares using a pastry cutter or a sharp knife; then lightly roll them one more time. Place as many as you can fit on the baking sheet.
Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, until the crackers are golden brown and crispy. If they are still soft, bake them just a little longer. They burn easily, so keep an eye them. Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes before placing them on a cooling rack.
When completely cool, store in an airtight container.
resources
There are several key Swedish baking ingredients that can’t be found in your average grocery store. Here are a few online resources for tracking down specialty items.
acknowledgments
A book always has an author, or in this case two, but while one or two names may grace the cover, there is inevitably a long list of people that made that book possible. Fika would not have come to be had it not been for family, friends, and sometimes even strangers who were willing to take a few extra cookies off our hands.
Neither of us would have started baking had it not been for our mothers. And neither of them would have baked the Swedish classics without the memories of their own mothers. Therefore, this book wouldn’t have come to life had it not been for mormor Gertrud, mormor Nellie, mamma Mona, and mamma Britta. Thanks to all of you for both inspiration, encouragement, and many of the recipes that make this book what it is. We are truly grateful.
Thank you as well to Helka, the Åström family, aunt Lotta, Cecilia Blomberg, and Göran the gardener for their recipes, as well as morfar Markus for teaching Anna at an early age the incredible importance of always having a treat with coffee, and glögg for breakfast on Christmas Eve.
To pappa Lennart who made sure that Johanna always had good drawing supplies growing up, and to pappa Norman who meticulously designed a gingerbread house pattern every Christmas to bake and assemble with Anna.
To Marek Walczak and Luc Revel who made sure that we both stayed fully caffeinated through the writing, drawing, and baking process.
Thank you to Amy DuFault for being the first one to think that the two of us should connect. She was right.
To all of the people that were willing to test recipes and take on a fika overflow in their kitchens: Renee Baumann, Emily Dilling, Jessie Kanelos Weiner, Kristen Beddard Heimann, and mamma Britta. And yes, even to pappa
Norman who isn’t known to bake much, but was happy to test his very favorite recipe, Märtas.
To everyone that provided all kinds of baking advice, particularly Renee Baumann, Ibán Yarza and Andrew Janjigian.
To Kurt Andersson for making the best kaffegök; Gunni Nilsson for always having cookies at home when young Johanna came to visit; Sara Högberg for tunnbröd inspiration; and to Johanna’s twin sister, Anna Kindvall, for being such a wonderful childhood baking partner.
To Rachel Meyer, Megan Ponder, and Xochil Springer for being there with bubbles, both in person and in spirit; and to Dave Hoffman for his solid policy of always leaving containers filled with cookies on people’s doorsteps. And to Anna’s “extra” aunts Cecilia and Ann-Marie who along with her mother ensured she grew up with a good dose of Swedish culture despite being geographically far away.
