Finnish Rye Bread (Ruisleipä)

By Amanda May 31, 2013 Coffee Sides, Traditional Finnish 25 Comments

New York has a lot of wonderful options for buying Finnish Rye Bread (Ruisleipä), right here in the city! A great company called Nordic Breads  sells Finnish Rye Bread in retail stores here.  I’ve actually purchased this bread when they were having a special promotion at Whole Foods, and the bread is pretty much exactly the same as I remember it tasting when I was living in Finland. Rye Bread is a staple of the Finnish diet, being whole grain, sustaining, and it can also be stored for many months without going bad, which makes it great for the long Finnish winters. Last year there was also a Green Market street fair in the Meatpacking District where Nordic Breads was selling their products. It was delicious.  I sampled some of the Rye Bread and was instantly transported back to Helsinki! Rye Bread (Ruisleipä) is extremely healthy as it is whole grain.  It also contains a lot of soluble fiber and is high in antioxidants. Nordic Breads uses 100% whole grain Rye which has a whole list of health benefits including preventing cardiovascular disease, colon and breast cancers, fighting diabetes and obesity.  Maybe this is how the Finns stay so healthy? I’d recommend picking up some Finnish Rye Bread, or making your own.  See recipe below!

 

finnish rye bread nordic breads

 

 

Print
Finnish Rye Bread (Ruisleipä)

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 1 loaf

Serving Size: 1 Slice

Finnish Rye Bread (Ruisleipä)

This Finnish Rye Bread is truly delicious fresh out of the oven. Enjoy with butter and jam!

Ingredients

2 cups stone ground dark rye flour (this is available at whole foods)
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dark molasses
5 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk ( or add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to regular whole milk to make your own)
1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds or caraway seeds to taste (optional)
3 large eggs

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Lightly grease a loaf pan with butter or Crisco.
  3. In a mixing bowl, combine flours and salt.
  4. Add buttermilk and eggs one at a time, softened unsalted butter, and molasses. Whisk slowly until a dough forms.
  5. Add fennel seeds if using.
  6. Knead for 5 minutes.
  7. Put dough in loaf pan.
  8. Bake for 40 minutes, or until browned on top and it starts looking like bread!
  9. Cool on a wire rack.
    10. This bread goes well with jam or honey on top.

Notes

Finnish Rye Bread (Ruisleipä) is a traditional Finnish food, commonly served as a breakfast food with coffee.

https://finnishfoodgirl.com/2013/05/finnish-rye-bread-ruisleipa/

More info on Finnish Rye Bread

I also recommend Bob’s Red Mill Dark Rye Flour.  This is available at Whole Foods or Trader Joes.

dark rye flour




 

You might also like

Finnish Flat Bread Recipe Finnish Nissua Bread Recipe Finnish Rye Cookies My Fav Finnish Breads and Pastries
Tagged on: ,

25 thoughts on “Finnish Rye Bread (Ruisleipä)”

  2. Elina Huu

    This recipe looks more like ‘setsuuri’; sweetsour rye very dark rye bread that is popular in some parts of the country. The more typical traditional rye bread is not sweetened and no fat is added and the dough takes time to become sour, usually with a root of dough or rye bread. No baking powder is used, but busy bakers might use some yeast.

    Reply ↓
    1. Ann Williams

      Absolutely agree. Also only Finnish bread I know that uses eggs is pulla or the sweet coffee bread. First thing that came to mind when I read this was Joululimppu, it also has molasses, and fennel and rye but no eggs. Rye bread can be flavored with caraway seeds if anything at all..

      Reply ↓
  3. Laura Kuuppo

    As a Finn, I don’t get using baking powder in rye bread ;D I bake my rye bread from sour dough (wheat allergy, have to make sure there’s no wheat in my food). Made first sour dough this spring but it lasted only two months… so I had to make another. Homemade rye bread is so good. You only need sour dough, rye flour, water and salt! I actually have English tranlastion of the recipe I use.

    Reply ↓
    1. Martina Konarovská

      Laura, could you please send you recipe as well? Thanks a lot. I really want to try to bake Finnish bread. I love its taste!

      Reply ↓
    6. Mark

      Laura, my wife is Finnish, and we both miss the rye bread. Her mom sends us care packages of bread a couple of times per year, but it never lasts long enough. I would be forever grateful if you were able to send me the recipe you use as well, assuming you’re still active on here 2+ years after this post *LOL* The recipes I keep finding online don’t look like the end result that I expect.

      Reply ↓
      1. Jennifer

        Laura, I am of Finnish descent and am wanting to keep passing traditions down to my family and friends. I, too, would love the recipe! Thanks so much!

        Reply ↓

  9. Pingback: 42 Traditional Finnish Foods That You Desperately Need In Your Life | Latest hot viral trends about top actors,actresses and sports personalities

  12. Meghan

    I love that I see comments going back two years! Looking forward to making this bread. My boyfriend is Finnish, and one of the things he is always missing from home is the rye bread <3

    Reply ↓

  13. Pingback: FINLAND – Ruisleipä (Rye bread) | staplebread

  15. Tiina

    Made the recipe as written. Didn’t enjoy the texture. It is a quick bread with a biscuit taste, similar to a soda bread. If you’re hoping to bake a Finnish rye bread, this isn’t the recipe

    Reply ↓
  16. judy

    I made this recipe, and it needed about 3/4 cup more flour to knead, hen baked, outside was crisped long before inside was completely baked. I may have tried to slice before sufficiently cooled, fell apart,,,

    good taste tho, great with jam.

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *