Scandinavians love to bake. They have a special and great tradition of home-baking, for every good reason you can think of. Read on and learn more about Scandinavian breads and grains.
In former times it was the only way to have bread. People lived in remote places, with farms scattered over vast areas. Shop-bought bread from the city bakeries was out of reach for all but the rich. In the cities, the risk of fire was much too great to have domestic ovens.
Scandinavians were not introduced to ovens until around 1800, before which every home had open fires, but not ones you could bake bread in. Loaves were brought to the bakers to finish, as were big roasts and the Christmas goose.
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For the very poor, bread was not an option; they ate porridge and different forms of the oldest types of bread – flat, unleavened breads, made from rye and barley, they could be baked on a hot stone or upturned pan.
In the country, the bread was baked at home in huge, wood-fired ovens. The traditions vary, but the breads that have made Scandinavia famous stem from the wood-fired ovens. The Finnish mass oven was built in almost every home in northern Scandinavia. The ovens are still there – constructed from brick or local stone, around a chimney, in the middle of the house. Intricate systems of channels inside the ovens distribute heat to the entire house and heat the water too.
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Related: Breakfast in Copenhagen
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On the back are cozy, warm alcoves for the old people, and sometimes adjacent ovens in the main rooms. In the kitchen the fire heats a stove and two ovens; a low oven for drying and keeping things warm and a baking oven.
Not everything was heated at once; you could arrange the firewood and embers as you pleased.
In upcoming articles, I will share different kinds of breads and bread traditions with you.
Scandinavian Breads & Grains, written by Tor Kjolberg
Feature image (on top) © Wesual Click / Unsplash