This traditional Christmas bread hails from Finland. It is lightly sweet and flavored with the warm spices and nutty flavor of rye, fennel, caraway, and citrus. It translates as “Yule loaf,” and is served sliced with butter, jam, or topped with mustard, ham, and cheese. I combined some methods according to traditional and bakery recipes. The rye flour is often scalded, similar to a yudane or tanhzhong method, and the bakery adds glycerine as a humectant to retain moisture, softening the dough and extending keeping time. I did both, but cut back on the glycerine since the rye showed such great gelatinization when treated like a tangzhong. I was amazed at the rise and oven spring, given the rye portion of the loaf, but even more surprised by the incredible softness of this bread! I don’t know if it was due to the glycerine or the rye scald, but it was store soft along with the homemade flavor.
Joululimppu – Finnish Christmas bread
makes 1 large loaf
5g instant yeast
60ml warm water
10g sugar
½ tbsp fennel seeds
½ tbsp caraway seeds
250g buttermilk
15g glycerine (optional, especially if you scald the rye, I only used 10g)
50g black treacle (I used 50/50 golden syrup and molasses)
30g mixed candied peel (I used some of our beloved yuzu peel!)
5g sea salt
30g softened butter
125g rye flour
250g strong white flour (bread flour)
wholemeal flour, for dusting
In a large bowl dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water and leave for 10 minutes until foamy.
Toast the caraway and fennel seeds lightly in a dry pan for 2 minutes and then set aside to cool. (The seeds will pop a little while toasting.)
In a small pan warm the buttermilk, glycerine, and treacle to ~100ºF. Mix together with the yeast, peel, spices, salt, and butter.
Stir in the rye flour then add the strong white flour, stir everything well.
(I combined the rye, buttermilk and water, and treated like a tangzhong, then cooled a little and combined the remaining ingredients. It will take more effort to combine everything with this method.)
Leave to hydrate for 10 minutes.
Knead the dough for 10-15 or until elastic and somewhat smooth. The dough will be quite tacky.
Form the dough into a round or oblong loaf, roll in wholemeal flour, and place seam side up in a floured proving basket or a bowl lined with a cloth and well-floured. Cover the loaf and leave for about 90 minutes.
Toward the end of that time start preheating a cast iron casserole dish or Dutch oven in the middle of the
oven set to 425ºF.
The dough should rise just about up to the rim of the proving basket.
When the dough is ready, carefully turn the dough out of the proving basket onto a sheet of parchment paper. Slash the top with a very sharp knife, (traditionally a cross). Remove the pre-heated pan from the oven, transfer the loaf with the parchment to the Dutch oven, put the lid on and carefully move the hot dish back into the oven. Bake with the lid on for 20 minutes, and another 20 minutes with the lid off, until the internal temperature is 205-215ºF or until the loaf sounds hollow when thumped.
Cool completely on a wire rack.
Here are some more Christmas breads from around the world:
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