Åland Pancake ‒ Ahvenanmaan pannukakku

Random facts about Finnish coffee culture #18: Today, coffee is an extremely democratic drink. There isn't much change in the drunk amounts between the poor and the rich, men and women or city and countryside. Even economic booms or depressions don't seem to affect the total amounts so much.

The little autonomic island group of Åland has its own version of the Finnish oven pancake which we call pannukakku or ropsu. It's most often a dessert but has traditionally been offered even as a starter in weddings. I picked it here since I think it's a perfect snack with coffee, especially on a summer day when friends come for a visit. The coffee table doesn't even necessarily need any other pastry with this.

The Åland version is made into semolina porridge, spiced with cardamom and is usually a bit thicker than normal pannukakku. You could also try rice or oat porridge instead of semolina. I used sweetened soy milk here, but if yours isn't sweet or you use oat milk instead, you can add a few spoonfuls of the white drug.

- 1.5 l soy milk
- 3 dl wheat flour
- 2 dl semolina grits
- 50 g margarine
- 1 tbsp cardamom
- 1 tsp salt

Heat up the milk. Add semolina and stir until the plot thickens. Remove from heat and mix in the rest of the ingredients too. Spread on a baking sheet. Bake for half an hour in 225°C.

Serve with ice cream or whipped soy cream and jam or berries.

Nutritional values / 1905 g:
energy 2083 kcal
fat 73 g
protein 105 g
carbohydrates 260 g
fiber 17 g

Yule Bread ‒ Joululimppu

As I've mentioned earlier, here in western Finland soft bread or limppu used to be eaten only couple of times a year. One such important holiday was ‒ and still is ‒ Joulu or Yule. My idea of a proper joululimppu involves black skin, softness, sweetness and a lot of spices. Such taste needs some time to evolve.

My inspirations for this creation come mainly from mustaleipä ("black bread") of Åland islands and fairer looking but spicier joululimppu recipes. I also thought about throwing in some dried cranberries or nuts but totally forgot. Well, it's not like this would exactly need them. Ideally the bread should be baked couple of days before the actual eating but guess if I could keep my hands off for so long.

- 4 dl oat yogurt (or soy yogurt ‒ anything goes as long as it's sour)
- 3 dl rye malts
- 0.5 dl dark syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 dl rye flour

- 25 g yeast
- 3 dl wheat bran
- 5 dl dark wheat or spelt flour (This is how much I counted I'd need based on other recipes but it seemed to take quite a lot more. Next time I make this I promise to update the amount.)
- 3 tablespoons rowan jelly (just for the flavour, this can be dropped out if you don't have any)
- 1 teaspoon fennel
- 1 teaspoon anise
- powdered bitter orange peel
- some mixture of dark syrup and coffee for buttering

Mix together the yogurt, the malts, the syrup the salt and 2.25 dl rye flour. Sprinkle rest of the rye flour on the composition and cover with a towel. Leave in a warm place for a day (or two if it seems to bubble lazily).

Dissolve the yeast in a drop of lukewarm water. Add the yeast and the rest of the ingredients into the fizzy drink you made yesterday. Cover with a towel again and let it rise for 6 ‒ 8 hours.

Knead it into a semicircle or an oval. Let your loaf rise under a towel for ten minutes. Bake it 10 minutes in a 200°C oven. Butter with the syrup and coffee mixture. Bake 10 more minutes and rebutter. Wrap the loaf into folio, turn the oven to 150°C and leave the bread in there for three hours. Turn off the oven and take the bread out when the oven has gone cold.

Nutritional values / 1150 g:
energy 2705 kcal
fat 23 g
protein 77 g
carbohydrates 537 g
fiber 64 g