So the Christmas season is here! It is a time when we go crazy for traditional Swedish food, Christmas decorations and generally avoiding anything healthy (such as exercise). In this post, you will learn how to bake a traditional Swedish bread!
One of my favorite Christmas food is Vörtbröd, a traditional Swedish bread eaten only during the Christmas time. Well, lately it is also eaten during Easter and Midsummer, but I think this is due to marketing reasons from the big bakeries. The name simply explains what this bread is all about, "bröd" means bread and "vört" means wort. This bread was originally made using fresh wort, which is something I would like to try out, but the recipe in this post simplifies things and uses beer instead of the wort. I cannot really imagine myself brewing and baking at the same time!
A vörtbröd can be made using different spices, I guess every family has is own secret combination, but typical Christmas spices are used such as cinnamon, clove, ginger, cardamon and bitter orange. I like to keep things simple, and use only clove as I find if I start using a combination of these spices the taste resembles gingerbread too much for my liking.
15g fresh bakers yeast
60g Molasses
33cl Schwarzbier
200g finely grounded rye flour
350g wheat flour
20g salt
75g raisins
1 tsp grounded cloves
Use a dark beer, I used Schwarzbier but porter or stout should be good to. Dissolve the yeast and Molasses in the beer. Add the everything except the salt and raisins. I used a machine to knead it, but do what ever you usually do. If the dough is too dry, add some water until it is slightly sticky and remember that the salt will make it slightly more firm once added. When you finished kneading it, add the salt and raisins and continue kneading until it is mixed well.
The actual time you should let the dough rise depends on the temperature of the beer and the room. I forgot to note down how long it took me but I guess around 2 hours at least. When the dough is roughly twice the size and does not bounce back immediately when you poke it, transfer the dough to a floured surface and fold two loafs out of it. You can also make one big loaf if you want too. The baking time depends on the size of the bread. I did 10 min on 250°C and then 30 min on 200°C.
One of my favorite Christmas food is Vörtbröd, a traditional Swedish bread eaten only during the Christmas time. Well, lately it is also eaten during Easter and Midsummer, but I think this is due to marketing reasons from the big bakeries. The name simply explains what this bread is all about, "bröd" means bread and "vört" means wort. This bread was originally made using fresh wort, which is something I would like to try out, but the recipe in this post simplifies things and uses beer instead of the wort. I cannot really imagine myself brewing and baking at the same time!
A vörtbröd can be made using different spices, I guess every family has is own secret combination, but typical Christmas spices are used such as cinnamon, clove, ginger, cardamon and bitter orange. I like to keep things simple, and use only clove as I find if I start using a combination of these spices the taste resembles gingerbread too much for my liking.
15g fresh bakers yeast
60g Molasses
33cl Schwarzbier
200g finely grounded rye flour
350g wheat flour
20g salt
75g raisins
1 tsp grounded cloves
Use a dark beer, I used Schwarzbier but porter or stout should be good to. Dissolve the yeast and Molasses in the beer. Add the everything except the salt and raisins. I used a machine to knead it, but do what ever you usually do. If the dough is too dry, add some water until it is slightly sticky and remember that the salt will make it slightly more firm once added. When you finished kneading it, add the salt and raisins and continue kneading until it is mixed well.
The actual time you should let the dough rise depends on the temperature of the beer and the room. I forgot to note down how long it took me but I guess around 2 hours at least. When the dough is roughly twice the size and does not bounce back immediately when you poke it, transfer the dough to a floured surface and fold two loafs out of it. You can also make one big loaf if you want too. The baking time depends on the size of the bread. I did 10 min on 250°C and then 30 min on 200°C.
