Comments on Farine: Swedish Thin Bread

Thanks for visiting, Joanna! I'd love to see t...

2012-01-19T17:03:38.473-08:00

Thanks for visiting, Joanna! I'd love to see these Turkish flatbreads. I bet they are super tasty and that they roll them up later with even tastier fillings... Eva said that the secret to rolling out the dough in a circle is to start at the center and roll away and do that all the way round. I have practiced since and still have a ways to go but I am doing better!

My aunt brought me one of those pins, but I though...

2012-01-19T16:09:57.755-08:00

My aunt brought me one of those pins, but I thought they were for making crisp breads with! Near where i live there is a Turkish bakery where a woman sits and rolls out incredibly thin flat breads every lunch time with a very thin wooden pin; then they cook them on a large round electrically heated metal griddle. I tried once and ended up with strange archipelago shaped breads.I am fascinated by people who can roll dough out into perfect circles. Fantastic post, really made me smile watching the video :)

Thank you, breadsong! What I like best about Chris...

2012-01-04T08:31:14.629-08:00

Thank you, breadsong! What I like best about Christmas nowadays is that it brings back so many memories...

Hello MC, What a beautiful tribute to your mother-...

2012-01-04T00:03:25.061-08:00

Hello MC,
What a beautiful tribute to your mother-in-law.
Your post gives a lovely image of a Nordic Christmas, and it's very interesting to read about this Swedish baking tradition (nice picture of the elves at work, too). Thank you!
:^) from breadsong

Hi Barbara, go for it! But remember, you need a wo...

2011-12-28T13:58:24.341-08:00

Hi Barbara, go for it! But remember, you need a woodfire oven... It just wouldn't work in a gas or electric one because the heat loss would be tremendous every time you open the door to put in a new one with the result that the bread wouldn't bake properly.

wow. this makes sense. bread from the very North. ...

2011-12-28T13:39:23.401-08:00

wow. this makes sense. bread from the very North. that's why here in Stockholm people just eat it but have no idea of how to make it :) I want to be the exception. thank you for the recipe and the info.

@azélia, I'll have to have a look on my next v...

2011-12-28T08:35:11.248-08:00

@azélia, I'll have to have a look on my next visit to Ikea, although maybe they don't carry quite the same items here in the US. I'd be interested in your efforts to develop a dairy-free version. Maybe there is already such a recipe in the Swedish blogosphere?
@Barbara, I love the idea of emigrants continuing with a tradition now extinct in their home country. Very moving... But I don't think it is the case with this thin bread. During the bake, I asked Eva if everyone was making thin breads at home in Sweden before Christmas, and she said: "Oh, no! Thin bread making at home is actually only a tradition in the part of Northern Sweden, specifically Jämtland County, where our family comes from." Eva has a cousin who is so proficient at making these breads that she now sells them from her house at holiday time. That being said, supermarkets may well carry them even there. I'd have to ask Eva next time I see her. Polarbröd may wek be quite similar. From what I understand the area where the tunnbröd tradition survives to this day is very close to the polar circle.

hi there MC and happy holidays! it is so interesti...

2011-12-28T05:07:22.267-08:00

hi there MC and happy holidays!
it is so interesting how traditions sometimes survive longer among immigrants than among the natives. I haven't met one single Swede in Sweden that does tunnbröd at home :) we just buy it at the supermarket. I did find a recipe for a smaller version of it, polarbröd, which I tried and came out pretty nice (but not perfect, without the special rolling pin). when I mentioned it to a Swedish colleague she was so surprised. can you really do that at home? funny. thank you for this lovely post. the bread does look just like the one you buy (but I am positive it tastes so much better) and you inspired me to repeat my polarbröd experiment soon.
btw, the rolling pin you show was one of the Christmas presents I made to myself :) can't wait to use it (without it the bread splits inside and grows like a little balloon, just like pita bread)

This is great and now clears up the question I had...

2011-12-27T07:38:58.599-08:00

This is great and now clears up the question I had on the holes, I can see how they're done!

I tried to re-create at home Swedish style flat bread, I bought them at my local IKEA store and oldest kid loves them. They're not as flat as this one and cut into small squares. Looked at the ingredients on the packets and tried to make something similar, and obviously ended up with a complete different bread but still a tasty one.

They also sold a bread similar to this one, round and very flat with the taste of aniseed. I will have a go at this in the new year but will have to adapt to dairy-free version. The milk here is producing a soft texture, will have to think about that.

@Teresa, happy holidays to you too and best wishes...

2011-12-26T10:32:02.283-08:00

@Teresa, happy holidays to you too and best wishes for a brand New Year! These rolling pins are also called lefse rolling pins and amazon carries some, from what I can see. You might find others on baking sites.
@Kim, you'll send me pictures, won't you?

Merry Christmas MC, I just pack my less use rolli...

2011-12-25T20:26:51.650-08:00

Merry Christmas MC,

I just pack my less use rolling pin in the box and ready to send back to my parent's house this coming week. I can not wait to use my mom oven to bake this particular breads.

Thanks,
Kim

Wow, these look so yummy MC. I wonder where you co...

2011-12-25T11:30:49.192-08:00

Wow, these look so yummy MC. I wonder where you could find one of those special rolling pins? Merry Christmas to you!

Teresa