A Few Finnish Traditions Concerning Birds, Rugs & Rye

Birdwatching

Just across the bay from our apartment complex is a small nature reserve. A lot of reeds grow around the bay and a large variety of birdlife abounds. The reserve features a bird lookout as well as a bird hide next to the water where you can spend your long summer evenings watching the various waterbirds go about their lives as well as spot the occasional muskrat swimming around.

There seems to be quite a tradition of birdwatching in this country and no matter where you go, there are reserves and lookouts. I have also found some great bird photographers on the web who are Finnish. You can see wonderful bird photography by Jari Peltomäki, Arto Juvonen, Markus Varesvuo and Tomi Muukkonen on this site.

Washing Rugs

I have spotted a few rug washing stations during the time we have lived here. Recently a rather large new washing station was built along the river trail where I go hiking.

In summer the Finns roll up their rugs and head outdoors to wash them, feed them through a big roller and hang them in the sun. It is not as convenient as calling a man to come and fetch and clean your rugs, but there is no doubt that the idea has rustic appeal and you get to soak up some sunshine.

Rye Bread

The Finns love bread, and in particular, rye bread. Recently, I ran across the road to buy a few pulla or buns for coffee, and it was put into a brown paper bag that gleefully exclaimed that ‘Bread is Good!’

I originally found my recipes for Dark Sourdough Pumpernickel Rye on the Make It and Bake It website. Two separate recipes featured on the site and for various reasons I liked some parts of the 1st recipe and other parts of the 2nd one. So I ended up combining them and replacing the butter with olive oil. It produced a wonderfully moist, dark loaf with a really complex flavour.

Do not get distracted by interesting sporting events on TV such as the US Open Golf Championship when baking. I ended up getting so involved with watching the golf that I forgot to turn the oven down and my loaf shows the results of sitting in too hot an oven for a while.

Molasses Sourdough Pumpernickel Bread

1 Tablespoon Caraway Seeds
¼ Cup Boiling Black Coffee
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 Cup Milk
¼ Cup Dark Molasses
1 Cup Sourdough Starter (I used a wheat starter – 100% hydration
2 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar
¾ Cup All Bran Cereal (not the flakes)
2 Cups Rye Flour
1 ½ - 2 Cups Bread Flour
Egg wash for glazing the loaf

• Pour the coffee over the caraway seeds and let it cool.
• Mix the olive oil, milk, salt & molasses.
• Put the rye flour, 1 cup of bread flour and the bran cereal in a bowl.
• Add the cup of sourdough starter and the molasses mixture.
• Add the rest bread flour a little at a time and knead the dough till smooth and elastic.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn over to coat with oil, cover with plastic wrap and let it stand till it has doubled in size.
• Prepare a baking sheet with baking paper.
• Deflate the dough and form a loaf.
• Gently deflate the dough and form a round loaf.
• Let it sit on the baking sheet till again doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 200 C.
• Slash the loaf a few times, paint it with the egg wash and place it in the oven.
• Turn the oven down to 180 C and bake till dark golden brown.

Now, like the birds who fly south during Autumn, I will be flying south this weekend. I will be spending the next 3 weeks visiting my aged and ailing mum who retired to the south coast of KwaZulu Natal, near the Transkei border in South Africa. I will unfortunately be missing some of the beautiful summer weather we are currently enjoying here. However, the compensation will be that I will be spending time on the Wild Coast and possibly be seeing the annual sardine run. When I return in 3 weeks’ time, I will post it on my blog.

You can read some interesting information on the Wild Coast on these two sites:

1. Why Go South Africa - includes a good article on the Wild Coast

2. Wild Coast - a blog that discusses relevant issues and adventures

A Hot Air Balloon Ride and Sugary Toasted Sesame Seed Cookies

Last week, my cousin Alida, who lives in Vancouver spent a week with us in Helsinki before flying on to Paris for the rest of her summer holidays. We decided to not only pack as much fun as we could into the week we had together, but to show her the whole of Helsinki. Not an easy task if you only have a week, but we solved it by taking her all over the city the way the crow flies. That is, a flight over Helsinki in a hot air balloon.

We had a wonderful sunny summer day and good visibility. The flight exceeded all expectations. It was fun and we loved every second in the air. We even got ‘baptised’ with champagne afterwards and received a certificate of flight while snacking on bread that the pilot’s wife baked for the occasion. Recommended for everyone who wants to see the city in an hour.



Apart from the wonderful flight and seeing the city from the air, it was a most interesting experience to see them inflating the balloons. It starts off with a fan and cold air to get the balloon inflated at first, then they switch to hot air. The size of those balloons was impressive. They are beautiful and the flight is smooth and silent except when they switch on the hot air propane burners.



There was not a lot of time for baking while we were running around with our visitor. But I did bake some Sugary Toasted Sesame Seed Cookies before she arrived which we enjoyed with a cup of tea in the evenings.



I discovered the original recipe on the McCormicks website. We cannot buy the jars of McCormick’s toasted sesame seeds here in Finland. I made this recipe using organic sesame seeds which I toasted in a non-stick pan on the stove. I am also a bit of a sesame fanatic, so I doubled the amount of toasted sesame seeds used in the original recipe. And, instead of dribbling melted choccy over them, I added dark chocolate chips to the batter. Alida turned out to be as much of a sesame and dark choccy fanatic as I am, so no cookies were left by the end of her stay.

Cycling, Summer Snow & Silky Tofu Whole Wheat Bread

Soon after the winter snow and ice has melted, the Finnish landscape is again covered in white. The trees, bushes and landscape are covered in white flowers. It is just as beautiful as the winter snow, but the days are warmer and sunny.

When you are cycling or hiking outdoors and the wind is blowing, the white petals fall like snow around you.

The Finns are a cycling nation. I do believe that every Finn and his dog owns a bicycle. As soon as the ice has melted, they all unpack their bikes and go whizzing around everywhere. They commute by bicycle, drop the kids at school, go shopping or just go riding for sheer fun and enjoyment.

This whole country is criss-crossed by hiking/cycling/skiing trails. You can go almost everywhere on two wheels and you need not ever sit in traffic. Good for your mental and physical health. So, if you like being out there on two wheels, this isn’t a bad place to live.

It seems that not all bicycles get treated with respect or TLC. I spotted this old abandoned bike next to a creek near home last week.

To complement my theme of white for the week, I baked a whole wheat loaf that contains silky soft tofu. The recipe is from Australian, John Downes’ book called the Natural Tucker Bread Book. John bakes rustic bread loaves using only organic products and explains in the book that bakers used to add cream to wholemeal bread because it added richness to the flavour. This is a more heart friendly recipe.

Tofu Wheat Bread

500 gm Wholemeal Flour (I used a light whole wheat flour)
15 gm Salt
15 gm Dry Yeast
150 gm Soft Tofu – pureed or mash finely with a fork
1 Cup Lukewarm Water

• Dissolve the yeast in ½ Cup of warm water and stand for a few minutes till frothy.
• Mix the salt & flour
• Mix the tofu with the rest of the water.
• Mix the wet ingredients with the dry and knead a few minutes.
• The dough should be smooth and pliable.
• Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise for approximately 2 hours, till doubled in size.
• Re-knead the dough lightly and form a loaf.
• Place in an oiled loaf tin and again cover it with a damp cloth.
• Let it double in size again – approximately for 1 hour. (My dough was a bit soft and spread out rather than up)
• Preheat the oven to 200 C.
• Slash and paint with egg wash or water.
• Bake in the centre of the oven for 35 – 45 minutes.
• You can turn it out and place it upside down in the oven for a further 2-3 minutes.
• Cool or eat warm.

I love warm bread with butter, so my loaves never cool down before I start slicing and eating.

Sunshine, Graffiti and Grains for BBD #20

It has been a hot and sunny week and everyone is spending their time outdoors. That includes the graffiti artists. Either that or graffiti art is becoming more popular, or more of a problem. While out hiking this week I spotted a few new signs or artworks. I actually thought that two of them were quite artistic.

I wondered if there are designated spots in Helsinki where graffiti artists can freely paint and create like we have in Melbourne and Sydney.

It was so hot that even our local lions were dozing in the sunshine, just like they would in Africa.

The monthly bread baking event was created by Zorra and BBD #20 is hosted by Tangerine's Kitchen this month. The theme: Multigrain loaves. I love loaves with texture and a variety of grains, so decided to participate.

Wholewheat, Rye and Rice Loaf with Sunflower Seeds.

1 Cup Rolled Rye
1 ¾ Cups Lukewarm Water
1 Sachet Dry Yeast or 20g Fresh Yeast
1 teaspoon Salt
½ Cup Skim Milk Powder
½ Cup Cooked Brown Rice or Barley
½ Cup Toasted Sunflower Seeds + 2 Tablespoons extra
2 Cups Wholewheat Flour
1 ½ Cups Bread Flour
Egg wash for glazing the loaf

• In a bowl, combine the wholewheat flour, rolled rye, rice/barley, ½ cup sunflower seeds, milk powder and salt.
• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and leave for 5 minutes till frothy.
• Add the water and yeast mix to the flour and mix very well.
• Add the bread flour ½ cup at a time and mix in.
• Knead for a few minutes on a floured board till the dough is smooth and does not stick.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn over to coat with oil, cover with plastic wrap and let it stand till it has doubled in size – approx 1 – 1 ½ hours.
• Gently deflate the dough and knead again for a minute.
• Form a round loaf.
• Place it on a baking tray on baking paper or a baking sheet and let it stand again till it has doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 180 C.
• Slash the loaf a few times, paint it with the egg wash and sprinkle with the extra sunflower seeds.

• Bake for approx 30 minutes till golden brown. Cover the top with foil if it gets too brown to prevent the crust and sunflower seeds burning.
• Turn off the oven, remove the foil and let it stand another 10 minutes in the oven till golden brown.

Pack a picnic basket. Load it with the loaf and lots of cold butter and cheese and go and find a peaceful spot to enjoy the feast and the sunshine.