How to make kavring bread

Helena Syk, from Sweden, shows how to make kavring, a sweet, dark rye bread.

 


Helena Syk. Photos by Gregor Richardson.
Helena Syk. Photos by Gregor Richardson.
Helena Syk and her husband came to Dunedin for a year with their two teenage children because they wanted to live abroad and New Zealand was about as far from Stockholm as they could go. Eric Syk has a job at the hospital and Helena works through the internet for her interior design firm back in Stockholm.

Kavring, a sweet dark rye bread, is a Swedish specialty traditionally made with a rye sourdough made with grated apple, which is a time-consuming process.

However, quicker versions like this can be raised with baking soda or baking powder.

Kavring is eaten for lunch or as an appetiser before dinner.

Favourite toppings are smoked salmon with dill and small pieces of lemon, or a slice of hard-boiled egg and cod roe or a thin slice of cheese, or ham or herring and pickle.

Serve kavring with toppings such as smoked salmon and dill, herring, cheese, gherkin, a slice of hard-boiled egg and other savoury morsels or jam or honey.

 


Kavring bread.
Kavring bread.
Kavring (sweet, dark rye bread)
 

Ingredients

300ml mixed grains She used 100ml (60g) rolled oats, 100ml (70g) sunflower seeds and 100ml (25g) wheat bran, but you could use kibbled grains with rolled oats.
300ml (165g) rye meal flour
200ml (120g) high grade flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp fennel seeds
2 Tbsp anise seeds
150ml dark treacle
500ml buttermilk

Method

Preheat the oven to 200degCBrush a large loaf tin (1.5 litres) with oil.

Crush the seeds with a mortar and pestle.

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix. Add the buttermilk and treacle and mix together into a sloppy dough.

Pour into the prepared loaf tin and put in the preheated oven.

After 40 or 50 minutes check the bread and if the top is browning too fast, place a baking sheet or tinfoil over the top for the last 10 minutes.

When done, remove from oven but leave in the tin to cool for 10 minutes or so - it will stick to the tin if you try to turn it out too soon.

Then turn out on to a rack and leave to cool for a couple of hours before cutting.

 


Tips

• If you have a sourdough starter, you can make a version with yeast and some starter.

• Any combination of grains and seeds can be used, including kibbled grains, as well as the bran, sunflower seeds and rolled oats used in this recipe.



 

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