Finnish flatbreads that you find at local bake sales and events are more of an Iron Range invention, as they do not closely resemble authentic Finnish flatbreads. Flatbreads in Finland are usually made with all rye or barley flours, no sweeteners, and a sourdough starter or no leaveners at all. Since other flours became more readily available when the immigrants moved here, people started making them with all white flour or a blend of white and whole wheat or rye, and yeast for a lighter-textured bread. My grandma always made a whole wheat and oatmeal version.
Whenever my grandma made bread, she would add her yeast to the water the night before. Then, she covered the bowl with a tea towel and went to bed. The next morning, she would proceed with the recipe. The yeast doesn’t foam as it would if you were to proof the yeast with sugar, as most recipes call for, but as long as your yeast is not old, you should be fine with this method. If you want to use a faster method, activate your yeast with lukewarm water and a pinch of sugar. As soon as the yeast is foamy, you can proceed with the recipe.
Iron Range Finnish Flatbread
Ingredients:
2 envelopes (.25 ounces each) active dry yeast
3 cups water, divided
1 cup oatmeal
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar.
2 tablespoons melted and slightly cooled shortening plus extra for greasing
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/4-3 3/4 cups bread flour
Instructions:
In a large bowl, add the yeast. Pour 1 3/4 cups of room-temperature water over the yeast. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. The next morning, bring 1 1/4 cups of water to boil. Stir in the oatmeal. Set aside to cool until lukewarm. To the bowl with the yeast, add the whole wheat flour, sugar, shortening, and salt. Mix well. Stir in the cooled oatmeal. Gradually mix in enough flour to make a kneadable dough. Knead the dough, adding additional flour as needed, for 6-8 minutes or until the dough is only slightly sticky. Form the dough into a ball. Grease a large bowl with shortening. Add the dough and turn to coat both sides in shortening. Cover and let rise for 2 hours or until doubled. Punch down the dough and let rest for 30 minutes. Divide the dough in half. Form each half into a ball. Flatten the balls to 1-inch-thick circles. Place on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover and let rise for 1-1 1/2 hours or until doubled. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Using the tines of a fork, prick the top of each loaf 5-7 times. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating pans halfway through baking time. Once the loaves are done baking, grease the tops with shortening. To slice, cut each loaf in half, then cut the halves into slices.
Yield: 16 servings.
