Finnish Rye flatbread

This is the easiest rye bread recipe you will find. You don't need any yeast or rising time for this recipe. These rye flatbreads called ruisrieska are made with yogurt. If you use plant-based options these are easy to make as a vegan.

Try also out the soft potato flatbread.

What is Finnish rye flatbread

Rieska is a flatbread that has no leavening agent in the dough like yeast or baking powder. Different types of flatbreads are made in Finland, many regions have their specific recipes. Rieska is often made from barley, oats, or potatoes with added wheat flour.

This recipe is made just from rye, but you can read about variations below.

Ingredients and replacements

• Rye flour, you can replace some of it with wheat or barley flour.
• Yogurt
• Light molasses
• Baking powder, if you replace with soda, use only half amount.
• Salt

Finnish rye flour is whole grain flour. For example, King Arthurs's classic medium organic rye flour is great for this recipe or Bobs red mill organic dark rye. You can also use a flour mix, this makes these even softer.

This needs some sweetness, it can be sugar, honey, or some type of syrup. I used Finnish dark syrup. You can replace the dark syrup with some of these alternatives:

• Light molasses
• Maple syrup
• Honey
• Dark Karo syrup
• Dark corn syrup
• Danish molasses
• Sorghum syrup
• Golden syrup

Vegan and milk-free

Replace the regular yogurt with a plant-based alternative like soy yogurt. There are also almond yogurt, coconut yogurt, and oat yogurt. I have not tested the recipe with these ones, but I think they will work out as well. Delicious vegan topping is carrot lox or vegan skagenröra.

How to make

1. Mix the baking powder and salt with the flour.
2. Mix the syrup and yogurt together.

3. Add in the flour.
4. Mix into even batter with a spoon or with your hands. The dough should not feel too dense.

5. Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper. Lift chunks of dough with a spoon on the sheet pan, leave space between the balls. Depending on how big you want your flatbreads to be, make 5-8 of them.
6. Flatten the balls with your hands. Use rye flour in your hands and on top of the dough, since it is very sticky.

7. Poke your flatbreads with a fork. Bake at 440F (225C) for about 15 minutes in the middle rack.
8. Brush away the excess flour.

What to serve rye flatbread with?

Fresh rye bread can be served only with butter especially if you serve it as a side with food.

This goes well with Finnish salmon soup or if you want to eat salmon broth as it is. Great with all types of soups.

Serve also as breakfast or snack as an open-faced sandwich. We Finns like to eat rye bread with butter, cheese, and cucumber or tomato/bell pepper. Also, a sprinkle with herb salt is added. Another option is to eat it with cured salmon. I like to add a splash of lemon and lemon pepper on top.

Nutrition

1 flatbread contains(if you make 7 from the batter. 100 calories. 1,2 grams fat, 17,4 grams carbs, 2,6 grams fiber, 3,3 grams protein.

Storing

Rye flatbreads are best when eaten fresh and still a bit warm. The flatbreads can be frozen.