Swedish Flatbread (Hönökaka) with rye flour

This is a very popular bread in Sweden called Hönökaka. It is like a flatbread and named after the island town Hönö in Gothenburg’s northern archipelago. The bread is baked in round flat pieces, but when you buy it in Sweden, it is normally sold as half-circles. Just as with round Swedish crisp breads, the Hönökaka is rolled with a crisp bread rolling pin which gives the characteristic picked bread. It is simple to bake and delicious!

Ingredients (4 big round flat pieces):

• 2 tsp yeast
• 1 cup rye flour
• 2 – 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/5 cup milk
• 3 1/2 tbsp squeeze golden syrup
• 3 1/2 tbsp butter, room temperature

Start with mixing the rye flour, half the amount of the all purpose flour, yeast and salt in a stand mixer bowl and mix together.

Heat the milk in a saucepan until lukewarm. Add the syrup into the milk and mix together. Add the milk mixture into the flour mix. While mixing, add the room temperature butter in pieces and continue to mix it all together. Now add the rest of the all purpose flour until the dough is flexible. Then stop adding flour and let the mixer continue to knead for a couple of more minutes. Ferment the dough in the bowl, covered with a baking towel for approximately 60 minutes.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece, first with a normal rolling pin, to a round circle, D10”. Last rolling would be done with the crisp bread rolling pin to get the picked bread. Use a fork if you don’t own a crisp bread rolling pin.

Place each round flat bread on an oven tray covered with parchment paper. Ferment another 30 minutes.

Pre heat the oven to 425°F.

Bake the flatbreads in the oven for approximately 6-8 minutes depending on your oven, but until they start to get some golden color. Let them cool down on a baking grid.

Serve with butter, cheese and some slices of cucumber – the Swedish way.

Smaklig måltid!