Serves 8
75 min
Swedish Sour Milk Bread
Recipe GLPRfc5858c8827994
A traditional Nordic quick bread made with rye flour and all-purpose flour, sweetened with dark syrup and flavored with warming spices like caraway, fennel, and anise seeds. The buttermilk creates a tender, slightly tangy crumb. This rustic loaf is baked low and slow, then finished at a higher temperature until it reaches a perfect just-cooked center.
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Ingredients
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups rye flour
2 teaspoons baking powder (aluminum-free preferred)
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1½ tablespoons anise seeds
2 cups buttermilk
¾ cup dark syrup (molasses or treacle)
Directions
Preheat your oven to 215°F (100°C). Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, rye flour, baking powder, baking soda, and caraway seeds until well combined.
Using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, coarsely grind the fennel and anise seeds until they are mostly broken down but still retain some texture. Add the ground seeds to the flour mixture and whisk together until the spices are evenly distributed throughout.
Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the buttermilk and dark syrup into the well, then gently stir the batter just until the dry ingredients are fully moistened. Do not overmix; the batter should be rough and slightly lumpy.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading it evenly. Place in the preheated 215°F oven and bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, increase the oven temperature to 325°F (160°C) and continue baking for another 30 minutes, until the bread feels just-cooked when pressed lightly in the center. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 190°F (88°C).
Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool in the pan until it is cool enough to handle comfortably. Turn the bread out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
