Barley
Barley is a hardy cereal, domesticated in the Middle East over 10,000 years ago, eaten whole, pearled or milled, malted for brewing, and grown with koji mold for barley miso.
Modern method
Lapland barley rieska
Lapin ohrarieska · Rieska (Lapland barley)
Two barley flatbreads made with cold dough and baked rapidly on a hot sheet, following Timo Lepistö's northern Finnish formula.
Cold dough, hot baking
Rieska names a varied Finnish flatbread family. This Lapland version keeps its dough cold and its baking surface hot. It contains baking powder and has no fermentation stage.
Cooling changes the result: covering a stack retains softness; an exposed rack gives a crisper finish. These are texture choices, not storage instructions.
Sources for this section
History
A contemporary regional formula supplied by Timo Lepistö. No earliest attestation is established.
Ingredients
Yield 2 30 cm flatbreads · Scaling: source batch only
Barley flourChill before mixing.
1 kg
Additional flour for shaping; amount unspecified.WaterIce-cold.
1 L
Salt
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
Baking powder
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour
Raw grain flour can carry harmful bacteria.
Hazard sourceDo not taste raw dough. Keep flour away from ready-to-eat foods and clean hands, utensils and surfaces after handling.
Control sourceUse only oven and tray settings permitted by their manufacturers. The short bake describes this formula rather than a validated internal-temperature endpoint. No storage limit is established.
- Chill the flour. Preheat the oven and baking sheet to 300°C, or as close as the oven's rated baking settings allow; the published home-oven example is about 275°C.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the cold water and mix by hand just until cohesive, working quickly.
- Divide into two. On a floured surface, press each portion into an even 30 cm circle. Prick all over with a fork.
- Bake on the hot sheet for 5–8 minutes.
- For soft breads, stack and cover with a kitchen towel. For crisp breads, cool on a rack.
Conditions
Yield2 30 cm flatbreads
Places
Finnish Lapland
Documented preparation · Region evidenceRegional association, not a precise birthplace.
Related
Made from
Barley flour
Barley flour is ground barley grain; whether it comes from pearled or hulless kernels, its milling and limited wheat-like gluten-forming ability shape the doughs and foods it can make.
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Sources
ThisisFINLAND / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of FinlandRecipe · Geography · Identity
Delicacies from the top of the world go down well: northern Finnish recipesLapin ohrarieska formula, cold handling, hot sheet, dimensions, bake and cooling alternatives.
Cited in: Cold dough, hot baking
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowRaw flour hazards and handling.