Barley and oat porridge (Viking Age)
Crushed or milled barley cooked in water until the starch softens and the mixture thickens, the plainest way a northern household turned stored grain into a meal, here with apple and hazelnut.
Swedish syrup rye loaf (sirapslimpa)
Sirapslimpa · Limpa (sweet rye) · Swedish syrup loaf
Sirapslimpa is a sweetish Swedish rye-and-wheat loaf with dark syrup, honey, fennel and anise, made with an overnight rye scald and a long room-temperature rise.
Swedish sirapslimpa
Sirapslimpa is a sweetish Swedish rye-and-wheat loaf, lightly spiced with fennel and anise and sweetened with mörk sirap and honey. SwedishFood.com describes it as a popular loaf and records memories of eating it buttered with cheese or taking it on school trips. The source gives one medium loaf.
The method starts with a rye-flour scald mixed with boiling water and left overnight. The scald joins a wheat-and-rye dough with syrup, honey, spices and yeast; the covered dough then rests at room temperature for 8–10 hours. The recipe has a long schedule spread across about a day, followed by shaping and a final proof.
The dough is sticky, so the source shapes it on a well-floured work surface. It bakes first in a hot oven with steam, then at a lower temperature. The loaf is dark by design; the recipe's 98°C centre reading is recorded as its bake endpoint, not as a safety guarantee. Brush the baked loaf with melted butter and let it cool fully before slicing.
Sources for this section
History
SwedishFood.com describes sirapslimpa as a popular Swedish rye-and-wheat loaf and records memories of it as a sweet, lightly spiced bread eaten at home and on school outings. The page does not provide an earliest attestation.
Ingredients
Yield 1 medium loaf · Scaling: source batch only
Rye flourUse 55 g for the overnight scald and 85 g in the dough.
140 g
source divides this between scald and doughBread flourStrong white wheat bread flour.
365 g
Fennel seedsLightly crush to release aroma; do not grind finely.
3 g
1 tspAnise seedsLightly crush to release aroma; do not grind finely.
3 g
1 tsp1.5 g
½ tsp10 g
1½ tspWaterUse 125 g boiling water for the rye scald and 225 g cold water in the dough.
350 g
source divides this between scald and doughDark syrup (mörk sirap)The source permits another syrup if Swedish mörk sirap is unavailable.
50 g
20 g
ButterMelt and brush over the baked loaf.
5 g
1 tspMethod
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour and dough
The rye and wheat flours are handled before baking; raw flour can carry germs.
Hazard sourceBoiling water and oven steam
The rye scald uses boiling water and the bake method creates steam in a hot oven.
Hazard sourceDo not taste raw dough. Wash hands, bowls, utensils and work surfaces after handling flour or dough.
Control sourcePour boiling water carefully into the heatproof bowl and keep hands and face away from the hot oven when adding water or releasing steam.
Control sourceThe source gives 98°C as its loaf endpoint; that figure is recorded as a baking cue, not a microbiological safety guarantee. Handle the boiling-water scald and oven steam carefully.
- Put 55 g of rye flour in a small heatproof bowl. Pour over 125 g boiling water and whisk with a fork until evenly mixed. Cover lightly and leave at room temperature overnight.
- In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the remaining 85 g rye flour with the bread flour, lightly crushed fennel and anise seeds, and dried yeast. Add the salt and mix again.
- Add 225 g cold water, the dark syrup, honey and the cooled rye scald. Mix thoroughly, cover and leave at room temperature for 8–10 hours.
- Scrape the dough onto a well-floured work surface. Flatten it into a square about 20 cm by 20 cm.
- Line a baking tray with parchment. Roll the dough into a loaf, place it seam-side down on the tray, cover with a cloth and leave to prove for 45–60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 250°C (220°C fan). Place the tray on the middle shelf and spray water onto the top of the oven to create steam. Bake for 5 minutes.
- Reduce the oven to 210°C (190°C fan) and bake for 10 minutes more. Open the oven door briefly to release steam, then bake for a further 25 minutes, until the loaf is dark and its centre is 98°C.
- Brush the loaf with melted butter and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Conditions
Yield1 medium loaf
Active time15 min
Fermentation8.75–11 h
Places
Sweden
Documented preparation · Country evidenceSwedishFood.com identifies sirapslimpa as a popular Swedish rye-and-wheat loaf and records one home method; the association does not claim a specific birthplace.
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Sources
SwedishFood.comMethod · History · Geography
Syrup loaf (Sirapslimpa)Describes sirapslimpa as a sweetish, often lightly spiced Swedish rye-and-wheat loaf and provides a one-loaf measured formula.
Gives an overnight rye-flour scald, an 8–10 hour dough rest, shaping and a 45–60 minute final proof.
Specifies a 250°C then 210°C bake with a steam vent and a 98°C centre-temperature endpoint; advises a dark, chewy crust and cooling on a rack.
Cited in: Swedish sirapslimpa
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSafety
Raw Flour and DoughRaw flour can carry germs; do not eat raw dough and wash hands, bowls, utensils and countertops after handling flour or dough.