Hapanleipä–Sour Rye Bread from Finland

For several years I was the district exchange officer for Finland in the 5950-5960 Rotary Exchange Program.  Once a year my wife and I would invite all Finnish students in our two districts to spend a weekend with us.  There were some conditions:  We would cook dinner the first night and the Saturday lunch.  I would do the breakfasts.  The students could cook whatever they wished, but they were responsible for the Saturday and Sunday dinners.

When I suggested this arrangement to the first group of students, they lamented the fact that they would not have Hapanleipä, a sour flatbread, so I offered to make it if someone could tell me how.  In a few weeks a letter arrived from a student.  He enclosed the recipe and  instructions from his mother and the helpful tip that his grandmother said that the dough “should smell really stinky.”.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Packages or 5 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water, about 110º F
3 cups rye flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
Butter

PROCEDURE:

In a large bowl, dissolve 1 package or 2 1/2 teaspoons of yeast in 1 3/4 cups of warm water.  Stir in the rye flour.  Cover and let stand in a warm place until the mixture develops a good sour aroma (usually 36-48 hours).

Dissolve the rest of the yeast in the remaining 1/4 cup of warm water and add to the rye mixture.  Add salt and stir in enough bread flour to make a stiff dough.  Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, turn it out on to a lightly floured board, and knead it until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes).  The dough will be sticky to start with.  Add flour to board and lightly knead until the dough becomes easy to work with.  Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn it to have the greased side up.  Cover with a damp towel and let rise until doubled in bulk (about 2 hours).

Punch down, knead briefly  and divide the dough in half.  Shape each half into a ball and place each ball on a greased baking sheet.  Flatten each ball into a 12 inch diameter circle.  Pull a two inch diameter circle in the middle of each loaf as you form it so that the loaf looks like a flat doughnut.  Cover the loaves and let them rise until doubled in bulk (about one hour).

Heat the oven to 375º F.  Pierce the loaves all over with a fork.  Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.  Remove the loaves from oven, brush the tops with butter, and cover with a towel to soften the crust.  Cool.  To serve, cut into wedges, and split horizontally.

NOTES: Pizza pans are ideal for baking Hapanleipä.  Six Finnish teenagers and two adult Americans can eat both loaves at one meal.

Steve’s Cabbage Rolls

Cabbage rolls entered my life one beautiful Sunday afternoon at the Holy Trinity Church Harvest Festival near Clayton, Wisconsin.  Holy Trinity is a member of the Orthodox Church in America.  Founded by Carpatho-Russian immigrants who came to northwest Wisconsin at the end of the 19th century, Holy Trinity Church now has about 130 members.   Virtually all who are able join together to make thousands of cabbage rolls and dozens of pies which for me are the two top items on the menu of the Harvest Festival dinner.

On that first occasion we were guests of Steve, publisher of the RiverTown Newspaper group for whom I worked at the time.  His grandparents were among the founders of Holy Trinity, and he and his family are all active members.  After the festival I asked Steve for the recipe.   He shared several variations on the cabbage rolls made by members of Holy Trinity.  One calls for 90 pounds of ground beef and yields 720 servings, but Steve’s (or his mother’s?) recipe is one designed for a family gathering.

Like all good cooks, Steve explained that one can vary ingredients slightly to suit individual preferences.  For instance, Steve likes to use extra garlic and sometimes uses venison instead of ground beef.  This recipe is a little unusual because it uses dried dill weed as one of the spices in the meat filling.  The cooks at Holy Trinity also put two or three fresh stems of dill in the roaster to flavor the sauce.  Wonderful.

Following my hard-learned rule to stick to the recipe the first time, I ended up with cabbage rolls that my wife and I felt were equal to or even better than those from the church.  The second time I made them I increased the amount of the filling and adjusted the seasoning slightly, since once you are steaming cabbage leaves it is just as easy to steam a dozen extra, there is plenty of room for more rolls in the roaster, and the rolls and sauce freeze well.  Then it is easy to treat your family to cabbage rolls by heating them in the microwave.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. lean ground beef (or venison)
12 oz. pork sausage
2 eggs
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 T minced garlic
1 cup white rice
1 1/4 tsp. salt plus extra for sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. dried dill weed (divided)
3/4 tsp. basil
3/4 tsp oregano
1 head green cabbage (10” diameter works well)
2 or 3 medium tomatoes
2 or 3 medium green bell peppers
1 can tomato soup
2 cups tomato juice
2 cups water.

PROCEDURE:

First make the filling.  Put the rice in a small saucepan.  Add 1 1/2 cups water and a pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil and simmer until the water is absorbed, usually about 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Chop the onion rather finely (no larger than 1/4 inch dice) and mince the garlic.  In a large bowl mix the ground beef and sausage with the eggs, rice, onion, garlic and spices, using only 1 tsp. of the dill weed.  Set aside in a cool place or refrigerator until the cabbage leaf wrappers are prepared.

Wash the head of cabbage thoroughly and remove any damaged outer leaves.  Remove the core with a narrow-bladed knife.  Place a rack or metal pie plate in the bottom of a canner or dutch oven.  Add about a half inch of water and bring the water to a boil.  Set the cabbage with the core side down in the canner and cover.  Steam until the outer leaves become limp.  Remove the head from the canner and peel off the outer leaves.  Return the head to the canner and repeat until you have about 30 leaves.

With a sharp knife, shave the raised rib off each cabbage leaf and put the ribs in the bottom of the roaster.  Before you start assembling the rolls, remove the seeds from a green pepper and chop it into 1/2” pieces.  Remove the stem scar and chop a tomato also into 1/2” pieces.  Mix the pepper and tomato with the cabbage ribs on the bottom of the roaster.

Now preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To assemble the rolls, put about 2 rounded tablespoons of the meat mixture on a leaf, fold the sides inward, then roll the leaf tightly and place it on the vegetable layer in the roaster.  Once the first layer is finished, continue layering rolls until you have used all the filling.  Depending on how well you estimate the amount of filling, you may need to prepare a few extra leaves.

When all the rolls are in the roaster, chop one or two tomatoes and peppers as you did for the base and spread them over the rolls.  Mix the can of soup with the water and tomato juice, generous dashes of salt and pepper and 1/2 teaspoon dill weed.  Pour the sauce over the rolls, cover and roast at 350 degrees for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  Check occasionally to baste the rolls and make sure that there is enough liquid.  Add water or juice if necessary.

NOTES:  When I can find it, I like to use fresh dill in the meat and sauce.  Use about two teaspoons of finely chopped fresh dill in the meat and a teaspoonful in the sauce.  After pouring the sauce over the rolls, garnish them with a few sprigs of dill weed.  Jerri freezes cabbage rolls in packages of four; she freezes the sauce separately in small freezer containers holding about a half cup each.  With a green salad, some good bread and a glass of beer, you can have a gourmet dinner in 15 minutes.