Dark rye breads, cinnamon buns, coffee," reads the sign on the window of the Nordic Bakery on London's Golden Square. It's like a mantra. Appetite for Nordic food and its stripped-back, earthy sensibilities has grown tremendously over the past few years, but you don't have to stump up for malt soil or seawater emulsion at Noma to get a true taste of Scandinavia – you can find it in central London, and at less punishing prices.
Finnish founder Jali Wahlsten says that when he opened the first branch in 2007 (there's another in Marylebone), he wanted the Nordic Bakery to be "just like any cafe you'd find across Scandinavia," serving food and drink that "someone will be eating at the same moment in Copenhagen or Helsinki". This means starting the day with the kind of strong, viscous coffee of which Finns, the world's leading coffee drinkers, down as many as 10 cups a day. Sandwiches are mostly on dark rye bread and come with pickled herring and egg, gravadlax or a pungent brie with lingonberry jam. There are other savoury snacks, too, like Karelian pie – its crunchy rye crust giving way to a rice or mashed potato filling.
Then there's the cinnamon bun. "They are our biggest seller," says Miisa Mink, another Finn, Wahlsten's business partner and author of the Nordic Bakery Cookbook. "They're an obsession for Scandinavians. And there are many versions. It's a nationality thing – a Danish person will make it differently to a Finn." The Nordic Bakery version is Finnish – robustly spiced, glazed and crunchy on the outside with a light dough interior that belies its indecent butter content.
All the recipes are accessible. "That's because we don't like to complicate anything," says Wahlsten. "We're modest people and just want to let the food speak for itself.
CLASSIC CINNAMON BUN
This perfectly encapsulates the flavours of Finnish baking. Try one for breakfast or any time of day with coffee, tea or hot chocolate. When baked, the top should be firm, with a soft interior of cinnamon, sugar and butter.
MAKES 12-13
For the dough
lukewarm milk 570ml
caster sugar 150g
fresh yeast 45g (or easy-blend dried yeast, according to manufacturer's instructions)
cardamom seeds 1 tsp, crushed with a pestle and mortar
unsalted butter 180g, melted
egg 1
plain flour 1 kg
For the filling
unsalted butter 100g, softened at room temperature
dark brown soft sugar 200g
ground cinnamon 3 tbsp
For the glaze
caster sugar 85g
freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tbsp
You will need
2 baking trays, lined with non-stick baking paper
To make the dough, put the milk, sugar, yeast, cardamom, melted butter and egg in a food processor or mixer with a dough hook. With the motor running, gradually add the flour until it is all incorporated and the dough has come together. Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.
After an hour, punch down the dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll it out until it is about 30cm x 80cm and 7mm thick.
For the filling, spread the butter evenly over the dough and sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon all over the top.
Roll the dough up from a long side. Cut into roughly 6cm rolls, but cut them at an angle – so, make the first cut diagonally, then the second cut about 6cm along diagonally in the opposite direction. You should get a roll that looks like a trapezium (or a triangle with the tip chopped off). Carefully transfer the buns to the prepared baking trays, with the longest edge of the bun sitting on the tray, cover with tea towels again and leave to prove in a warm place for 30-60 minutes, until almost doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Bake the buns in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
To make the glaze, put the sugar, lemon juice and 100ml water in a small pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until slightly thickened. The glaze will be quite watery.
Remove the buns from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and brush the glaze generously over them. Leave them to cool before serving.
RYE BREAD
Rye bread is the most traditional bread in Finland. In some parts of the country, it used to be the only bread that people baked. And in some areas, it was only baked acouple of times a year, then dried and enjoyed all year long. There are probably as many variations of rye bread as there are bakers, so we're sharing our own version here, which is very simple to make.
MAKES 3 LOAVES
easy-blend dried yeast 14g
lukewarm water 900ml-1 litre
wholemeal rye flour 800g
sea salt 2 tsp
You will need
3 baking trays, lined with non-stick baking paper
Put the yeast in a large mixing bowl with 200ml of the lukewarm water and a couple of tablespoons of the flour. Stir well to mix. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place overnight.
The next day, mix in the salt and remaining flour with enough lukewarm water to make a soft dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes – it may be soft and sticky. Cover with the tea towel again and leave to prove in a warm place for 1-1½ hours, until doubled in size.
Punch down the dough, divide into three and roll into balls on the floured surface. Flatten each one into a disc and make a hole in the middle to form a ring. Transfer to the prepared baking trays. Cover with the tea towel again and leave to rest in a warm place for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7. Dust the bread with flour and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until it is nicely browned.
RYE CRISPBREADS
These thin crispbreads are very easy to prepare and ready in minutes. You can either serve them simply with cheese or butter for breakfast, or as an accompaniment to soups and salads. Sometimes we make them in sticks and serve them as party food with dips like hummus. They taste great straight out of the oven, but you can let them dry out and store them in an airtight container for several weeks. You can also vary the recipe by adding a little cumin to the dough.
MAKES ABOUT 64 SMALL CRISPBREADS
strong white bread flour 250g
wholemeal rye flour 200g
sea salt 1 tsp
unsalted butter, chilled and cubed 100g
milk 200ml
You will need
2 baking trays, lined with non-stick baking paper
Preheat the oven to 230C/gas mark 8.
Put the flours and salt in a mixing bowl and mix well. Add the cubed butter and rub in using your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
Gradually add milk to the flour mixture, stirring with a round-bladed knife until a dough forms.
Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and divide into four. Roll out one portion of the dough very thinly with a rolling pin (and cover the other portions with clingfilm to prevent them drying out). Cut into about 16 rough shapes (about 9cm x 5cm) and place on a prepared baking tray. Prick a few holes in the dough with a fork. Bake in the preheated oven for 4-5 minutes, or until starting to brown in parts. Be careful as it burns very easily. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
TOSCA CAKE
The crunchy almond topping makes this simple classic one of Sweden's best-loved cakes, perfect with afternoon tea or as a dessert with a dollop of double cream.
SERVES 6-8
eggs 4
caster sugar 170g
double cream 200ml
unsalted butter, melted and cooled 100g
vanilla extract 2 tsp
baking powder 2 tsp
plain flour 260g
For the Tosca topping
unsalted butter 75g
caster sugar 75g
double cream 50ml
plain flour 25g
flaked almonds 75g
You will need
a 29cm loose-bottomed/springform cake tin, greased
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Put the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl and whisk with a handheld electric whisk until the mixture is foam-like – this will take up to 10 minutes. When it is ready, it will be almost white, have doubled in size and the batter will drop off the beaters in a figure-of-eight when you lift them out of the bowl. Add the cream, melted butter and vanilla extract, and fold in gently.
In a separate bowl, sift the baking powder and flour together, then fold into the egg mixture. Pour mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.
While the cake is baking, make the Tosca topping. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat, stir to mix and bring gently to the boil.
Remove the cake from the oven, spread the topping over it and return to the hot oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the topping is golden and slightly caramelised.
MIRIAM'S RHUBARB MERINGUE PIE
My Aunt Miriam bakes fantastic pies, and this is one of her – and my – favourites.
SERVES 6-8
unsalted butter, softened at room temperature 100g
caster sugar 65g
eggs 2 separated
plain flour 90g
baking powder 1 tsp
milk 50ml
For the filling
sticks of rhubarb 3-4, trimmed and roughly chopped
ground cinnamon 1 tsp
caster sugar 65g plus 2 tsp
vanilla extract 1 tsp
flaked almonds 50g
You will need
a 24cm loose-bottomed, fluted tart tin, greased
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one by one, mixing well. Mix the flour and baking powder together, then add half to the butter mixture, mixing well. Add half the milk and mix well.
Finally, add the remaining flour mixture, mix, then add the remaining milk and mix well. Transfer the dough to the tart tin and push and press it until the base and sides are evenly covered with a layer of dough.
For the filling, mix the rhubarb, cinnamon and 2 tsp of the sugar, then spread roughly over the tart. Whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks, gradually add the remaining sugar, whisking until firm. Fold in the vanilla. Spoon on top of the pie, making peaks, and scatter the almonds over the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes.
