Hönökaka - Swedish Flatbread - #BreadBakers

 

This month the Bread Bakers are making flatbreads. As I sat thinking about what to make, I could not help but feel jealous of the cultures/countries that had amazing breads. For Jamaicans it's hard dough bread, coco bread and our Easter bun (a loaf version of a hot cross bun). There may be some roti sprinkled here and there by those with Indian heritage. Certainly not the 1001 (slight exaggeration) different types that I saw in some countries. Fine, we're a small country. I guess I need to expand and look at bread across the Caribbean as a whole. I could be missing out.

In undergrad, I remember being excited watching my Trinidadian friends make roti. I had a tawa at home but never saw my mother use it. When I went home for the holidays, I quickly got into the kitchen to try making roti for the first time. I made some really delicious crackers. I tried roti again years later. And while it was softer, it still didn't have that roti flavour. And most troubling for me was the fact that I couldn't get my dough to puff up. I needed that puff to make great paratha. That puff would remain elusive. Despite my puff deficiencies, I thought I'd make sourdough pitas for this challenge. I woke up my barely used starter and kneaded a lovely soft dough. I had high hopes. I tossed them in a hot oven and waited for the puff. No dice. There was some mini puffing. But I wanted a balloon. Later, I realised that I had not let my dough rest after rolling it. That might have helped with the ballooning.

Sourdough Pita

I would have tried again but then I got distracted by a Swedish flatbread called hönökaka. The dough is a mixture of flour, rye, brödkryddor (bread spices - anise, fennel and cumin) and yeast. But the ingredients were not what caught my attention. It was the spiked rolling pin (kruskavel) being used to roll out the dough. In lieu of a kruskavel, the Swedes use a special 8 pronged fork. I have neither a kruskavel or a spider fork but I will happily poke a dough several times with a regular fork. I'll even put in my initials.

  

I'll be honest, I didn't think much about the flavour of the dough. I'm sure the brödkryddor would have had added a little something. But I was so focused on poking my dough that I honestly didn't think about it. I was pleasantly surprised when I bit into a still pretty hot hönökaka fresh from the oven. So soft and absolutely delicious. I kicked myself for halving the recipe and quickly ate an entire 11 inch round. Halfway through, I thought it would have been even better if I added some kinda topping.

Be sure to scroll down to see what other flatbreads the Bread Bakers made this month. Thanks for hosting, Mireille!

Hönökaka - Swedish Flatbread

Recipe by: Kelly   Adapted from:Swedish Food

Yield: Three 11 inch flatbreads

Brodkryddor Ingredients 1 part anise 1 part fennel 1 part cumin  Dough Ingredients 250 grams all purpose flour 75 grams rye flour 24 grams oil 14 grams sugar or honey 1 teaspoon instant yeast 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon brödkryddor (recipe above) 1/2 teaspoon salt 194 grams milk (see notes)

Directions For the brodkryddor, grind together equal parts anise, fennel and cumin.  In  a large bowl add all the dough ingredients except milk. Ensure that the salt is not poured directly on the yeast. Slowly add the milk and knead until you have soft, tacky but not sticky dough. This could take about 3-5 minutes in a stand mixer and a little longer by hand.  Form the dough into a ball and place in greased bowl. Cover and let rest until it has doubled in size. The amount of time this takes depends on the temperature of your room. You could also let it rise overnight in the refrigerator.  When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead lightly. Divide into 3 round balls. Flatten each to a 6 inch disk. Cover and let them rest for 30 minutes.  While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 475 F. Place a metal baking sheet or pizza stone to preheat on the top rack.  Take a disk a roll out it out to about 1/8 inch using a kruskavel or a rolling pin. If not using a kruskavel, after rolling, use a fork to poke holes all over the surface of the dough.  Quickly slide the dough onto the baking sheet or pizza stone. Bake for 3-5 minutes or until lightly golden. When baked, place on a cooling rack and cover with a towel. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.  Slice into wedges and serve warm honokaka with toppings of your choice. Swedish Food suggests butter, cheese, jam, honey or pickled herring.

Notes The recipe called for more milk which would have led to the dough being above 75% hydration. There's no way I could roll that out. I used ~60% hydration here but in cooler weather, I would go as high as 65%.

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#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com