rieska

Rieska is an easy, no-yeast rye bread that is buttery and mildly sweet. This Finnish bread is sturdy enough for sandwiches but soft and moist!

Rieska is a Finnish wonder of ridiculously easy bread baking. Rustic reliable and durable enough to hold a few slices of meat, cheese and veggies, but soft and moist enough to warrant its “cakey” descriptor.

It takes less time to throw together than it does for me to get dressed in the morning, and its buttery and mildly sweet flavor is unusually refreshing — not at all how you’d expect it to taste at first sight. When you find yourself craving pumpernickel bread but are short on time, try this simple rieska! If you do have more time, try my steakhouse style pumpernickel bread recipe, Russian black bread or pumpernickel bagels!

I don’t know what it is about this recipe that first caught my attention. Maybe it was the simplicity of it, or the basic roll call of ingredients. Maybe it was the description — a “cakey drop biscuit,” an “easy baking powder bread,” “packed with whole grains.” Or, perhaps, it was the adventure of creating something I never had before.

Or, maybe it was because I just wanted a really good sandwich.

Rieska
Courtesy of King Arthur Flour

Yields: 2 dozen 2-inch squares

Ingredients:
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup dark or light rye flour, or pumpernickel flour (I used dark rye)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13-by-9-inch baking dish and set aside.
In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together oats, rye flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add butter in small cubes and cut into the dry mix, using a fork or pastry blender, until the butter is thoroughly distributed. Stir in buttermilk until well combined.
Pour batter into prepared dish and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until top of bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool in baking dish completely before slicing or serving.