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 with butter

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!

rieska in baking dish

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.

preparing sandwich with rieska

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

rieska sandwich on plate

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.

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Stephanie Wise

Stephanie Wise is the founder and creator of Girl Versus Dough. She started sharing her bread baking adventures and recipes in 2009. Her love of bread only deepened as her skills and knowledge expanded. What began as a place to try others recipes quickly became a collection of her own creations!

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7 Comments

  1. Stephanie says:

    Kristen — I’m so sorry to hear that! I know everyone’s oven behaves differently, so maybe next time bake it at 450 degrees F and see if that helps. Also, it’s been forever and a day since I’ve made this recipe so I don’t exactly remember how many sandwiches it makes, but my guess is about 6 to 8 sandwiches.

  2. Kristen says:

    Mine burned badly… 16 minutes. Any thoughts? Also, how many servings do you get when you use it for sandwiches?

  3. Johanna says:

    That looks fantastic!
    I tend to be more “hands on” when it comes to cutting in butter. Do you think it would matter much if I kneaded it in (like you would for biscuits), or is the temperature of the butter important?
    I’m probably overthinking this, the recipe doesn’t look very finicky, but still 😛

    1. Stephanie says:

      Johanna — You incorporate the butter a lot like how you would for biscuits, so yes, using your hands to cutting it in works just fine.

  4. Marta @ I love breakfasts! says:

    hahaha, interesting survival tool, plus delicious.

  5. Adrienne @ How to Ice a Cake says:

    This sounds perfect for the veg sandwiches I eat. Always need a good sturdy bread to give the sandwich some extra oomph. Those people over at King Arthur are geniuses.

  6. Mara @ Elemental Custard says:

    Very interesting recipe! And you say it holds up well in a sandwich? Talk about easiest bread ever!