Local name: Ohrarieska
A Finnish unleavened barley flatbread baked hot and fast, served warm under a thick layer of egg butter.
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Photo: Tommi Nummelin, CC BY-SA 4.0
Barley has almost no gluten, so this dough cannot be worked. Stir only until the flour is damp, or the flatbread bakes up dense.
An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.
Barley has almost no gluten, so there is nothing for kneading to develop, and persisting only compacts the dough and makes the bread dense. Mix just enough to moisten the flour and accept a sticky, uneven dough.
Ordinary milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar, left to stand for ten minutes, does the same job: it is the acidity that reacts with the baking powder to lift the flatbread. Plain kefir also works well.
The dough is deliberately sticky and a dry hand or a spatula would drag it apart. Water stops it sticking and lets you shape an even one-centimetre round without working it further. Prick the surface with a fork afterwards so it does not blister.
From Egyptian ful to Costa Rican gallo pinto and Turkish menemen, why so many cultures greet the morning with warm, savoury, protein-rich dishes.
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