Kavring
Kavring is a dark, lightly sweet, spiced rye bread from Sweden. The name actually comes from Danish, but Kavring has been baked in Sweden since the Middle Ages. Nowadays, there are many different ways to make it, but it is always made with rye, dark syrup, and spices like anise and caraway.
There are so many different versions, but this recipe I took from The Nordic Baking Book by Magnus Nilsson. I love that book and use it as a reference all the time. However, I did change several things from his version to this recipe.
First of all, I cut his recipe by a third. His baking pans were a different size than mine (mine are 29x10x7.5 cm), so I decided to make a ⅔ size batch to better fit my pans. He also calls for strong wheat flour, like bread flour (normally around 11% – 13% protein), but I just used what I had at home, which is all-purpose flour (10% protein). He also calls for golden syrup, but I wanted the bread to have a darker appearance. I opted for dark syrup (in this case mörk sirap; use molasses if you’re outside the Nordics). I also DOUBLED the water on day 2. The dough was so dry it literally wouldn’t even come together. Rye soaks up so much water that I wasn’t too worried about adding so much extra water.
The bread ended up quite dense, but that’s how it’s supposed to be—dense, slightly sweet, and lightly spiced. I love to eat Kavring just plain with a bit of butter or toasted and topped generously with skagenröra.
Kavring
Ingredients
Day 1
- 240 g rye flour finely ground
- 20 g salt
- 2 tsp caraway
- 1 tsp anise
- 400 g boiling water
Day 2
- 405 g flour
- 630 g rye flour finely ground
- 200 g dark syrup mörk sirap, or molasses
- 18 g fresh yeast OR 6g dry yeast
- 430 g water
Instructions
Day 1
- Combine the rye flour, salt, caraway, and anise in a large heatproof bowl.
- Pour in the boiling water and mix thoroughly.
- Leave uncovered overnight.
Day 2
- Transfer the dough to the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Using the hook attachment, mix on medium speed for about 15 minutes or until shiny and elastic.
- Remove from the mixer, cover the bowl with a towel, and let rest until doubled in size, usually about an hour or two.
- Butter 2 loaf pans. Mine are 29x10x7.5 cm.
- Take the dough out of the bowl and split it in half. Roll each half into a log shape; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
- Place each log into a buttered loaf pan and press the dough into the pan.
- Cover with a towel and let rise until the dough almost reaches the edge of the pan, about an hour or two.
- Place the pans on a baking tray, then cover with a piece of parchment paper. Place another baking tray on top.
- Bake at 175°C/350°F for an hour. The internal temperature should be above 98°C/208°F.
- Once baked, immediately knock out the loaves from the pans and let cool on wire racks. The bread will be quite sticky inside. Let rest for 24 hours before cutting into it.