Swedish Limpa Bread – uniquely flavorful and delicious Scandinavian sweet bread made with rye and wheat flour, spices, molasses and raisins. Staple at Christmas Eve buffet, this festive loaf will not disappoint. This healthy recipe is vegan and oh so good!
There is a reason why Limpa is a usual attendee on a typical Scandinavian Christmas Eve dinner.
Its distinctive flavorful profile that includes cardamom, caraway seeds, fennel and orange zest makes it an excellent choice for holiday baking.
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My mom fist introduced me to this recipe and I’m so glad she did. It’s tastes especially delicious when you grease it with some vegan butter and serve with a cup of tea.
I’m confident that I’ll be making this Swedish rye bread again.
Limpa is also called Vörtbröd and it has different variations across Scandinavia. Some recipes might include beer and some prunes.
You can make it in Kitchen Aid or by hands.
📋 Ingredients
If you bake a lot, you won’t have any problems finding ingredients for this Swedish Limpa Bread. This recipe is made with ingredients available in all grocery stores.
- Rye flour is essential in this recipe. That’s what gives this sweet spices bread a distinctive brown color
- All-purpose wheat flour is used to make the bread fluffy. Rye flour used alone makes the bread denser
- Active dry yeast – it will help our Limpa bread rise
- Olive oil – to add moisture to the bread
- Flavor enhancers – orange zest, ground cardamom, fennel seeds, caraway seeds
- Sweeteners – brown sugar and molasses
- Salt – brings out the flavor of all the ingredients
🔪 Instructions
1. Make fermented dough
In a medium bowl mix together 1 cup of rye flour, 3 tbsp of all-purpose flour, ½ tsp active dry yeast and water. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and place the bowl in a warm place for 3-5 hours. It will increase in size by 1 ½ – 2 times.
2. Prepare the soaker
About 4 hours into the rising, in a small saucepan combine water, olive oil, orange zest, cardamom, fennel seeds, caraway seeds, sugar and molasses. Bring this mixture to a boil, remove from the heat, cover with a lid and let it come to a warm temperature, about 95 F.
3. Make the dough
In a bowl of stand mixer (such as Kitchen Aid) fitted with a hook, combine fermented dough, the soaker, 1 cup and 3 tbsp of all-purpose flour, 1 tsp of active dry yeast and 1 tsp of salt. Knead on the second speed for 10 minutes. You should knead until the dough comes together in a ball, but expect it to be slightly sticky. Add raisins and knead for 30 more seconds. Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and place in a warm place for 1 hour – 1 hour and 30 minutes or until it increases by 1 ½ or 2 times.
💭 Mixing the dough by hands
If you’re not using a stand mixer, you can knead the dough by hands, but after you combine the ingredients, leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Then, knead until the dough comes together. Again, it will be slightly sticky. Try not to add flour, although if it sticks to a working surface a great deal, you can dust with a bit of all-purpose flour.
4. Shape the bread
Slightly moisten your hands with oil and on a lightly oiled surface shape the bread into a round loaf. I found this tutorial to be particularly useful.
Place it on a parchment covered baking sheet. Generously dust with 1-2 tbsp of all-purpose flour and cover the bread with a plastic wrap. Place it in a warm place for 1 hour/1 hour and 30 minutes until it increases by 1 ½ or 2 times.
If you wish, you can use a sharp knife to make a simple pattern by scoring the bread.
5. Preheat the oven and bake
20 minutes before the rising is complete, preheat the oven to 480 F. Fill a medium rimmed baking pan (8 by 8 in) with 2 cups of boiling water and place the pan on the lowest rack in the oven. (The steam from the water will prevent the crust from becoming too hard).
Place Limpa on the middle rack in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Very carefully, remove the pan with the water, reduce the oven temperature to 355 F and bake for another 15 minutes.
Transfer the bread on a cooling rack and wait a minimum of 8 hours before slicing it. This time is necessary for the rye flour inside the bread to finish fermentation and for the loaf to cool completely.
💭 Tips
Since the dough takes quite some time to rise and then it’s better not to slice it for at least 9 hours, I recommend making this healthy vegan bread the day before you plan to serve it.
🍞 Storing Suggestions
Scandinavian Christmas Limpa should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Properly stored it will keep fresh for up to 1 week.
If you want, you can also freeze it. Just tightly wrap the loaf in plastic and freeze for up to 1 month.
🍰 Similar Recipes
📖 Recipe
Swedish Limpa
Ingredients
For the fermented dough
- 1 c rye flour
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp active dry yeast
- ⅔ c water at room temperature
For the soaker
- ½ c water at room temperature
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp orange zest
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- ½ tsp caraway seeds
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
For the dough
- fermented dough
- soaker
- 1 c + 5 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ c raisins
Instructions
Make the fermented dough
- In a medium bowl mix rye flour, all-purpose flour, active dry yeast and water. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and place the bowl in a warm place for 3-5 hours. It will increase in size by 1 ½ – 2 times.
Prepare the soaker
- About 4 hours into the rising, in a small saucepan combine water, olive oil, orange zest, cardamom, fennel seeds, caraway seeds, sugar and molasses. Bring this mixture to a boil, remove from the heat, cover with a lid and let it come to a warm temperature, about 95 F.
Make the dough
- In a bowl of stand mixer (such as Kitchen Aid) fitted with a hook, combine fermented dough, the soaker, 1 c and 3 tbsp of all-purpose flour, active dry yeast and salt. Knead on the second speed for 10 minutes. You should knead until the dough comes together in a ball, but expect it to be slightly sticky. Add raisins and knead for 30 more seconds. Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and place in a warm place for 1 hour – 1 hour and 30 minutes until it increases by 1 ½ or 2 times. (See the instructions for hand kneading in the Notes section below)
Shape the bread
- Slightly moisten your hands with oil and on a lightly oiled surface shape the bread into a round loaf. I found this tutorial to be particularly useful.
- Place it on a parchment covered baking sheet. Generously dust with the remaining 1-2 tbsp of all-purpose flour and cover the bread with a plastic wrap. Place it in a warm place for 1 hour/1 hour and 30 minutes until it increases by 1 ½ or 2 times.If you wish, you can use a sharp knife to make a simple pattern by scoring the bread.
Preheat the oven and bake
- 20 minutes before the rising is complete, preheat the oven to 480 F. Fill a medium rimmed baking pan (8 by 8 in) with 2 cups of boiling water and place the pan on the lowest rack in the oven. (The steam from the water will prevent the crust from becoming too hard).
- Place Limpa on the middle rack in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Very carefully, remove the pan with the water, reduce the oven temperature to 355 F and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Transfer the bread on a cooling rack and I recommend to wait a minimum of 8 hours before slicing it.
Notes
Nutrition
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