Mjukkaka is a Swedish flatbread made with rye flour, sweeteners, milk, shortening, and yeast. Variations include adding potato or sour cream to the dough. It is cooked in a hot environment and can be served with any meal or toasted with butter.
Mjukkaka, which can also be spelled “mjuk kaka” or simply called sweet, is a type of flatbread that originated in Sweden. Several variations are commercially produced, but most are similar to the original bread. The main ingredients are traditionally rye flour, sweeteners, milk, shortening and yeast or a starter. Bread, even when leavened with yeast, is prepared and baked in such a way that it remains flat and condensed. It can be served with almost any meal for which bread is appropriate, and the recipe can be modified to allow for a more distinctive taste.
The basic ingredients for mjukkaka are no different from many other bread recipes, although pure rye flour is rarely used in newer preparations. The flour can be a mix of rye and wheat flours, which some bakers find provides a more delicate texture than just using rye flour. One ingredient that isn’t often seen in other bread recipes is a type of sweet syrup known as molasses. This ingredient is the result of processing sugar in much the same way as molasses. While the syrup isn’t as thick or dark as molasses, it does provide a similar sweet taste when incorporated into the dough.
There are variations on the basic ingredients used to make mjukkaka, one of which is potato. Boiled potatoes can be worked into the dough to add texture and bulk, or alternatively, broth from a dish called blodpalt can be added. Blodpalt is a type of potato and flour dumpling in which the liquid used to help moisten the dumplings is animal blood. Blodpalt stock contains the starch from the potatoes, some flour, and the blood, which add flavor and texture to the bread. Another variation involves adding sour cream to the dough for extra moisture.
Mjukkaka is cooked in a very hot environment, usually in contact with a hot surface such as a cast iron skillet or oven wall, or over a fire. Before being baked, however, the dough is scored or perforated so that it does not rise more than a very small amount. This gives the bread a visual texture. Once completed, the bread can be eaten as part of a sandwich, as a side dish with a stew, or toasted and eaten with butter.
Mjukkaka translates as “soft cake”. This has led to the name being used to refer to a similar, but ultimately different, type of dish that is really a leavened dessert cake. Some of the ingredients are the same, but the cake has no relation to the bread except in name.
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