Kalakukko

Savonian loaf of rye crust sealed around small lake fish and pork belly, baked for hours until the bones soften

Origin: Kuopio & Savonia, Finland

From the journey of Rye.

Kalakukko is a fish pie from Savonia, the lake district of eastern Finland, and above all from the city of Kuopio. It is a thick rye crust wrapped around layers of small whole lake fish, traditionally vendace or perch, and slices of fatty pork, sealed completely, and baked very slowly for five or six hours. In that time the pork fat bastes the fish, the fish bones soften until they can be eaten, and the crust becomes a hard, sealed vessel that keeps the filling moist. It was made to be carried. A kalakukko could go to the fields, into the forest, or on a journey wrapped in a cloth and stay good for days, and it was eaten by cutting a lid from the top and spooning out the filling, breaking off pieces of the crust to go with it. Its name joins kala, fish, with kukko, which in modern Finnish means cockerel; how the word came to name a baked loaf is not settled. Kalakukko was registered in the European Union as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed in 2002, and the tradition of making it is recorded in the Finnish Heritage Agency's inventory of living heritage. Kuopio's market square still sells it from bakery stalls, and it is the food a visitor to the city is expected to try. Rye is the reason it works. A wheat crust would go soft under five hours of pork fat and fish juices, whilst dense, low-gluten rye dough bakes into a firm, close shell that holds its shape and seals in the steam.

Ingredients

Crust

  • 400 g fine rye flour
  • 100 g plain wheat flour
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 20 g butter, melted
  • 300 ml warm water

Filling

  • 600 g vendace, smelt, or small perch, cleaned and heads removed
  • 250 g pork belly or streaky bacon, thinly sliced
  • 1.5 tsp salt

To Finish

  • 40 g butter, melted, for brushing

Method

  1. Mix the flours and salt, add the melted butter and warm water, and knead into a firm, smooth dough. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
  2. On a rye-floured surface, press or roll the dough into an oval about 1.5 cm thick and 35 cm long, leaving the centre slightly thicker than the edges.
  3. Rinse and pat dry the fish. Lay a layer of pork slices down the middle of the dough, then a layer of fish, salting each layer, and repeat, finishing with pork on top.
  4. Lift the long sides of the dough up over the filling and pinch them together along the top, then fold up and seal the ends. Wet your hands and smooth all the joins until the loaf is completely closed, shaping it into a tall, rounded loaf.
  5. Bake at 225 °C for about 45 minutes, until the crust is firm and lightly browned. Check for cracks and patch any with a little spare dough.
  6. Brush the loaf with melted butter, wrap it tightly in greaseproof paper and then in foil, and return it to the oven at 125 °C for five hours.
  7. Unwrap, brush again with butter, wrap in a clean towel, and leave to rest for one hour before serving.
  8. To serve, cut a lid from the top of the crust and spoon out the filling, with pieces of crust broken from the lid and sides.

Notes

Vendace, muikku, is the classic fish. Outside Finland, small smelt or very small whole perch are the closest match; salmon with pork, lohikukko, is a modern variation. There is also a vegetarian lanttukukko, filled with diced swede and pork fat, or swede alone. Kalakukko is traditionally eaten with butter and a glass of cold buttermilk. Once cooled and wrapped, it keeps for several days in a cool place and slices well cold.

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