Estonian Black Bread

Estonians have a love affair with their bread - a dietary staple and cultural identifier. There are several varieties. Black Bread is fermented Rye Bread, the ingredients are kept simple – rye flour, water, salt, sugar, and yeast, although added ingredients can be used such as seeds and nuts, dried tomatoes or other fruits, garlic (or pretty much anything for that matter).

There is no food quite as quintessentially Estonian as rye bread. Rye has been cultivated in Estonia for over one thousand years and was a central part of traditional agriculture. Rituals for prosperity and protection of farms sprung up alongside the grain, and in the Middle Ages, Estonia was known as a main rye exporter across Europe.