Swedish Limpa Bread

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Limpa, a flavorful Swedish bread, is wonderful for open-face sandwiches or morning toast. Aromatic seeds, rye flour, and orange juice give it a distinctive flavor.

The longstanding joke in my family is that my grandfather was always two. As kids we could never get a straight answer out of him regarding his age, and that tradition continued when his great-grandkids were born.

Limpa is another tradition he kept up, baking it into small loaves that sliced into perfect snack-size bites.

Flavored with fennel, caraway, molasses, and orange, it’s a step above your regular white bread.

Grandpa never shared with me his personal recipe, but I always feel like I am channeling him when I make this limpa bread.

If you’ve tried my honey oatmeal bread or French bread and are looking for a great sandwich bread that is full of flavor, add this limpa to your to-do list!

Ingredients for limpa bread

To give the bread its unique flavor, you’ll need a few special ingredients in addition to the bread basics.

Rye flour – Rye flour is made from rye kernels (berries) instead of wheat. It has a nutty flavor and is perfect for when you want to add more dimension to baked goods.

There are four main kinds of rye flour: white, medium, dark, and pumpernickel. 

For this recipe, I use Bob’s Red Mill Dark Rye Flour. Medium rye also works well.

All-purpose flour – To prevent the loaves from being too dense and heavy, I use all-purpose flour as well, in approximately equal proportion to the rye.

Yeast – I use instant yeast in this recipe. 

If you use active dry yeast, you will want to let it rest with the warmed ingredients to activate before mixing in any flour. Make sure the liquid is not too hot or it will over-activate the yeast.

Orange juice – Instead of water, this uses orange juice as the liquid to give the bread a lovely citrus flavor. I recommend a no-pulp version here.

Molasses and brown sugar – I use two kinds of sweetener for a deeper flavor. The molasses also gives it a nice color and works well with the orange juice and seeds.

Butter – Added fat helps create a soft and tender texture inside with a crisp crust. Salt is also added to the bread, so use unsalted butter.

Fennel and caraway seeds – Anise and similar flavors are very popular in Swedish baking. Fennel and caraway are both similar to anise, but impart slightly different flavors.

If you only have one or the other, you can simply 2 teaspoons instead of 1.

However, if you only have aniseed, reduce the total seed amount to 1 teaspoon, as the flavor is stronger.

How to make Swedish rye bread

In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice, butter, molasses, brown sugar, fennel seeds, and caraway seeds.

Set over medium-low heat and warm gently, just until the butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.

Pour the liquid mixture into a large mixing bowl and whisk in yeast and salt.

Stir in all of the rye flour with a wooden spoon or dough whisk. You can also mix the dough in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook if you prefer.

Add 1 cup of all-purpose flour, mixing in fully before adding more. You only want to add enough flour to make the dough come together, but still be a little sticky.

Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

Dust a work surface with flour and turn out dough from the bowl. Dust your hands and the top of the bread with more flour and knead gently for about 5 minutes.

Add flour as you knead to prevent sticking. The dough should feel soft and stretchy. Shape into a smooth ball.

Keep in mind that bread is dependent on your environment and ingredients, so you may need more or less flour to achieve the desired texture.

Lightly coat a large bowl with nonstick spray or oil. Place the bread in the bowl and cover with a kitchen towel, plastic wrap, or thin plastic shower cap.

Set in a warm place and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. 

In the winter I like to put mine into the microwave, or you can use an oven that has been warmed and turned off.

Once risen, deflate dough. Divide into 2 pieces and either shape into freeform loaves and place onto a rimmed baking sheet, or place into greased loaf pans.

Cover and let rise again for 1 hour.

While the bread is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F. 

Once the bread has risen, use a serrated knife to slash the tops (or leave smooth). 

Place the bread in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes, until the loaves are dark and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bread center registers between 190°F and 210°F.

Let cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Serving suggestions

Honestly, I like to eat this simply toasted with salted butter on top, but you can enjoy it in lots of other ways!

Serve with gravlax (cured salmon) and dill on top for an open-face sandwich.

Shape into four smaller loaves and cut thinly for crostini to serve with egg salad or your favorite dips like beer cheese dip.

Serve alongside a dinner of Swedish meatballs and dill potatoes.

Use for a Reuben sandwich or an amazing grilled cheese.

This flavorful limpa bread is such a treat. Give it a try!