Ruisleipä – rye bread – made from sour dough, is a staple of the Finnish diet. There are many varieties but the most popular and widely available is reikäleipa, meaning “bread with a hole”. People used to hang their bread on poles from the rafters. It is dense and flat and and very heavy but Finns will have it sent through the post when they are living abroad. Never mind the cost.
Näkkileipä is the cracker version of rye bread and there are also many kinds, including the internationally-sold Finn Crisp cracker. They are eaten at breakfast with butter, cheese and other spreads, with soups at lunch or as an evening snack.
