KVÆN BREAD

Carrying the dough to the sauna

Kvæns are an ethnic minority in Norway who orignally came from Karelia and then emigrated to the northern parts of Finland and Sweden to North Norway in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1996 the Kvæns were granted minority status, and in 2005 the Kvæn language was recognized as a minority language in Norway. The Kvæns brought their culture with them from from their native homes, and their bread traditions are very similar to that of the Finns and the Russians.

Shaping the loaves

I have Kvæn family roots and in recent years I have been interested in learning more about the Kvæn culture and especially the bread traditions. Much of this knowledge has been lost and I wanted to try and revive it through my artistic practice. In 2012 I was invited to Vadsø Museum. Here the Kvæn traditions have been kept alive and they recently refurbished their old wood fired bakers stove. It was very interesting hearing the stories about bread and baking traditions that was still very much alive in Vadsø thanks to a baker who had kept the traditions going there. I was also invited to Nordreisa, another main area for the Kvæn immigration, to be the festival artist at the annual Kvæn Festival Paaskivikko. There I did a Kvæn bread event at the local Kvæn museum. The bread fermented in the traditional smoke sauna and was later baked bread in the old wood fired stove. My aim for the event was to bring the culture alive and reveal forgotten stories, secret recipes or memories connected to the kvæn bread and rekindle the interest for this particular part of Kvæn culture.

Kvæn bread is almost identical to the Finnish limppu, a sourdough bread made with rye flour, water and salt. There are several varieties of this bread, some made with fish and others with sweet additives, like malt.