
Nowadays reikäleipä is available in many forms and stages of aging throughout all of Finland, regardless of season. 'hole bread'), a traditional Western Finnish rye bread, is dried near the kitchen ceiling and preserved over the long winter. Limppu is common in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan due to high levels of Finnish immigration and may be found in many pubs and diners across the peninsula. This kind of bread was usually produced at steady intervals throughout the year, whereas Western Finnish tradition stressed less frequent baking sessions combined with long-term storage. Its mouthfeel still remains soft enough to be bitten off easily, and leavening is easily discernible by eye. This bread is dark, sour in taste, dense, heavy and comparatively dry. The closest translation to English would be "loaf" (although limppu is always round and bulbous, while rectangular loaves are available). Traditional Eastern Finnish rye bread is called limppu. As well as traditional breads more modern, softer breads exist as well these days. Finland celebrates ruisleivän päivä (rye bread day) on February 28th. Rye bread is considered to be the national food of Finland as determined by a vote in 2017. The most common types of Finnish rye bread are not sweet nor do they contain spices like caraway, unlike Swedish rye breads. Compared with the more internationally popular German style, Finnish rye-breads tend to be less oily or moist in texture. It is very popular, like in other Nordic cuisines.

'sour bread') in Finnish) is a dark, sour bread produced in quantity in Finland. Rye bread ( ruisleipä, ruisreikäleipä, reikäleipä, jälkiuunileipä or näkkileipä and hapanleipä ( lit. Rye bread Sourdough starter mix, the base of most Finnish rye bread In the Swedish-speaking region of Åland, there are other varieties of bread, the majority of which owe much to Swedish cuisine.


It is served with almost every meal and many different types are produced domestically. Five types of Finnish rye bread (top to bottom/left to right): limppu, reikäleipä, a loaf, commercial pre-halved rye bread, and hapankorppuīread is a staple food of Finland.
