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Kalakukko — Finnish rye loaf filled with fish and pork belly
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Source: https://recipheon.com/en/recipes/main-dishes/kalakukko-finnish-rye-loaf-filled-with-fish-and-pork-belly
About this recipe
Kalakukko is a Finnish loaf with a rye crust enclosing fish and fatty pork belly, baked together for many hours. This home version uses thoroughly cleaned perch fillets, so you do not have to rely on bones softening in the oven. The sealed dough holds in the juices, while raw, unsmoked pork belly slowly releases fat to keep the filling tender and moist. First set the crust in a hot oven, then wrap the loaf and finish its long bake at a lower temperature. Allow about eight and a half hours from starting preparation to slicing, including a warm rest that softens the rye shell. The finished loaf is a full meal, with moist fish and pork belly inside a dense, dark crust.
Ingredients
Rye crust
530 g finely ground wholemeal rye flour, type 2000 — 500 g for the dough, 20 g for dusting and 10 g beneath the filling
100 g all-purpose flour, type 550
400 ml cold water — 380 ml for the dough and up to 20 ml for sealing; omit any unused remainder
80 g butter — 60 g for the dough and 20 g for brushing the loaf
8 g salt
Fish and pork belly
800 g raw perch fillets without skin or any bones, weighed after cleaning
300 g raw, unsalted and unsmoked pork belly without rind or bones, sliced about 3–4 mm thick
6 g salt
0.5 g ground black pepper
Steps
Check the perch fillets with your fingers and remove every bone you can feel with tweezers, then pat the flesh dry with paper towel; cut larger fillets into two pieces. Do not put whole large fish or bones into this version expecting them to soften in the oven. Cover the fish and thin slices of raw pork belly and keep refrigerated until assembling the filling.
Mix 500 g rye flour, all the all-purpose flour and 8 g salt. Pour in 380 ml cold water and 60 g melted, cooled butter, then knead for 4–5 minutes into a firm, pliable dough. Cover and leave for 20 minutes for the flour to absorb the water; meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220°C conventional heat.
Set aside 50 g dough, covered, for sealing. On a large sheet of baking paper, roll the remaining dough, using 20 g rye flour for dusting, into an oval about 42 × 36 cm: the middle should be about 1 cm thick and the edges about 5–6 mm. Sprinkle the remaining 10 g rye flour over the central area for the filling, leaving the edges clean.
Mix 6 g salt with the pepper and roughly divide the seasoning into three portions. In the center of the dough, layer one third each of the fish, seasoning and pork belly, making three such layers with pork belly on top. Form a compact, elongated mound about 20–22 cm long, about 12 cm wide and no more than 8 cm high, without pushing the filling into the edges of the dough.
Lift the long sides of the dough over the filling and join them at the top, moistening the join with a little of the sealing water. Then lift the short ends, firmly seal all overlaps and smooth with damp hands, leaving no holes or air pockets against the filling. Transfer the loaf with its paper to a baking tray, seam up; do not slash the crust and do not prick it.
AI-generated Bake slightly below the middle of the oven for 60 minutes at 220°C. After about 20 minutes, inspect the loaf: pat any crack or leaking spot dry with paper towel, moisten the edges and seal with a thinly flattened piece of reserved dough. Flatten the unused reserve to about 3 mm and attach it over the main seam as reinforcement so all the dough is used; finish the remaining time of this first baking hour. The crust should set and brown clearly, without black scorching.
Take out the tray and reduce the oven temperature to 125°C. Brush the loaf with the remaining 20 g melted butter, then wrap thoroughly in baking paper and two layers of aluminum foil, keeping all the juices inside the parcel. Return to the tray and bake for 5 hours; this stage gently finishes the fish, pork belly and thick rye shell.
After five hours, reduce the temperature to 80°C and leave the wrapped loaf for another hour so moisture from the filling softens the crust evenly. Then transfer to a board and wait 20 minutes before unwrapping and slicing. Open the parcel carefully, directing escaping steam away from your hands.
Cut across the loaf with a sharp serrated knife and divide into eight thick slices, supporting them with a wide spatula. Serve the rye crust, tender fish and pork belly together, adding any juices left in the parcel to the portions. This is a moist, heavy filled loaf, not a fluffy yeast bread.
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