Recipe Manuscript

Hvetebröd

Name: Hvetebröd
Prep time: PTPT1H30M
Cook time: PTPT30M
Yield: 24
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 medium potatoes (300-350 g), peeled; 1 liter water (for boiling potatoes); 500 ml wheat flour (plus 1-1.2 kg more for dough); 1 cake fresh yeast (50 g; or substitute with 2 packets instant yeast, about 14 g); A little lukewarm water (for dissolving yeast, about 50 ml); 1 cup (240 ml) warm milk; Extra wheat flour for dusting; Butter for greasing pans (optional)

"Wheat Bread"

1889

From the treasured pages of mith

Written by C. A. (Charles A.) Vallentin

Age of Gastronomy (1800 - 1900)American European Intermediate Breakfast Snack Other

Original Recipe • 1889

Original Manuscript(circa Age of Gastronomy, 1800 - 1900)

As inscribed by the original author's hand, transcribed with care by Lost Kitchen Scrolls

Hvetebröd

"Koka 3 medelstora, råskalade potater i 1 qvart vatten; upptag dem, då de äro väl kokta, och stöt dem fina tillsammans med 1 pint hvetemjöl. Häll sedan det kokande vattnet öfver potatisen och mjölet och rör om väl. När degen afsvalnat till sommarvärme, tillsättes 1 kaka jäst som upplösts i litet vatten. Låt jäsa i varmt rum öfver natten och tillsätt följande morgon 1 kopp varm mjölk. Blanda väl och låt jäsa igen samt tillsätt sedan 1 qvart vatten och nog mjöl att åstadkomma en hård deg. Låt denna jäsa och baka den sedan till limpor, som sättes i bakformen att jäsa. Bakas merendels på 30 minuter."

English Translation

"Wheat Bread. — Boil 3 medium-sized, peeled potatoes in 1 quart of water; remove them when they are well cooked, and mash them finely together with 1 pint of wheat flour. Then pour the boiling water over the potatoes and flour and stir well. When the dough has cooled to lukewarm, add 1 cake of yeast dissolved in a little water. Let it rise in a warm room overnight and add 1 cup of warm milk the following morning. Mix well and let it rise again, and then add 1 quart of water and enough flour to make a stiff dough. Let this rise and then shape it into loaves, which are placed in the baking pan to rise. They are usually baked in 30 minutes."

Note on the Original Text

The recipe's instructions are conversational and reference household measurements like 'pint,' 'quart,' and 'cup,' which lacked exact standardization and varied based on the cook's utensils. Potatoes are specified as 'råskalade' (raw-peeled), and the yeast is called a 'kaka' (cake), reflecting the widespread use of fresh compressed yeast at that time. Spelling conventions use older forms, such as 'hvetebröd' (modern: 'vetebröd') and 'potater' (modern: 'potatis'), and instructions presume experience in bread making—relying on sensory cues like 'summer warmth' rather than thermometer readings.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

Title

mith (1889)

You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome

Writer

C. A. (Charles A.) Vallentin

Era

1889

Publisher

Svenska bok-och musikhandelns förlag

Background

A practical and charmingly illustrated Swedish cookbook tailored for immigrants in America, this 1889 volume serves up a delightful array of recipes and culinary wisdom, blending Old World tradition with New World ingredients.

Kindly made available by

Library of Congress

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

This recipe for 'Hvetebröd', or wheat bread, is drawn from the 1889 "Praktisk, illustrerad kok-bok för Svenskarne i Amerika," a Swedish-language cookbook published in Minneapolis for Swedish immigrants. The recipe reflects the adaptation of traditional Swedish baking to the ingredients and tools available in late-19th-century America, where settlers brought their culinary heritage and merged it with new world practices. The use of potatoes is a hallmark of Scandinavian baking from this era, as potatoes added moisture and extended the flour, making bread softer and longer-lasting—important for immigrant households in a new land. The recipe also captures the domestic rhythm of breadmaking: begun one day, left to ferment overnight, and finished the next morning.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

Back in the day, this bread would have been mixed by hand in large wooden or ceramic bowls, using simple whisks or wooden spoons. Potatoes were mashed with a masher or pestle. The dough was likely kneaded on a scrubbed wooden table or board. Rising would take place in a warm spot near the stove or oven. Bread was shaped by hand and baked in simple loaf tins—often heavy metal—or, lacking tins, freeform on hearthstones or bake-ovens heated by wood fire.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

1 hr 30 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Servings

Ingredients

3 medium potatoes (10-12 oz), peeled
4 1/4 cups water (for boiling potatoes)
2 cups wheat flour (plus 8.5-10 cups more for dough)
1 cake fresh yeast (1.75 oz; or substitute with 2 packets instant yeast, about 0.5 oz)
A little lukewarm water (for dissolving yeast, about 1/4 cup)
1 cup (8 fl oz) warm milk
Extra wheat flour for dusting
Butter for greesing pans (optional)

Instructions

Begin by peeling and boiling 3 medium-sized potatoes (about 10-12 oz total) in 4 1/4 cups of water until very soft.
Remove the potatoes, mash them thoroughly, and mix them with approximately 2 cups of wheat flour while still warm.
Pour the boiling cooking water (from the potatoes) over this potato-flour mixture and stir well to crate a thick batter.
Allow this to cool to a warm, but not hot temperature (about 98°F).
Dissolve one standard cake of fresh yeast (about 1.75 oz) in a little lukewarm water and add to the cooled dough.
Let this ferment overnight in a warm spot.
The next morning, add 1 cup (about 8 fl oz) of warm milk, mix well, and let rise again.
Then add another 4 1/4 cups of lukewarm water and enough wheat flour (about 8.5-10 cups more) to form a firm dough.
Allow to rise once again.
Shape into loaves, place in greased baking pans, and let rise a final time.
Bake at 400°F for about 30 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.

Estimated Calories

180 per serving

Cooking Estimates

You will need time for boiling and mashing potatoes, mixing and rising the dough several times, and baking. This bread takes some patience but rewards you with delicious, homemade loaves. Each slice is about 180 calories if you cut the bread into 24 slices.