Flavors · Finland

ruisleipä

Dark, dense, sour bread made from whole rye flour and natural fermentation, formed round, with or without a hole, or dried. It appears at almost every meal and was chosen as Finland’s national food in a 2017 public vote.

Traditional dish from Finland

Also known as: ruisleivät, reikäleipä, jälkiuunileipä, rågbröd

Updated November 2026

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ruisleipä — Finland

Ruisleipä is made from whole rye flour, water, salt and a sour rye starter that’s kept from one bake to the next. It contains no wheat, or very little, so it’s dark, heavy and moist with an acidic taste. Visit Finland calls rye the national carbohydrate: each Finn consumes more than 13 kg per year. The grain is mainly grown in the south and west of the country.

There are several forms of ruisleipä. The round, low loaf is the most common in bakeries. Reikäleipä, the bread with a hole, has a hole in the middle—a legacy of when loaves were hung on poles under the ceiling to dry and last for months. Jälkiuunileipä is baked in the residual heat of a wood-fired oven until it becomes very hard and dark. Crisp dried breads are also made from rye.

In 2017, the year of Finland’s centenary of independence, the ELO Foundation, which promotes Finnish food culture, together with the rural union MTK and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, organized a national-food selection. Nearly 50,000 people took part, and ruisleipä won among the finalists, especially popular with younger voters. There is also a rye bread day at the end of February.

How Finns eat it: in thin slices, with butter, cheese, cold cuts or smoked fish, for breakfast, lunch and snacks. In lunch restaurants and buffets, a basket of ruisleipä often comes with any dish, and it is the usual companion to salmon soup.

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Where it comes from

Finland
Ruisleipä is eaten throughout the country and was chosen as Finland’s national food.

Ingredients

Whole rye flour, water, salt and rye sourdough starter.

How it is eaten

In thin slices, with butter and cheese, cold cuts or smoked fish; served with soups and meals.

When it is eaten

Every day, at every meal.

Your questions

Questions about ruisleipä

What is Finland’s national food?

Ruisleipä, a dark, sour rye bread chosen in a 2017 public vote held during the centenary of independence, organized by the ELO Foundation with the rural union MTK and the Ministry of Agriculture.

What is reikäleipä?

Rye bread with a hole in the middle. The hole was used to hang loaves on poles under the ceiling, where they dried and lasted for months.

How do Finns eat rye bread?

In thin slices, with butter, cheese, cold cuts or smoked fish, at any meal. In lunch restaurants it is often served in a basket with the dish.

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