Loffes original

Origin

According to Tunnbrödsrullens Vänner, the first flatbread roll appeared at Loffes grill in Stuvsta sometime around 1965. Elov "Loffe" Bråtfors had run his sausage kiosk since 18:00 on 5 October 1963, and is believed to have been the first to install a mashed potato machine in the early 1960s.

Loffes Grill

A miniature replica of Loffes Grill in Långsjöparkens playground. Loffes Grill, located at Stuvstatorget 12, opened at 18:00 on October 5th, 1963 by Loffe and his wife Anneli. According to many sources, Elov "Loffe" Bråtfors invented the tunnbrödsrulle at Loffes Grill sometime in the 1960s (1965 according to the Friends of the Tunnbrödsrulle). The kiosk's sign was painted by Loffe's wife Anneli. Loffes Grill was also likely the first to introduce a mashed potato machine. In 1987, the kiosk was renovated and took on its final appearance — the one depicted in the miniature. During its final years the kiosk was mostly run by daughter Maria and son Tomas. The family sold the kiosk in 2016, and chose not to carry the name "Loffes Grill" forward. The premises now operate as Daisy's Stuvsta. In 2017, the municipality honoured Loffes Grill by erecting a miniature on the playground not far from Stuvsta torg. The Friends of the Tunnbrödsrulle have recognized the establishment as the birthplace of the tunnbrödsrulle.

Loffe's roots in Tornedalen, where soft flatbread is common in the local diet, together with his new mashed potato machine, likely provided the cross-disciplinary background needed for him to come up with the idea of the flatbread roll — where these key ingredients came together in a wonderful symphony.

What we know about the flatbread rolls that Loffe served is based on Elov's own memories from this time, as reported in the media. We have since researched documentation from the period, as well as compiled material about the era, to put together a speculative article about what we can assume Loffe's original flatbread roll may have looked like.

From what we have been told, the earliest flatbread roll consisted of flatbread, mashed potato, sausage, Boston pickle, ketchup and mustard.

The Flatbread

Unfortunately we have no information about which flatbreads were available in the 1960s. The only thing we know for certain is that the soft Rieska flatbread was very common in Tornedalen, but that does not of course mean that was where Loffe sourced them.

According to his daughter Maria, different brands were used over time, but no one knows for certain what was used in 1965.

Hopefully research will catch up in this area as well.

The Mashed Potato

Since there was a mashed potato machine in the kiosk, we can assume the mash was of the instant variety, likely made from powder and water as this was most common at the time. The most common seasoning was dill, but it was also very common to use one's own seasoning to stand out from the competition. We now know (December 2021), thanks to his daughter Maria, that Loffe seasoned his mash with salt and white pepper.

Note that thanks to Loffe's son Tomas, we know that instant potato pearls were used early on, but we do not yet know whether this was the case in 1965.

Håkan Söder

Founder of Tunnbrödsrullens Vänner ("Friends of the flatbread roll")

We do not know for certain whether this was Loffe's first mashed potato machine, but while studying photos of the kiosk that were published in the media, Håkan Söder (December 2021) noticed that the mashed potato machine looks just like a Bergboms SM6V.

The Sausage

As for the sausage, boiled sausage was still somewhat more common than grilled in the 1960s... so in the absence of better information on the matter, we choose to assume boiled sausage. Of course, this is pure speculation!

Grilled sausage broke through in the 1960s, so it is far from impossible that Loffe had room for a grill in his relatively newly built kiosk (which was also built in line with the 1962 "kiosk guidelines", which set requirements that meant somewhat larger kiosks had to be built).

We know, based on the book "Korv, Mos och Människor" by Leif Eriksson, that at that time the most common boiled sausages were of the frankfurter or wiener type, so assuming it was boiled sausage that Loffe served in his flatbread rolls in 1965, it is highly likely that it was one of these types.

In conversations (December 2021) with his daughter Maria, it emerged that grilled sausage was also an option in the kiosk in 1965.

Dead-ends

In the work to identify which sausage supplier Loffes had at the time, we have so far been able to rule out Solna Korv, as they did not have Loffes as a customer at that time.

Lithells has not been able to find any record in their files indicating that Loffes was a customer.

Boston Pickle

Today's Boston pickle is nearly identical to the Boston pickle of that era, something that Felix themselves confirm.

The Mustard

Mustard has been used in Sweden since time immemorial, and is probably the condiment that a kiosk owner can most easily modify to give their flatbread roll a unique flavour.

During the 1960s, Slotts original mustard was by far the most common mustard. The mustard is based on a recipe from 1920 that many people enjoy, and the recipe is more or less unchanged to this day.

But Loffe initially used a different mustard, Hultbergs (according to his daughter Maria). Hultbergs mustard was also very popular, and although it did not have quite as large a market share as Slotts, it still has a devoted following to this day

"Hultbergs mustard was first sold by sausage vendors with a tray strapped to their chest out on the streets. Customers would bring their own jar to buy mustard directly from the vendor, and the mustard became so popular that it started being sold in shops!"
- Kavli on Hultbergs mustard

Hultbergs was acquired by Druvans in the 1980s. Druvans was subsequently acquired by Kavli.

Unfortunately Kavli have no recipes saved from before the acquisition, but they have examined the packaging in their museum and concluded that Hultbergs Mild should be the closest in terms of ingredients.

The Ketchup

In 1965, ketchup was commonly found in buckets, tins or plastic bottles. The ketchup of that era contained more thickeners, preservatives, sugar and spices than today's versions, which can make it difficult to find a ketchup that tastes similar to the original.

Another complicating factor is that the ketchup in kiosks often had poor packaging, which caused the ketchup to oxidise and become slightly darker in colour with a caramelised flavour.

According to his daughter Maria, Loffe originally used Bjäre Ketchup in his kiosk.

Bjäre ketchup is no longer in production, but we hope to be able to obtain their recipe.

In the Business Archive of Skåne, the following advertisement from 1961 was found, featuring Bjäre Ketchup.

In the lower right corner of the image above, the ketchup bottle can be seen in the middle of the 3 containers.

A member of the Facebook group Tunnbrödsrullens Vänner shares the following memory of Bjäre ketchup:

"My father sold Bjäre ketchup in the 70s and possibly also early 80s. He worked for Novia/Unilever and sold Blå Band products, but to large kitchens such as schools, hospitals etc. The brand name was then Vato. He also sold MER, Merry, Lift and Bjäre jams and ketchup. It was quite mild and fairly sweet as I remember."
- LG Larsson

When Bjäre Ketchup was discontinued, Loffe switched to Felix ketchup.

Unfortunately Felix does not have a variant of their ketchup with exactly the same recipe as the one from the 1960s.

The Rolling

Since the oldest known rolling technique is the so-called the fold method we can probably conclude that this was most likely what was used here as well. In photos published in the media where Loffe is rolling a flatbread roll, Håkan Söder has observed that Loffe turned the rounded part of the crescent-shaped flatbread toward the body, which should ensure that the shape was a short roll rather than a cone.

Recipe

Below is a recipe that we believe resembles the original as closely as possible. The recipe is adapted for the end consumer to prepare in a regular kitchen and is sized for 2 rolls.

Ingredients

Flatbread

• 2 large soft flatbreads

Sausage

• 2 boiled sausages (frankfurter or wiener)

alternatively

• grilled sausage (type currently unknown)

Mashed Potato

There are a number of manufacturers of instant mashed potato. Worth mentioning in this context is that Felix has a variety they call "Traditional". Perhaps it is close to the original?

• instant mashed potato
• salt
• white pepper

Accompaniments

• Store-bought or homemade Boston pickle

Topping

• Hultbergs mustard (alternatively Slotts original mustard)
• Bjäre Ketchup (alternatively Felix)

Instructions

Prepare the mashed potato

1. Bring water to the boil according to the instructions on the instant mashed potato packaging
2. Add an amount of powder according to the manufacturer's instructions corresponding to approximately four kiosk ladles of mashed potato.
3. Season the mash with salt and white pepper.

Prepare the Boston Pickle

The dedicated enthusiast can follow Ambassador Videgård's instructions for homemade Boston pickle. Otherwise a store-bought jar works just fine.

Erik Videgård

Erik Videgård, ambassador for Tunnbrödsrullens Vänner ("Friends of the Flatbread Roll"), perhaps best known as a star chef and owner of several reputable restaurants. Author of several cooking and food-related books. Has confessed on several occasions that Tunnbrödsrullen is his guilty pleasure among Swedish comfort food. Creator of several epic flatbread rolls.

Assemble the flatbread roll

1. On the large flatbread place the equivalent of 2 kiosk scoops of mashed potato
2. Place the sausage on top of the mash and press it halfway down into the mash
3. Place Boston pickle equivalent to one kiosk scoop on top of the sausage and mash.
4. Drizzle the mustard over the topping
5. Drizzle the ketchup on top

Roll the flatbread roll

Roll up the roll using the fold method.

Sources

• The inventor of the flatbread roll sells classic grill kiosk — Thank you Loffe, for 53 years in Stuvsta!
• Facebook group Tunnbrödsrullens Vänner
• The creator of the flatbread roll is celebrated at Stuvsta square
• The Kiosk in Our Hearts
• Loffe has fed stomachs – for half a century
• Loffes grill in Stuvsta is back — as a playground
• "Korv, mos och människor", by Leif Eriksson
• Conversations with producers such as Felix and Slotts
• Facebook-gruppen LOFFES GRILL 50 ÅR
• Daughter Maria who worked in the kiosk
• Son Tomas who worked in the kiosk
• LG Larsson, member of the Facebook group Tunnbrödsrullens Vänner.
• Kavli marketing department

Further Research

Much remains to be explored about the original flatbread roll. Facebook groups may have some answers, as may old photos and newspaper articles.

• What type of flatbread did Loffe use? Is the manufacturer still in business?
• What types of sausage were available to choose from? Which manufacturers?
• What was the most common drink to order with a flatbread roll?