Trivia about the Thinbread Roll's Thinbread
An important component of a flatbread roll is of course its bread, which is not only an ingredient but also serves as packaging for the dish.
The Swedish flatbread is an unleavened thin bread that was traditionally based on barley or oat flour, but in the modern style is usually based on wheat or rye flour. The most common flatbread in our grill kiosks is based on wheat.
You can find more information about flatbread and its history at Tunnbrödsakademin (the flatbread academy).
The flatbread roll bread is traditionally a crescent-shaped or rectangular flatbread that is folded and/or rolled up into either a roll or more or less cone-shaped flatbread roll.
The traditional half-round shape probably comes from the fact that the bread was traditionally prepared on round, shield-like plates made of metal ink.
If you can't get hold of soft Swedish flatbread, pita, lavash or gyro bread usually works as a substitute.
Wholesale stores often have large so-called "sausage flatbreads". If you don't have such a shop in your vicinity, baking your own flat bread also works perfectly, of course.
Sometimes the expression "double fried" is used for the process of frying the thinbread with butter. This means that the thinbread was fried the first time when it was baked and then again on the grilling table.
Before rolling
Fried and Buttered
Sometimes it happens that the flatbreads have been at the kiosk for so long that they have started to get a little dry. A dry flatbread is difficult to roll as it is difficult to shape and often cracks. If the bread cracks, the contents run the risk of spilling out. You therefore usually fry the bread with a little butter to soften it. The same technique is often used if the bread has been stored a little too cold, so it does not necessarily mean that the bread is old when the kiosk does this.
Over time, the buttered bread has become very popular as it has been shown to provide an increased taste experience, which is why many flatbread roll fans ask the kiosk to add butter when the flatbread is heated, even if the bread is freshly baked.
Usually, the fried surface is presented outwards when the roll is assembled.
Spread with browned butter
Browning the butter gives a different taste experience that is also appreciated by many.
Seasoned
Some kiosks have become known for also adding spices, especially barbecue seasoning (which is common in barbecue kiosks) when they heat the bread with butter to enhance the taste experience and differentiate themselves from other kiosks' thin bread rolls.
As an example, in Videgård's "Jubileumsrullen", the flatbread is seasoned with garlic and lemon buter.
Double fried
A variation where you first fry the flatbread in butter and then let it rest while the rest of the accessories are prepared. The flatbread is then fried again before assembly. Gives a very well-fried flatbread with an increased taste experience.
The custom probably has its origins in the fact that fried flatbread has become so popular that you simply have to adapt the process to keep up with all the customers in the kiosks.
Rolling
Roll
A flatbread roll shaped like a roll, has been folded and then rolled. In traditional rolls, however, actual rolling is usually omitted. You then get a straighter shape on your roll and avoid that the contents can flow out at the bottom at the same time. the roll gets a more stable shape and it is easier to distribute the contents along the length of the roll, which is considered by many to be well-executed packaging as you can get all the ingredients in each bite.
Cone
A flatbread roll shaped like a cone leads to a looser packing of the ingredients and there is usually a need for a plastic cup or similar at the end of the cone to ensure that the contents of the flatbread roll do not spill out.
You can read more about rolling here.
Producers
The two largest producers of large flatbreads are Polarbröd and Korvbrödsbagaren.
Polarbröd
Polarbröd ("Polar bread") has a long history of baking large flatbreads. At the end of the 80s, they released their large rectangular flatbreads. under the name "sausage flatbread". As part of the introduction campaign, in collaboration with AB Slotts, an event was held for sausage kiosk owners and other "Fast Food" restaurants, where they learned how to make flatbread rolls with hot dogs and mashed potatoes with accessories. Polarbröd assisted with advertising material, e.g. a greaseproof paper pocket with Polar bread advertising and even a tool for price calculation for the finished roll.
At the end of 1990, the larger half-round and milk-free flatbread was launched as "sausage flatbread" which is intended to be used for flatbread rolls in kiosks around the country.
There were plans to release Korvrtunnbrödet to end consumers, but all that had to be put aside after the fire at the bakery in Älvsbyn in 2020.
Korvbrödsbagarn
Korvbrödsbagaren ("The sausage bread baker") is owned by Lantmännen Unibake and supplies both rectangular and crescent-shaped flatbreads. The sausage bread baker has a long history of making sausage bread for the Swedish market, while thin bread production is a relatively new phenomenon.
Rättviks tunnbrödbageri
Rättviks tunnbrödbageri ("Rättviks flatbread bakery") manufactures, among other things, a traditional soft flatbread from Siljansbygden in Dalarna, of the variety Tuttul (also called, among other things, Tult, Strut, Bitå or Läfsa), which was used for flatbread rolls in Dalarna in the past.
Bergli bröd
From the family bakery Bergli bröd ("Bergli bread") comes the Rälta flatbread, which they have baked since 1997. The flatbread is rectangular and each sheet is enough for two normal-sized flatbread rolls.
Bullerbyns Boende & Tunnbröd
Bullerbyns ("The noisy village") built their baker's hut in May 2022 and opened the bakery in June. Bakes thin bread according to a recipe from Ångermanland that is sold in the farm shop. Also offers courses in flatbread baking.
Recipe
Kiosks that stand out for their good bread
The following five kiosks have the best bread according to our users: