'Leivasupp' or just sweet rye bread soup

At least this is what it's called in Estonia, although it's not really a soup. But what it is, is a childhood memory. My mother would never ever ever eat or even worse - make - leivasupp (one of the few things I don't understand about her), so you can imagine my immeasurable happiness when granny first taught me the trick. So HOLD ON - secret family recipe!
Oh who am I kidding, that's so easy anyone could make it!


I LOVE this dish. It's healthy, it's Estonian, it's really simple, it's fast, it's delicious. Yes, maybe I was very little myself, but I remember how granny used to have a HUGE bowl full of leivasupp when she made it and I mean HUGE. I usually make a small batch, it's a perfect way to use up rye bread. Sometimes I'm in the mood for fine-, sometimes for wholemeal rye bread. Seeds and nuts are quite compulsory ingredients for me, so I'll throw in a handful of them too if there's none in the bread already. This recipe should be taken as a guideline, as l always just throw the ingredients together.


Leivasupp - a sweet rye bread dessert
(3-4 servings)

150 g rye bread
3-4 dl water
1 tbsp semolina
3 tbsp sugar
nuts, seeds, raisins, dried fruit (optional)
milk, whipped cream or jam for serving

1. Let the bread soak in water for some time (It's very comfortable to soak it overnight and boil for breakfast) or start making the dessert right away. If you want to do it the fast way, just crumble the bread into water, add semolina and sugar (and raisins-seeds-nuts if you wish) and boil until almost smooth (it will take a little more than 10 minutes, but it will take even less time if you've soaked the bread)
2. Serve warm or cold, together with milk, jam or whipped cream.

The dessert will firm a bit when it's cooled down and that's the way I like it the most. Although the first serving for me is always warm, suppose I'm just lousy at waiting:) (as you can see from the picture too) .The pure taste of rye bread is what makes this dish so wonderful. I've tried adding cinnamon (which was nice) and I've tried adding vanilla (and I love vanilla in everything, but it ruined the taste for me in this dessert). I guess adding traditions to this dish is the component that really makes it work.