Sklandrausis

Sklandrausis is a small, round pie made in Kurzeme, in western Latvia. Inside a raised rim of gray-brown rye dough, it is filled with potato on the bottom and carrot on top. Once baked, the orange carrot layer is surrounded by the rye rim like a fence. It is a sweet that makes use of the natural sweetness of vegetables and is eaten after it has cooled, with tea or milk. The two kinds of vegetables layered in the rye dough differ in both color and flavor.

A shallow rye vessel made without fermentation

In the basic recipe (the ingredient proportions and method), the outer part is an unfermented dough of rye flour combined with hot water, fat such as butter, and salt. It is rolled out thin and cut into rounds, and the edges are raised with the fingers. Some methods add a small amount of wheat flour to make the dough easier to roll out. The result is a shallow vessel firm enough that its rim does not collapse.

Under the traditional specification, the finished product measures about 8–14 centimeters in diameter. Even when the dough is rolled as thin as about 2–3 millimeters, raising the rim all the way around keeps the filling from spilling out.

The name divides into two parts, skland- and rausis. The former is an old Kurzeme word for a fence or slope, and here it corresponds to the raised rim. The latter is a word for pie, and it has been explained as related to the verb raust, meaning to rake together the ashes or embers of a hearth. The handwork of raising the rim and baking at the hearth survives in the name as well.

Layering carrot over potato

Potatoes are boiled and mashed, combined with salt, fat, cream, and the like, and spread over the base. On top of that, boiled and mashed carrots combined with sugar, sour cream, and so on are layered. The two vegetables are not mixed together; the order of potato below and carrot above is maintained.

The cross-section shows thin gray-brown dough, pale potato, and yellowish-orange carrot. The base has a well-baked firmness, while the filling is soft and contains fine air pockets. When it is eaten, the bread-like flavor of the rye lingers, and the sweetness of the carrot comes through as well.

Sklandrausis. The raised rim surrounds the orange vegetable layer. Photo: Denis tarasov, 2011-08-04, location unknown. Original image / CC BY-SA 3.0. Downscaled version from the distributing site; no additional processing.

Making sklandrausis. Dough vessels are filled and lined up beside a table with a rolling pin and flour on it. Photo: Liga Eglite, 2013-11-16, location unknown. Original image / CC BY 2.0. Downscaled version from the distributing site. Whether any processing was done at the time of original publication is unknown; no additional processing this time.

Finishing with sour cream and spices

In some methods, the baked surface is spread with sour cream mixed with sugar and sprinkled with cinnamon or caraway. When the topping includes egg, it is finished with further baking. The sweetness of the carrot, the tang of the dairy, and the aroma of the spices add to the flavors of the two vegetable layers.

Sklandrausis lined up on a baking sheet. The rims of the brown vessels and the browned filling are visible. Photo: Aivar Ruukel, 2014-10-17, location unknown. Original image / CC BY 2.0. Downscaled version from the distributing site; no additional processing.

From rye dough baked in embers to the addition of two vegetable layers

This pie changed from an older form, rye dough baked in the embers of a hearth, into its current form with layered vegetables. Carrot cultivation is said to have arrived in the 16th century and potatoes in the 17th century, and both are said to have become widely grown among peasants in the 19th century. Today’s two layers of white and orange are the form that emerged after these later-arriving vegetables took root on rural tables.

An 1893 record introduced by the National Encyclopedia of Latvia describes a method in which barley flour mixed with sour milk is poured onto stiffly kneaded rye dough and topped with boiled turnip or carrot combined with milk or cream. The two layers of potato and carrot were not always the one unchanging form.

Slices handed out at Easter, and a likeness to the sun

This sweet is also tied to the food culture of the Livs and has been handed down throughout Kurzeme. Memories also remain of making it for harvest festivals, Easter, Christmas, and other occasions. The raised rim also connects to the structure of old hearth baking, keeping the contents from spilling into the fire.

Liv recollections of Easter include an example of slices of this pie being handed out, along with other treats, after the Easter song ritual. The round orange shape has also been likened to the sun celebrated at the winter and summer solstices. It is not merely a snack of sweetened vegetables but a sweet that has also had a place on tables for harvests and annual festivities.

In Dundaga, in Kurzeme, events centered on this sweet have also been held. The announcement for the 2023 festival advertised tastings of sklandrausis by makers from across Kurzeme and workshops for learning how to bake it. It is an event for encountering the flavors of each locality and passing on how the sweet is made.

Differences in vegetable preparation, and a system that protects traditional characteristics

In households, the method has been varied to suit the ingredients on hand. Some replace part of the potato with raw grated potato squeezed of its water, and some grate the carrots and use them raw. Semolina is added as needed to adjust the density. The softness of the filling is not uniform. While keeping the characteristics of round rye dough, a raised rim, and vegetable layers, each household can vary the method.

In 2013, it was registered at the European level as a traditional speciality. This is not a format that protects only the name of a place of origin, but a scheme that preserves traditional characteristics such as the dough, the layering of the vegetables, and the shape. Before it is cut, the orange surface stands out; after it is cut, the white potato layer appears, and the rye dough and the two kinds of locally grown vegetables can be told apart.

Glossary