{"id":8478,"date":"2026-10-19T23:32:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8478"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:50:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:50:46","slug":"kleinur","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/kleinur\/","title":{"rendered":"Kleinur"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kleinur are a fried pastry that, in Iceland, also accompanies everyday coffee. A slit is cut in the center of a diamond of dough, and when one end is passed through it once, the flat dough becomes a twisted, three-dimensional shape. The holes and grooves left in the golden crust are not made by pressing the dough into a mold; they come from passing one end of the dough through the slit. One piece is called a kleina; several are kleinur.<\/p>\n

\n\"A\n
An Icelandic kleina (December 8, 2007). The twist made by passing the end through the slit and the thickness of the fried dough are visible. Photo: Steinninn \u2668 \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. No alterations to the content or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

A dough made with tangy dairy, twisted and fried<\/h2>\n

The dough is made from wheat flour, sugar, eggs, dairy, fat and similar ingredients. J\u00f3n Eberhardt’s recipe (the ingredient proportions and method) combines sour cream and baking soda with milk or buttermilk, and is flavored with nutmeg and vanilla. What characterizes this dough is the combination of tangy dairy with an ingredient for leavening.<\/p>\n

Sour cream mixed with baking soda is added to the eggs and sugar, and then the milk and the dry ingredients are added alternately. The dough is brought together so that it is not too stiff but can still be rolled out and cut, and it is shaped only lightly on the work surface. Not adding too much flour and not continuing to mix vigorously help the inside turn out soft and tender when fried.<\/p>\n

The dough is rolled out a few millimeters thick and cut into strips, which are then cut diagonally into diamonds. A single lengthwise slit is made in the center, and when one end is passed through and pulled, both sides twist and a narrow opening remains. Besides a dedicated cutting wheel called a kleinuj\u00e1rn, tools such as a pizza cutter may also be used. Keeping the width and length uniform also helps the pieces cook evenly when fried.<\/p>\n

\"Cutting<\/p>\n

Cutting klejner, a related Danish pastry. The slit dough and a wave-edged tool are visible. Photo: fru_green, 2008-12-20, a related Danish pastry. Location unknown. Original image<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>. Original image, no additional processing.<\/p>\n

The pieces are placed in hot oil, turned partway through, and fried until golden on both sides. Animal fat was traditionally used, and today vegetable oil and similar fats may also be used. Once drained, each piece keeps the crunch of its thin edges and the softness of its slightly puffed, thicker center. Some people dust them with powdered sugar, but they are not covered with thick icing or cream; they are enjoyed with their holes and golden-brown color on view.<\/p>\n

\"Frying<\/p>\n

Frying klejner, a related pastry, in Holm, Denmark. Photo: Erik Christensen, 2014-12-06, Holm, Denmark. Original image<\/a> \/ CC BY 3.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version from the source. Any processing at the time of original publication is unknown; no additional processing this time.<\/p>\n

Two slits recorded in a cookbook from 1800<\/h2>\n

As S\u00f3lveig \u00d3lafsd\u00f3ttir and Gu\u00f0r\u00fan Hallgr\u00edmsd\u00f3ttir explain on the University of Iceland’s knowledge website, Magn\u00fas Stephensen’s cookbook of 1800 preserves an old printed recipe. In it, instead of a single slit in the center, two slits were made, one on each side of the center. Even under the same name, the way the pastry is shaped has changed over time.<\/p>\n

Old cutting wheels made of whale bone have also been recorded. The name has been linked to the German klein<\/em>, \u201csmall,\u201d which points to a connection with the fried-pastry traditions of northern and western Europe.<\/p>\n

\n\"Icelandic\n
Icelandic kleinur served on a plate (July 28, 2011; location unknown). Each elongated piece retains the grooves and opening from the twist. Photo: Icelandknight \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>. Full-size image obtained. No alterations to the content or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

A Norwegian festive pastry and an Icelandic everyday treat<\/h2>\n

Norwegian fattigmann is also a pastry made by passing one end through a slit. In a Christmas recipe from the dairy company TINE, egg yolks and sugar, whipped cream, cognac and spices are combined with whipped egg whites. The dough rests overnight in a cold place and is rolled out very thin before frying. Although its shape is close to that of kleinur, which use tangy dairy and baking soda, it differs in how air is incorporated and in the thickness of the dough.<\/p>\n

\n\"Cutting\n
Dough for fattigmann, a related Norwegian pastry, being rolled out and cut into diamonds (January 14, 2014; location unknown). This photo does not show Icelandic kleinur. Photo: Mycoleptodiscus \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>. Full-size image obtained. No alterations to the content or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

While the very similar pastry of the neighboring country is a Christmas treat, in modern Iceland kleinur became established as a pastry to accompany everyday coffee. Emigrants of the late 19th and early 20th centuries also carried this pastry into homes in Canada and the United States, where, along with v\u00ednarterta and others, it became a pastry that represented their homeland. In this way, the name and the method of kleinur were also handed down in the lives of those who settled abroad.<\/p>\n

An immigrant woman’s memories of learning to bake for guests<\/h2>\n

A 2010 study by anthropologist N\u00edna R\u00f3s \u00cdsberg records the memories of German women who moved to Iceland after the war. One described how there were coffee breaks again and again, even between meals, and how she kept making kleinur and other baked goods, contrasting this with her life in Germany, where cakes were baked on Sundays.<\/p>\n

Another woman recalled trying to adapt to the custom of preparing several kinds of baked goods for guests, and struggling until she could make this pastry well. Although these accounts come from interviews with a particular generation and region, they show concretely that making kleinur was not only a matter of preparing daily snacks but also a task learned in order to welcome people into the home.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

klejner<\/strong>: A related Danish fried pastry. One form is made by cutting a slit in diamond-shaped dough and passing an end through it to create a twist.<\/p>

\u2022 Kleinuj\u00e1rn<\/strong>: A dedicated cutting wheel for cutting kleinur dough.\n\u2022 Tangy dairy: Dairy products with a sour taste, such as sour cream and buttermilk. Combined with baking soda, they help the dough rise.\n\u2022 J\u00f3n Eberhardt: The person who provided a published recipe for kleinur.\n\u2022 N\u00edna R\u00f3s \u00cdsberg: An anthropologist who studied immigrant women and Icelandic home life through interviews.\n\u2022 Fattigmann: A thin, twisted fried pastry from Norway, also made at Christmas.\n\u2022 Magn\u00fas Stephensen: The author who recorded, in a cookbook from 1800, a method for making kleinur with two slits.\n\u2022 S\u00f3lveig \u00d3lafsd\u00f3ttir \/ Gu\u00f0r\u00fan Hallgr\u00edmsd\u00f3ttir: Writers who, on the University of Iceland’s knowledge website, introduce old records of the pastry and its spread into homes.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n

  1. \u2022 The university website’s explanation of medieval Denmark relies in part on an encyclopedia, so this article does not use it for the date when the Icelandic form emerged.<\/p><\/li>

  2. \u2022 J\u00f3n Eberhardt \/ Reykjav\u00edk Grapevine, \u201cMake Your Own Kleinur!\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Eggs and sugar with sour cream and baking soda; nutmeg and vanilla; twisting and turning in oil; powdered sugar.\n\u2022 N\u00edna R\u00f3s \u00cdsberg, \u201cMigration and Cultural Transmission,\u201d 2010<\/a> \u2014 Immigrant women’s recollections of coffee gatherings and making kleinur, printed pp. 186 and 201\u2013203.\n\u2022 TINE, \u201cFattigmann\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Christmas; egg yolks, whipped cream and egg whites; cognac; resting at a low temperature and thin shaping.<\/p><\/li>

  3. \u2022 S\u00f3lveig \u00d3lafsd\u00f3ttir and Gu\u00f0r\u00fan Hallgr\u00edmsd\u00f3ttir, \u201cHva\u00f0an eru kleinur upprunnar?\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The two slits in the 1800 recipe, the etymology from klein, the pastry’s place in everyday life, and its continuation among emigrants to North America.<\/p><\/li>

  4. \u2022 Editorial note: The whale-bone cutting wheels predating the 1800 recipe are based on the university website’s account. Old tools or related Nordic forms alone are not taken as evidence that the present Icelandic form was complete by the 14th century.<\/p><\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Kleinur are a twisted fried pastry beloved in Iceland. Thinly rolled dough is cut into diamonds or similar shapes, and one end is passed through a slit in the center before frying. The golden surface retains the grooves of the twist and the hole in the center. One piece is called a kleina and several are called kleinur, and the distinctive shape is known together with the name.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7538,"menu_order":249,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Kleinur","subtitle":"A twisted fried pastry made by passing one end through a slit in a diamond of dough","topics":"A soft dough of dairy and eggs \/ Passed once through the slit \/ Turned in the oil until golden","country":"Iceland","show_toc":true,"ingredients":["spice","egg"],"texture":[],"occasion":[],"method":["fried"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[169],"class_list":["post-8478","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"auto","sweetlore_related_articles":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t