Pine Bark Bread ~ Traditional Scandinavian Recipe (2024)
Summary
According to Nordic Food Lab, though pine outer bark is not calorie-rich, it does “contain condensed tannins called procyanidins that are being researched for potential health benefits. Similarly, Nordic Food lab notes that “The phloem of the pine is rich in ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), which during the 1800s helped the Sami of the interior of Norway and Sweden avoid the scurvy that was at the time devastating the coastal populations of non-Sami farmers.” Again, the flour from the inner bark, similar to the flour from the outer bark, was not just a famine food. Starting with a very wet batter and yeast starter, increasing amounts of rye and pine bark flour are added to the dough each day. The author ofA Boreal Herbal notes, “The inner bark (cambium layer) has long been used as a survival food and can also be eaten in raw slices. As fermentation begins, the dough can be cooked as a camp bread or as dumplings, the sweet wood pulp acts as a sugar for the yeast in the rye.” So there you have it, yet another way to eat a pine tree.