Bothell woman bakes braided bread, other Scandinavian treats

Joyce Sieben’s home sits in an average north Bothell cul-de-sac.

But inside, the furnishings, light and prints of Swedish artist Carl Larrson paintings makes one sense this is a Scandinavian home.

And that is especially so when Sieben is baking her signature Swedish cardamom bread.

This beautiful braided buttery bread appeals to many Snohomish and King county people of Scandinavian descent. Her fans often tell Sieben stories about how their elders served coffee — fika (a social style) — with such sweet breads.

Sieben, 50, of Swedish descent, started selling her breads and cookies about five years ago under the name Svea. It’s a girl’s name in Sweden, and it means, well, “Swede.”

“I have three boys, so I wanted a female name for my company,” she said.

A violinist, Sieben listens to classical music as she prepares the dough. She grinds her own cardamom and adds it to her yeast bread recipe. An egg wash is used to get the perfect golden color and the crust owes its crunch to a thin layer of crystal sugar.

Cardamom — an aromatic, primarily East Indian spice — has a distinctive flavor that some describe as resinous and smoky and others say is a bit like mint. It is a common spice in Scandinavian cooking, especially in Sweden and Finland, where it is used in traditional treats such as jule bread, kardemummabullar sweet bun and the sweet bread pulla — because many people pull the braided loaves apart instead of slicing the bread.

Herbs are part of her repertoire, too. One of her favorite recipes is a butter cookie flavored with lemon zest and rosemary.

“My target audience for the cardamom bread and the cookies are Scandinavians because so many people remember their grandparents baking like this,” Sieben said. “And it brings back their childhoods.”

Her mother, Joanne Wahlquist, 80, raised Sieben on Mercer Island and taught her the art of baking Scandinavian cookies. Wahlquist still bakes, and now enjoys being part of her daughter’s Svea company.

The cardamom bread is available on a regular basis only at the Old Ballard Liquor Co. and Tasting Room Cafe in Seattle. See www.oldballardliquorco.com or call (206) 858-8010. Order by noon Thursday for Friday pickup weekly. The shop is located at 4421 Shilshole Ave. NW.

Sieben also attends Scandinavian festivals throughout the region, so mark your calendar now because on June 25 at St. Edward State Park in Kenmore, she plans to sell bread, cookies and other goodies during Skandia Midsommarfest (tinyurl.com/k9969wa). And on Nov. 4 Sieben will be at the annual bake sale sponsored by the Bothell Sons of Norway, (bothellsonsofnorway.org). Or you can try emailing Sieben for a special order at sveabreads@outlook.com.

At Old Ballard, the menu says of the Svea bread: “You should seriously order this. You have no idea how good it is.”

Sieben laughs at the compliment.

“But seriously, if you are going to do something, do it the best you can,” Sieben said. “My family has been so encouraging about all of this, but I give the credit for any success to the Lord.”

Because most people shy away from baking yeast breads, Sieben decided instead to share with readers a recipe for a fruit crumble. Fruit, either fresh or preserved, is a part of most Scandinavian meals.

Apple crumble can be served for breakfast, during a fika coffee break or as a dessert, Sieben said.

Swedish apple crumble

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 10-inch pie dish.

4 to 5 sweet apples — such as gala — peeled, cored and chopped into bite-size pieces

¾ cup brown sugar

⅔ cup flour

1 (generous) teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup oats

6 tablespoons butter

Combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and oats, mix well. Add the butter, using a knife to cut it into the dry ingredients, and leaving some chunks.

Place apples in dish, gently sprinkle the topping over the apples.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until apples bubble a bit. Don’t over bake. Apples that still have a bit of crunch are good.

Allow to cool a bit before adding the vanilla sauce.

Swedish vanilla sauce

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

2 large egg yolks

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup skim milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in 2-quart sauce pan.

In a bowl, whisk together egg yolk, cream and milk. Beat, then pour into the saucepan.

Continue beating over low heat until sauce is smooth and thick. (Do not boil.)

Remove sauce from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into bowl, cover with plastic wrap that touches the surface of the sauce. Refrigerate.

Spoon over the crumble when ready.

Joyce Sieben’s Scandinavian baked goods, which include cinnamon rolls, cardamom bread, lemon-rosemary butter cookies and apple crumble, is sold under the name Svea, a traditional Swedish girl’s name. Ian Terry, The Herald