Kalakukko

KALAKUKKO

Ingredients:
***filling***
2 pounds Fish, small
1 1/2 pound Pork, sliced into strips like bacon, but about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick
3 tablespoons Salt (omit if the pork is alreadysalted)
Allspice (optional)
***dough***
2 1/2 cups Water
3 1/4 cups Rye flour, sifted
1 3/4 cup Wheat flour, sifted
4 teaspoons Salt
1/2 ounce Yeast

***Directions***
Clean the fish, removingfins, large scales and entrails. You may leave the heads if you dare to eat them.
Mix the flours and salt. Add the yeast to the water. When the yeast is fully dissolved, make a thick dough bypouring flour mixture into water and blending well. The ratio of flour to water depends on the nature of the flours. This ratio of 1:2 by volume works well in Finland with Finnish flours. Where flourscontain more gluten you should use slightly less water.

Set aside about 4 T of dough to be used later. Roll out the remaining dough into a circular shape about 3/4 inch thick.
Assemble the meatsinto the dough: cover the inner half of the dough circle with half of the pork (the pork should cover a circle whose diameter is half the diameter of the rolled dough). Then put all of the fish overtop of the pork, and add allspice and extra salt if you are using them. Finish with the second half of the pork.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Lift the edges of the dough all around the filling andglue together with a little water so that you have the filling surrounded from all directions with about 3/4-inch-thick dough. Put upside down (the seam downwards) on a baking sheet and let it riseabout half an hour at room temperature.
Put the kalakukko in a 500 degree F. oven for long enough to brown the dough, which will seal it against moisture. Then lower the temperature to about 250degrees F. and let it bake for 4 to 7 hours depending on the size of the fish (bigger fish need more cooking time). You can brush some melted butter over the top of the dough just after lowering the...