Swedish Dill Bread

August 01, 2026

Swedish Dill Bread

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Dill has been cultivated in Swedish gardens since Medieval times. The name comes from the Old Norse dilla, (ᛏᛁᛚᛚᛅ in Younger Futhark), which means to soothe or to calm. Predictably, the herb was used as a medicinal infusion to aid sleep and soothe ailments.

These days, dill is central to Nordic summer cooking. It features in dishes such as gravlax, pickled herring, crayfish and is often served with boiled new potatoes.

During the height of the Scandinavian migration to the United States (19th and early 20th centuries), many Swedes settled in the Midwest, particularly in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Back home, in their native Sweden, much of the bread they baked was dense, hearty flatbreads or crispbreads, based on rye flour. Wheat was a luxury grain in rural Sweden. Suddenly, they were presented with a massive abundance of cheap, refined wheat flour and dairy products.

Swedish-American home cooks started merging traditional flavour components, including dill weed and minced onion and Svenskt Dillbröd became familiar and popular.

The definitive Swedish Dill bread we're baking here emerged during the post-Second World War home-baking movement (1950s, 1960s).

Bakers discovered that adding cottage cheese to bread weakened the gluten structures to produce a soft, pillow-like dough. The moisture in the cheese enabled the dough to last for days, and the earthy taste of dill countered the lactic acid tang from the cheese.

Swedish Dill bread is best served with smoked fish, cream cheese, capers, hearty soups and stews.

A note on the ingredients.

If you can't find cottage cheese, then a block of cream cheese is a good substitute.
Likewise, if you cannot source fresh dill, then fennel (the herb, not the root) is ideal.
Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) is not here as a leavening agent. It is to neutralise the lactic acid in the cottage cheese.
Flour: If you use All-Purpose flour, you may need more flour to develop a soft and silky dough than if you use strong bread flour. Start with less flour than you really need (e.g. 350 gms) and then add more little by little during the kneading process. The dough will start off quite heavy and sticky, but if you persist and carefully add the flour, you'll find that the dough will become soft and silky.

INGREDIENTS

7 gms of instant active yeast

60 gms warm water

225 gms cottage cheese

25 gms granulated white sugar

10 gms fresh dill weed, chopped finely

40 gms fresh brown (sometimes called yellow) onion - finely minced

5 gms fine sea salt

¼ teaspoon (1.5 gms) bicarbonate of soda (sometimes called baking soda)

15 gms unsalted butter (softened)

1 egg (55 gms) beaten

Between 350 gms and 420 gms of strong white bread flour (or All-Purpose)

(optional: 5 gms dill seeds - or caraway or fennel, depending on what you have to hand)

METHOD

Add the yeast to the water and set aside to allow the yeast to start foaming.

Mix the cheese, egg and sugar together and then blend in the butter, onion, dill, salt, bicarbonate of soda and finally, the flour, incorporating the yeast mixture as you go. You can now add the optional dill seeds as well.

Bring everything together into a rough mixture and then start to knead. You will need to continue kneading for between 8 and 15 minutes, adding a little more flour as necessary or adding a little more water as necessary until a soft and silky dough forms.

Now, transfer the dough to a lightly-oiled bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for about an hour until the dough has doubled in volume.

When the dough is ready, tip it out onto a lightly-floured surface and de-gas / knock back to remove the gases. Shape the dough for either a 23 x 13 (cm) / 9 x 5 (ins) loaf tin or something that would accommodate the same quantity of dough. You can also use this dough for rolls. I tend to use smaller loaf tins so that the finished loaf can be enjoyed with a meal with friends, rather than being too large for a specific use.

Prepare the containers and add the dough. Cover and leave until almost doubled. If you're using a loaf pan, the key is to half-fill the pan with dough and wait until the dough's shoulders reach the top of the pan. The dome will be about 2 cms above the top of the pan. It's now ready for the oven.

Preheat the oven to 180⁰C (Conventional) 356⁰F for 30 - 35 minutes. The top crust should be a deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped underneath.