The Blissfulness of Buying Bread

Borrowed from my friend Katharina's blog http://1234viisi.wordpress.com/1-2/
A lovely outdoor baking event which I participated. This is a rieska, not made by me, hyvä means good.
The rieska-s I bought from the shop were all being swallowed too soon. no photo

Usually, buying bread in Finland is a boring and mechanical process. There are no bakeries along the street from where you can sniff and trail the inviting smell of the freshly baked breads. You miss the pure enjoyment derived from the manner of purchasing bread. 

From the very beginning, the essence lingering on the street leads you to the bakery doorstep and your anticipation has built up bits by bits. Then, you find out there is a challenge lying.ahead, waiting for you, a.k.a. selection dilemma when you are overwhelmed by the vast collection of good-looking pastries and breads. Your senses and mind are completely immersed in the bakery. After a hard time of choosing, re-choosing and questioning yourself, you finally grab your wallet and decide to pay, while head tilted, looking around for the last second (especially the piece you have not chosen). In the end, you receive your bag and head out, heart pounding. You simply do not want to wait for one more second. All you want is to devour/ have a bite of/ taste the yumm(ies).

NO!

This is not the Finnish scene. You think you can indulge yourself with breads and pastries in Europe by visiting the bakery or patisserie? No, at least not everywhere. What I have written above all takes place in foreign land, like France, Belgium and Germany...

In Finland, you do the Finnish way.

Go to the chained supermarket. 
Walk directly to the Bread/ Pastry section.
Go to the familiar shelf where you usually get your bread.
Snatch it, put into your basket and walk away.
Head straight to the cashier or keep on shopping
THE END

OK, here comes another version. There is a fresh section at every supermarket. Basically, it is the same. Those buns and pastries are inside boxes with transparent lids covering them. Browse around, choose the one, pick a paper bag, shove it in, weight it, put the label on, then to the cashier.

Sad. Why there is no bakery open when you are on your way to school? Buying a fresh one keeps your tummy warm and contented.

BUT! Last Sunday in Joensuu, my encounter at a supermarket made my day five stars! Just one hour before the supermarket was closed, while a staff was clearing the daily 'old' breads and pastries I came to the bread section and intended to buy some flat bread (rieska) back to Helsinki as I had tried those on Saturday and loved them. Unlike those big brand machine-made first-frozen-then-thawed breads, they were locally made and tasted really good. Unfortunately there was no more flat bread (rieska) as they do not heat them up on Sunday!! AHH!!! Disappointed. So the rieska is also first-frozen-then-thawed... Sadly I walked away with my friend...Out of the blue, the friendly staff came and asked me how many pieces I would like to have. She could warm the oven in twenty minute time just for me. Feeling surprised and delighted, I accepted this exclusive offer and anticipated for my nammies.

Sitting in the train, looking out at the snowy trees moving beyond eyeshot, I could see stream puffing out from the pack of flat breads I held. The effect of ten pieces of flat breads was so vividly strong that the whole wagon was filled with the smell of them. The heat infiltrated into my skin and warmed my heart with joy. I took a nibble and the corners of my mouth turned up.

P.S. That is why you need to bake your own bread in Finland