Skillingsbolle - Bergen's favourite pastry for 500 years
It is big, hot, juicy, and has lots of sugar on top. The skillingsbolle has been Bergen's favourite pastry for over 500 years, and is enjoyed both as an everyday snack and at parties. The real skillingsbolle originates from Bergen, and you should never leave Bergen without having devoured at least one.
The smell of fresh pastries with a hint of cinnamon reaches your nose immediately when you walk into a café or bakery in Bergen. And even if you weren’t in the mood for a skillingsbolle, the temptation will always be there when you’re exposed to this lovely scent.
"Mmmmm… this was absolutely perfect", says grandfather Tore Lervik after taking his first bite of a skillingsbolle at a café at Klosteret.
The Lervik family eating skillingsbolle at a cafe. Photo: Kristoffer Fürstenberg/Visit Bergen
Together with their children and grandchildren, he and his wife often visit one of Bergen's many cafés and bakeries. Their choice of cafe or bakery may vary, but their choice of pastry is always the skillingsbolle. The skillingsbolle is made with plenty of butter, cinnamon and sugar, before it is rolled up. And just when you may have thought the bun was ready to be put in the oven, they get a new round of sugar.
"Even if I can choose between skolebolle*, solskinnsbolle* or other types of pastries, my choice is always the skillingsbolle. Along with a cup of coffee, it's absolutely delicious.", Lervik continues as he takes another bite of his skillingsbolle. (*other types of pastries frequently eaten in Bergen)
A cinnamon bun for a Norwegian skilling
You can buy a variety of cinnamon buns in Norway, all with different names, and with somewhat different shapes and tastes. But the original skillingsbolle comes from Bergen. «The Skillingsbolle was basically a popular German pastry that the Hanseatic League brought to Bergen in the 16th century. It quickly became a hit in the city, and the local bakers started making them for the locals", says Karoline Neset, who works at Baker Brun at Klosteret.
Cinnamon is an eastern spice, and the custom of combining cinnamon, sugar and whole wheat bread therefore probably originates from the continent. Originally, the skillingsbolle also contained raisins. During the second World War there was a shortage of ingredients and the raisins disappeared from the skillingsbolle and never returned. The name skillingsbolle comes from the time when bread and cakes were named after the price, and the skillingsbolle was originally sold in Bergen for...you got it, one Norwegian skilling. Today, a skillingsbolle costs a lot more than the equivalent of one Norwegian skilling, but the pastry is still almost identical.
A real skillingsbolle from Bergen have to be big, juicy and have lots of sugar on top. Photo: Kristoffer Fürstenberg/Visit Bergen
How to eat your skillingsbolle
If you take a closer look at the other guests in a cafe in Bergen, you quickly notice that there are at least two different ways to consume a skillingsbolle. It is an ongoing discussion how to best eat your skillingsbolle in order to get the most out of it.
"People in Bergen tend to not agree on how to eat skillingsbolle. Some people think you should tear it off bit by bit, while others think you should “attack” it from one side. You have to try the different approaches for yourself and find your favourite way ", says Neset.
Some also choose to eat their skillingsbolle with butter and brown cheese on top. In the Lervik family, grandpa Tore attacks the skillingsbolle from one side, while his wife Kirsti tears off bit by bit in a more elegant way. It’s easy to see which way the grandchildren prefer as their little faces always get covered in sugar.
There are many ways of eating a skillingsbolle. Photo: Kristoffer Fürstenberg/Visit Bergen
The skillingsbolle also plays a role in family life
It’s not only in cafés and bakeries that the skillingsbolle is a hit in Bergen. People often buy them in the shops and eat them at home as a snack, or they bake them at home.
"As a grandmother, it's always fun when my grandchildren are involved in the baking. The children get their own rolling pin when they are going to roll out the dough, then they add the butter, cinnamon and sugar before they roll the dough together into a long sausage. Then we cut it up and place it on the tray for raising. It is always exciting for the children to taste what they have made themselves ", says Kirsti, who has three grandchildren.
to add an item to your Itinerary basket.
The Lervik family eating skillingsbolle at a cafe. Photo: Kristoffer Fürstenberg/Visit Bergen
