Are you a hobby baker struggling to find your baking essentials?
Read my guide for baking in Finland. I’ll share where you can find ingredients, what they’re called, where to buy supplies and more!
Picture this: You’ve just moved to Finland and your kitchen is finally in order. You’re in the mood to bake, so you decide to pop to the shop for supplies. You manage to find the sugar section, but can’t figure out which is powdered sugar. Not wanting to risk choosing the wrong one, you try your luck in the spice aisle instead. You check the labels and read the descriptions, but nothing stands out or looks familiar. Which one is nutmeg?? Not feeling brave enough to ask for help, you leave, defeated.
If you’re questioning your life choices and wondering how you’ll manage to live here if you can’t find a simple spice on your own, you’re not alone. This was me… more times than I’d like to admit. Not knowing what an ingredient is called in another language and being confronted with food you’ve never seen before is a lot. As a newcomer, you’ll find that food shopping in Finland can be a humbling experience.
But, it doesn’t have to be!
Read my guide to learn Finnish ingredient names and where you can find them, common Finnish measurement terms, and find out where you can buy supplies and equipment. Let’s get started!
Shopping for Baking Ingredients in Finland
Shopping for baking ingredients in Finland can be frustrating if you don’t know the language or where to look. To simplify your next shopping trip, I’ve put together a cheat-sheet of common ingredients in English and Finnish.
I’ve separated ingredients by dry, wet, and other (mainly garnishes and miscellaneous items) and they’re grouped by where you can, usually, find them in the store to make it even easier for you.
Flour
You can find flour in the cereal/ oatmeal aisle usually. Look for terms like jauho or vehnäjauho when reading the aisle signs. There are lots of options, so I’ve just included the most common.
Semi-Coarse Wheat Flour = Puolikarkea Vehnäjauho – good for making buns, white bread and rolls, but also for all-purpose baking (suitable for doughs rising with yeast)
Special Wheat Flour = Erikoisvehnäjauho – for cakes and all-purpose baking
Course Flour = Karkea Vehnäjauho – for cakes, tarts, cookies, and thickening sauces. Courser than semi-course. For non-sticky doughs
“Yeast Bread” Wheat Flour = Hiivaleipävehnäjauho – darker, more fibrous than whole wheat. Good for rolls, pies, bread, thickening sauces
Whole Wheat Flour = Täysjyvävehnäjauho – can be used as a replacement for regular wheat flour
Speciality Flours
Spring Wheat Flour = Kevätvehnäjauho – for baking Italian pastries, focaccia and pizza
Medium – Strong Pizza Flour = Keskivahva Pizzajauho – for thin and crispy pizza
Gluten-Free Flour Mix = Gluteeniton Jauhoseos – for gluten-free baking
Oat Bread Flour = Kaurainen Sämpyläjauho – for oat breads and rolls
Bread Flour Mix = Sämpyläjauhoseos – for breads and rolls
Sugar
You can find sugar in the coffee and tea aisle. Look for kahvi, tee or sokeri when checking the aisle signs.
Granulated Sugar = Sokeri or Taloussokeri – household sugar
Brown sugar = Fariinisokeri
Icing sugar = Tomusokeri -powdered sugar
Extra Fine Sugar = Erikoishieno Sokeri – (caster sugar) makes pastries fluffy, good for doughs, meringues, desserts
Crunchy Granulated Sugar = Rapea Raesokeri – can be used for topping pulla
Cinnamon Sugar = Kanelisokeri – for flavoring pastries or sprinkling on oatmeal
Vanilla Sugar = Vaniljasokeri – made with ground vanilla beans. For flavoring desserts, pastries, and drinks
“Vanilla” Sugar = Vanillinisokeri – artificially flavored vanilla sugar
Jelly Sugar = Hyytelösokeri – for dessert jellies and cake glazes
Cocoa Powder = Kaakaojauhe – (in the coffee aisle)
Spices & Seasoning
Look for the term mausteet when shopping for spices. Usually near oils and condiments. Baking ingredients can be found in the dedicated baking section or leivonta in Finnish
Cinnamon = Kaneli
Nutmeg = Muskottipähkinä
Cardamom Powder = Kardemumma Jauhettu
Ground Cardamom = Kardemumma Rouhittu
Salt = Suola
Sea Salt = Merisuola
Black Pepper = Mustapippuri
Poppy seeds = Unikonsiemen
I’m in the process of putting together a Finnish Grocery List post for a full list of spices so keep an eye out!
Wet Ingredients
Refrigerated
Butter = Voi
Unsalted Butter = Suolaamaton Voi
Baking Margarine = Leivontamargariini
Plant-Based Butter = Kasvipohjainen Voi
Whipping Cream = Kuohukerma (more similar to heavy cream) – for cooking and warm baking like crème brûlée and panna cotta, but can also be used cold.
Whipping Cream = Vispikerma – for cake decorating, baking, desserts. Use cold for best results.
Read more about the difference in whipping cream here.
Whole Milk = Täysmaito
Skimmed Milk = Rasvaton Maito
Semi-Skimmed = Kevytmaito
Lactose free = Laktoositon
Buttermilk = Piimä (really soured milk, not exactly the same as buttermilk, but there’s not much of a difference)
Cream cheese = Tuorejuusto (you can find Philadelphia brand here)
If you see kermajuusto (literal translation is cream cheese) it’s not cream cheese. It’s a sandwich cheese.
Fresh Yeast = Tuorehiiva – you can find fresh yeasts in the milk aisle. Easy to miss, but look for small square cubes.
Unrefrigerated
Almond Milk = Mantelijuoma – in the cereal/ oatmeal aisle (usually)
Oat Milk = Kaurajuoma – in the cereal/ oatmeal aisle (usually)
Soy Milk = Soijajuoma in the cereal/ oatmeal aisle (usually)
Eggs = Kananmunia – Location depends on the store. Sometimes you can find them near the veggies, the unrefrigerated milks or in the condiment aisle.
Free-range Eggs = Vapaan Kanan Munia
Large = Iso, Brown = Ruskea, Organic = Luomu
Vegetable Oil = Rypsiöljy or Rapsiöljy (rapeseed/ canola oil) – condiment/ spice aisle
Extra-virgin Olive Oil = Ekstra-Neitsytoliiviöljy – condiment/ spice aisle
Sunflower Oil = Auringonkukkaöljy – condiment/ spice aisle
Lemon Juice = Sitruunatäysmehu – condiment aisle/ juice aisle
Lime Juice = Limettimehu – condiment aisle/ juice aisle
Vanilla extract = Vanilja-aromi – baking aisle
Peppermint extract = Piparminttuaromi – baking aisle
Rum extract = Rommiaromi – baking aisle
Bitter Almond Extract = Karvasmanteliaromi – baking aisle
Lemon Extract = Sitruuna-aromi – baking aisle
Other Baking Ingredients
You can find chocolate chips, sprinkles and other baking ingredients in the baking aisle, look for the term leivonta.
Baking soda = Ruokasooda
Baking powder = Leivinjauhe
Dry Yeast = Kuivahiiva
Almond Powder = Mantelijauhe
Baking Chocolate = Leivontasuklaa
White Baking Chocolate = Valkoinen Leivontasuklaa
Dark Baking Chocolate = Tumma Leivontasuklaa
Dark Chocolate Buttons = Tumma Suklaanappi – looks like large chocolate chips
Dark Chocolate Chips = Tumma Suklaarouhe – small chocolate chunks
Colored Sprinkles = Kirjava Strösseli
Non-pareils = Nonparelli – tiny round sprinkles. If you see Purppura on label just means purple.
Licorice Sprinkles = Lakritsiströsseli
Baking Glue = Leivontaliima
Almond Paste = Mantelimassa
Gelatin Sheets = Liivatelehti
Measurements & Baking Terms
Feeling brave enough to tackle a Finnish recipe? Or would you prefer to take it easy and use boxed cake mix? Either way, you need to know the Finnish terms and abbreviations for measurements. Check out the short list below:
decilitre = dl (desilitra) – 100ml
litre = l (litra) – 1000ml
gram = g (gramma)
teaspoon = tl (teelusikka) – 5ml or US 4.93ml
tablespoon = rkl (ruokalusikka) – 15ml or US 14.8ml
Tip: For my fellow Americans abroad or those fond of American recipes, I would highly suggest buying US measuring cups and spoons and using these to bake with. Trust me, it will save so much time from having to convert and will ensure your measurements are accurate.
Finding Baking Supplies & Equipment In Finland
Now that your pantry is fully stocked with erikoisvehnäjauho and sokeri, let’s get into baking supplies.
If you need bowls, cake trays, tins or utensils, I would highly recommend checking out your local flea markets, recycling centres, and secondhand shops first. These places are overflowing with baking supplies and kitchenware. Make a list of everything you need, find the biggest recycling centre and just go to town.
Or, if you prefer to look for secondhand stuff online, check out Tori. It’s a huge online marketplace for new, secondhand, and handmade items for pick-up or delivery (just make sure you tick the ToriDiili box). I bought a huge box of cake and muffin tins, bowls, and some miscellaneous equipment from a local seller for 25€.
However, if you’ve ransacked every recycling centre and still can’t find what you’re looking for then check out the following sites:
Chez Marius – online kitchen and bakeware shop with a storefront in Helsinki. Good quality and affordable prices.
Boozt – massive online shop that offers a wide array of kitchen equipment. Also sells clothes, home goods, make-up, basically anything you can think of. Their outlet is also good for cheap finds.
KitchenOne – huge selection of kitchenware and appliances. Solid baking section with good prices.
If you prefer to shop in-store, try Prisma a hypermarket (similar to Super-Walmart). They have a pretty big kitchen and bakeware section. You can also order online and collect in-store from a locker which is super convenient.
These are the sites I’ve used personally, but there’s loads more I haven’t mentioned.
For me, everything was pretty easy to come by, except for a cooling rack. I struggled for MONTHS to find one, new or used. I was stuck using an oven rack flipped upside down until my husband bought me a cooling rack for my birthday. It’s been in regular use since. So don’t worry, you’re not crazy if you can’t find one either!
Finnish Recipe Sites
Are your kitchen cupboards now bursting with cupcake trays and mixing bowls? Good. Now it’s time to reward yourself with a delicious dessert (finally). Why don’t you try a Finnish recipe to match your new Finnish lifestyle? Check out the following sites for some Finnspiration.
Disclaimer: These sites are run by the big grocery store chains and food manufacturers and they link their products. I can’t speak to the quality of the products, but I thought this would be especially helpful for newcomers, so you know exactly what to buy.
K-Ruoka Reseptit – K-Group is a grocery store chain (K-Market, City-Market). Recipes also suggest products to use, so useful in knowing exactly what you need.
Yhteishyvä – S-Group, another grocery store chain (S-Market, Prisma, Sale).
Valio – Finnish dairy manufacturer.
Let’s Get Baking!
That just about covers everything I could think to include in this newcomers guide for baking in Finland – short of creating my own recipe. In this guide, you’ve learned what different ingredients are called in Finnish, where you can find them in the store, where to buy new and used baking supplies, as well as some new Finnish recipes.
You should be well on your way to baking pulla just like your Mummi would make. 🤌
And as you get used to living here, you’ll notice that Finland has quite a big baking culture. There’s plenty of tasty pastries, cakes and savory bites to try, like Runeberg cakes, korvapuusti, pulla, and Karelian pies. Cinnamon and cardamom spiced desserts are especially popular.
There’s lots of ingredients to try and new recipes to make, but you need to know what they’re called and where to find them first!
I hope you find this guide helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below or drop me a message through our Contact us page. If you want to find more helpful and niche guides like these, check our collection of life in Finland blog posts.
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