Locals take great pleasure in this traditional bread, the origins of which are said to date back to the Viking Age. Today, Kamkake is baked mostly in the villages of Bleikvasslia and Korgen, but is enjoyed in a much wider area. We are quite proud of the fact that Petter Dass himself, the esteemed 17th-century poet-priest, mentions “Kam-Kager” in “The Trumpet of Nordland”, his famous poem praising our region. If you look closely, you can see that the kamkake is depicted on our mayor’s ceremonial chain, designed by the local goldsmith Merete Mattson.
The dough consists mostly of flour, milk, yeast and margarine formed into a thick round flatbread, onto which a grid pattern is applied with a special rolling pin. The kamkake is then baked in a wood-fired stone oven – and it’s very important to get the temperature just right to give the flatbread its characteristic bubbles. If you want to see how it is baked, click the links to the left. Many locals have their own favourite baker, who may have their own slight variation on the recipe.
There is even a song written about the kamkake! You will hear it if you attend a performance of the historical play, Klemetspelet.
In the summer, an aspiring new generation of bakers prepares kamkake at Sørfjelltunet in Bleikvasslia and at the Open Air Museum in Bjerka (Bygdetunet). These young people proudly continue this local tradition. If you visit, you can see how the kamkake is made – and, most importantly, savour it fresh and hot from a stone oven! Naturally enough, every August, the tasty flatbread is celebrated with its very own Kamkake Festival. Thousands of the kamkake are devoured with a happy smile.
Fortunately, kamkake can also be bought year round from the Coop grocery store in Korgen, at Korgfjellet Fjellstue and other cafés in the area, – as well as at most events in the Okstindan Nature and Culture Park.
