Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (2024)

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  • bread
  • iceland
  • recipe
  • reykjavik
  • rugbraud
  • rye bread
  • savoury

March 21, 2015

Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe

When I returned from Reykjavik a couple of weeks ago I was already missing Cafe Loki's homemade dark rye bread, known as rúgbrauð. Luckily I found their rúgbrauðrecipe (allegedly) online, along with a bunch of other Icelandic bread recipes to refer to.

Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (1)


Before we continue, you should know that this Icelandic bread takes SEVEN HOURS to bake. The good news is that's the hardest part: the bread batter itself is just seven simple ingredients mixed together and poured into a tin. All you have to do is be patient while it bakes.

Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (2)

Dark, dense, mildly sweet and with a slight sour note from buttermilk, rúgbrauð ('rye bread') gains its intense colour and flavour from a looooooong bake at a low temperature. It's also known as thunder bread, and as 'hverabrauð' (hot spring bread) too. Because this dark rye bread used to be cooked by burying it in the ground by natural hot springs, where it would bake slowly for hours. Nowadays, although Iceland's hot springs are still going strong, we have the modern convenience of ovens to save us from the labours of digging and washing off soil.

I mentioned this Icelandic rye bread recipe takes seven hours to bake (in lieu of burying it near a volcano and letting the geothermic heat cook it overnight). Well, you could actually bake this overnight to save you from tying the oven up all day. I was a bit hesitant about the safety aspect of this, despite having an electric oven that's very reliable. In fact, many people roast turkeys overnight for Christmas on a low heat. But I wouldn't recommend baking overnight, especially not if you have a gas oven. Instead, just start it first thing in the morning.

Rúgbrauð also has a malty, slightly caramelised flavour thanks to its long and slow baking time. This bread is best eaten within a day or two of making: as much as I adore rúgbrauð/hverabrauð, I couldn't eat a whole loaf in two days all by myself. All of the recipes I found seemed to make either one or two huge loaves. I played around with the quantities of Cafe Loki's Icelandic bread recipe, and in the end I made the perfect amount of mixture to pour into my little 1lb loaf pan.

Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (3)

(See how I've lined it? This way it won't stick and I can just lift my mini loaf right out).

Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (4)

Here I've served this rich, dark rye bread buttered with herrings and sliced egg Cafe Loki-style, but it's also great with smoked salmon/ trout, smoked lamb, soup, jam, or even served as a dessert with ice cream (or as ice cream!)

You can also watch me make this on YouTube:


Ingredients:

115g dark rye flour
45g wholemeal flour
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
A good pinch of salt
284ml buttermilk
5 tbsp / 50ml golden syrup

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, and line and grease a small 1lb loaf tin.

2. Mix all of your ingredients together with a spoon (it'll look like porridge).

Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (5)

3. Scrape the thick batter into your tin and cover loosely with foil (make a slightly domed shape as the dough will rise).

Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (6)


Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (7)

4. Pop in the oven and immediately turn the heat right down to 110°C.

5. Bake for seven hours.

6. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

7. Lift out of the pan, slice, serve absolutely however you like and enjoy!

Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (8)


Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (9)


Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (10)

(Did you notice that there are seven ingredients, seven steps and seven hours of cooking time?)

Labels:breadicelandrecipereykjavikrugbraudrye breadsavoury

Comments

  1. Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (11)

    l18 May 2016 at 05:23

    Looks great. I'm just back from 10 days in Iceland and I'm already missing this bread!

    ReplyDelete

    Replies

    1. Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (12)

      Tash25 May 2016 at 10:46

      I really miss the food and friendly people haha. Are you going to have a go at this recipe? =)

      Delete

  2. Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (13)

    Unknown10 September 2016 at 01:05

    May you share your Loki rye bread ice cream recipe?

    ReplyDelete

    Replies

    1. Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (14)

      Tash10 September 2016 at 21:19

      Hi there, here's the link to my recipe: http://tashcakes.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/apple-rose-frangipane-tarts-with.html

      Delete

  3. Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (15)

    Jennie's Long Walk23 October 2017 at 21:37

    I have made this to your recipe and it worked out well! Do you think it would freeze ok?

    ReplyDelete

    Replies

    1. Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (16)

      Tash29 October 2017 at 17:55

      Hi there, hope my reply isn't too late! Really happy it worked well for you – yes you can freeze this bread. =)

      Delete

  4. Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (17)

    Unknown28 August 2021 at 11:18

    Thanks for sharing this quality information with us. I really enjoyed reading. Will surely going to share this URL with my friends. Handmade vegan chocolates

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  5. Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (18)

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Rúgbrauð (Icelandic Rye Bread) – Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the famous rye bread in Iceland? ›

Icelandic Rye Bread, sometime called Lavabread, Volcano Bread, Thunder Bread, Pot bread or Geyserbread, or in Icelandic Rú*gbrauð or Hverabrauð. Rye bread is a all year-round essential food in Iceland.

Why is Icelandic bread so good? ›

How is Icelandic volcano bread made? The two key elements here are low and slow. The bread develops considerable sweetness by allowing the loaf to cook over a much longer period than if you were to place it in a regular oven. The dough contains no yeast; instead, a sourdough starter kicks off proceedings.

Why is my homemade rye bread so dense? ›

Rye bread made with 100% rye flour will be dense and heavy; think some of those all-rye breads you find at artisan bakeries, the ones sliced off an enormous loaf and sold by the pound. If you're looking for a lighter, softer sandwich bread, bread or AP flours are your best friend.

What is the famous bread in Iceland? ›

When cooked in this particular way, rú*gbrauð is sometimes referred to as hverabrauð, which aptly translates to 'hot spring bread'. Though rú*gbrauð remains a staple of Icelandic cuisine, many now use the simpler and more convenient modern oven.

What country makes the best rye bread? ›

Top 23 Rye Breads in the World
  • Juoda duona. LITHUANIA. shutterstock. ...
  • Ruisreikäleipä Western Finland. Finland. ...
  • Chleb prądnicki. Kraków. Poland. ...
  • Danish rye bread (Rugbrød) DENMARK. shutterstock. ...
  • Kavring. Skåne County. Sweden. ...
  • Rupjmaize. LATVIA. shutterstock. ...
  • Limppu. Eastern Finland. Finland. ...
  • Daujenu namine duona. Daujėnai. Lithuania.

What are the main ingredients in rye bread? ›

Ingredients
  • 200g rye flour, plus extra for dusting.
  • 200g strong white or wholemeal flour.
  • 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast.
  • ½ tsp fine salt.
  • 1 tbsp honey.
  • 1 tsp caraway seed (optional)

What is the most delicious bread in the world? ›

World's best breads: the list of winners
  • Butter garlic naan (India)
  • Nan-e barbari (Iran)
  • Pan de yuca (Colombia)
  • Focaccia di Recco col formaggio (Italy)
  • Baguette (France)
  • Naan (India)
  • Piadina Romagnola (Italy)
  • Tarte flambée (France)
Oct 4, 2023

Which country has the best bread in the world? ›

Top best bread of the world (Ranked by TasteAtlas)
  • Roti canai, Malaysia.
  • Pan de bono, Colombia.
  • Butter garlic naan, India.
  • Nan-e barbari, Iran.
  • Pão de queijo, Brazil.
  • Baguette, France.
  • Naan (collectively), India.
  • Piadina Romagnola, Italy.
Oct 10, 2023

Why add vinegar to rye bread? ›

A–The rye flavor in a rye bread comes from a combination of rye flour, caraway seeds and yeast. The sour flavor results from the addition of something with an acidic flavor–usually a sour dough culture or vinegar.

How do you make rye bread rise better? ›

Cover the tin with a shower hat – raise the surface of the hat above the dough so that when the dough rises, it does not stick to the hat. Leave it for 2-5 hours – it depends on the heat in the kitchen. Don't try to speed it up by placing it in an overly warm place as rye does not like to be too warm.

Why is my rye bread gummy? ›

If moistened rye flour is given too much time to ferment, however, amylase will degrade rye's starches. The starch will not absorb water in the expected ratio. As a result, the bread's interior will be excessively moist and gummy, sticking to the knife as it's sliced.

What is the most eaten food in Iceland? ›

Fish has been Iceland's typical food from its founding until today and will likely remain so in the future. Most restaurants in Iceland serve a "fish of the day." The country is dotted with numerous seafood restaurants, mainly serving cod, haddock, salmon, and monkfish.

What is the national breakfast of Iceland? ›

The main components of a typical Icelandic breakfast include eggs, bacon, sausages, and skyr. Skyr is a traditional Icelandic yogurt that is high in protein and low in fat. It is often served with brown sugar, berries, or cream. Another popular dish is oatmeal or hafragrautur, which is made with rolled oats and milk.

What is the national dish in Iceland? ›

1. Hákarl (Fermented Shark) Iceland's national dish is Hákarl, a fermented shark dish. The sharks are usually Greenland sharks, and their meat is poisonous unless it's been fermented.

Why do Scandinavians eat rye bread? ›

The vikings were the first people who started to grow this type of grain, because they were of the opinion that rye gave them increased amounts of strength. Besides, rye was used in both porridge and breads, and by the middle Ages, rye was the grain most often used in Norway.

What is the bread baked in ground in Iceland? ›

Locals call it rugbraud, but it's also referred to as 'thunder bread' or 'hot spring bread'. It is made of a simple recipe of rye flour, white flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and sometimes milk and golden syrup, but it is the geothermal energy that makes this cooking method possible.

What is unleavened rye bread from Iceland? ›

Flatkaka (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈflaːtˌkʰaːka], lit. "flat cake") or flatbrauð ( Icelandic pronunciation: [-ˌprœyːθ], lit. "flat bread") is an Icelandic unleavened rye flatbread. Flatkaka is soft, round, thin and dark with a characteristic pattern from the pan.

What is the bread buried in Iceland? ›

There's a rye bread that's been baked underground in geothermal springs in Iceland for generations. The Icelandic bread is dark, dense, deliciously sweet and it's called Hverabrauð, Thunder Bread or Icelandic rye bread.

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