Rúgbrauð (Volcano Rye Bread)
Dense, sweet bread that’s baked for up to 24 hours
City/Region: Iceland
Time Period: 1900
Iceland didn’t get its first oven until around 1900 because they baked their bread using volcanoes. You dig a hole near a hot spring and boiling water will come up just a few feet down. The dough is put into a sealed container, then put in the boiling water and covered with sand, similar to the way you’d make a boiled pudding. I don’t have a volcano nearby, but the oven will work fine for this recipe.
The bread slowly bakes for at least 12 hours and up to 24. It’s important to make sure the vessel you cook the bread in is covered tightly. It doesn’t have to be airtight, but the cover prevents the bread from drying out over the long bake time. The bread comes out dense, but with an airiness to it that prevents it from being stodgy. There’s a dark sweetness to it that reminds me of the dark bread that you’d get in the basket at The Cheesecake Factory, or kind of like a dense gingerbread. It’s super easy to make and basically foolproof, the only difficult part is waiting so long for it to bake. Definitely recommend!
Ingredients:
- 4 cups (480 g) rye flour
- 2 cups (240 g) whole wheat flour
- 1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar
- 1 cup (335 g) golden syrup*
- 4 teaspoons (16 g) baking powder
- 1 quart (1 L) whole milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
*See notes below.
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 215°F (100°C). Grease a large Dutch oven or other baking vessel well. If you’re using a bread tin, you might need two.
- Whisk the flours together in a large bowl. Whisk in the baking powder and salt. Mix in the brown sugar and syrup.
- Mix in the milk just a little at a time. You may not need all of it, but you’ll need more than you think. The batter can be soupy at first, but as you mix it, the rye will soak up a lot of the liquid. You want a cake batter consistency.
- Pour the batter into the greased baking vessel. If you’re using a Dutch oven, put the lid on it. If you’re using something that doesn’t have a lid, cover it tightly with foil or wrap it in parchment and tie it with some kitchen twine.
- Bake for at least 12 hours, up to 24 hours. It’s probably not safe to leave the oven on while you’re sleeping, so you can either cook it for 24 hours and watch it in shifts, or get it started first thing in the morning.
- After the bread has baked for at least 12 hours, take it out of the oven and immediately turn it out. Slice, and serve it forth with butter, pickled herring, or hard boiled egg and onion.
Notes
- Golden syrup doesn't have a good equivalent in the US and can be a little hard to find depending where you live.
- Link to Lyle's Golden Syrup: https://amzn.to/47k7ILN
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