Icelandic Rye Bread (Rúgbraud / Hverabraud / Brumari) by Magnus Nilsson

Rúgbraud means rye bread, hverabraud refers specifically to bread baked next to hot springs and brumari, ‘thunder bread’, refers to the effects from eating and bread containing a lot of dietary fibres

Photo by Magnus Nilsson (top right)

MAKES 1 LOAF
PREPARATION AND COOKING TIME: 13 HOURS

In Iceland, the rye loaf is usually quite dense, leavened with bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and rather sweet, almost like cake. It is not baked in the oven but steamed, either in a geothermal area or sometimes in the oven. Historically a sort of wooden vessel was used but  today more commonly a simple bucket with lid. Sites for baking bread can be found around hot springs close to villages in the Icelandic countryside. They function a bit like communal spaces and every family will have a hole in the ground in which they bake their bread. It is funny walking over the steaming ground, criss-crossing between holes covered by ramshackle lids, the smell of sweet bread mingling with the sulphurous scent of volcanic activity.

This recipe comes from Gudrun Einarsdottir who helped me out with a lot of the Icelandic content for this book. It was originally her grandmother’s. Rúgbraud means rye bread, hverabraud refers specifically to bread baked next to hot springs and brumari, ‘thunder bread’, refers to the effects from eating and bread containing a lot of dietary fibres.