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Icelandic Bread
(Rú gbrauð)
Englinsh

Ionas Denis
 Rúgbrauð is an Icelandic straight rye bread. It is traditionally baked in
a pot or steamed in special wooden casks by burying it in the ground
near a hot spring, in which case it is known as hverabrauð or "hot-
spring-bread". Modern rúgbrauð is usually made in a square baking pan.
The bread is crustless, dark and very dense, usually rather sweet, and
keeps for a long time. It is often served with butter, mutton pâté,
hangikjöt (smoked lamb), or with pickled herring. Dry rúgbrauð would
be ground and mixed with buttermilk to form a kind of porridge. Stale
rúgbrauð is often soaked, then made into brauðsúpa (bread soup) - that
is, simmered with raisins and flavorings (usually lemon) and served hot
with whipped cream as a dessert.
Excessive consumption of this bread is said to cause flatulence, earning
it its nickname þrumari which roughly translates as "thunderbread" or
"thunderer".
There are, however, varieties of the traditional rye bread with wheat and
whole grain added to make it less dense, but also called rúgbrauð. These
varieties tend to be less heavy than the traditional straight rye variety
and more similar to the modern Danish rugbrød or German
pumpernickel.
Rye, produced in Denmark and exported to Iceland, became the
predominant cereal in Icelandic cuisine in the early modern period after
a trade monopoly was instituted by the king of Denmark in 1602,
remaining in vigor until 1786.
This moist, Icelandic dark rye bread has many similarities to Boston
brown bread – it’s leavened with baking powder, not yeast, and molasses
give it color and a hint of sweetness. Traditionally, Icelandic rye bread is
prepared over the course of 12 or more hours by placing the dough into
covered pots and sinking these into geothermal springs. If you don’t
have a geothermal spring handy, it can be prepared in tin cans or
ramekins tented with aluminum foil and steamed in a slow cooker.
Steaming the bread is the key.
By the way, the name “thunder bread”? Sources say the moniker comes
from the after-effects of eating too much of this high-fiber rye.
Alternatively, because it’s served at Thorrablot, the Viking festival in
honor of Thor, the god of thunder. Try another Scandinavian bread
recipe.

The Traditional Baking Method :

A hole is dug in the ground about a foot deep. The ground starts to boil,
the temperature is around 97’c when the bread goes in to bake. The
bread is baked in a pot, submerged into the hot sand and covered over. A
stone is placed on top to mark to locals where the bread is being baked.
The entire process takes around 24 hours, then the bread is ready to be
dug back up. After cooling it with water from the lake, the vessel is then
opened to reveal a fully cooked loaf of Rye Bread.