Slices of Rúgbrauð
(click to enlarge)

Rúgbrauð Bread


Iceland   -   Rúgbrauð
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2-3/4 #
**
8 hr
Yes		 Rúgbrauð is the favorite Rye Bread of Iceland. It's rather sweet, and very easy to make, but needs to be baked at 212°F/100°C for 7 to 12 hours - see Baking.




3
1-1/2
2-1//2
1
2-1/2
2/3
c
c
t
t
c
c
Rye Flour, dark  
Flour (1)
Baking Soda
Salt
Buttermilk (2)
Golden Syrup (3)
Make:   -   (1 hr - 25 min work)
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
  2. Place all Dry items into a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.
  3. Make a well in the center. Pour in Buttermilk and Golden Syrup. Hint: oil the inside of the measuring cup before measuring Golden Syrup for easy pouring out.
  4. Mix all ingredients well, then move into the baking container you will use. see Baking Container for details. Cover tightly with foil or with Parchment Paper tied in place.
  5. Place in the Oven and bake for 30 minutes at 400°F/200°C, then quickly bring down to 212°F/100°C. Let bake at that temperature for 7 hours or more.
  6. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.
NOTES:

  1. Flour:

      Whole wheat flour is preferred, but all purpose flour (UK plain flour) can be used.

  2. Buttermilk:

      Modern kitchens don't usually have buttermilk on hand, as we no longer churn our own butter. Just fake it up, which works fine. For this recipe, 2-1/2 Tablespoon Vinegar and 2-1/2 cups of Milk.

  3. Golden Syrup:

      This sweet syrup is easily available in the UK and Australia, but scarce and way overpriced in North America. You can easily make a nearly identical product yourself by our recipe Golden Syrup Substitutes.

  4. Baking Container:

      This recipe fits a standard 9x5x2-1/2 inch loaf pan, but any other 8 cup / 2 quart / 2 litre or a little larger container can be used. It must be tightly covered during baking. In earlier times, the baking container buried in the hot sand was an empty milk carton. Do not depend on non-stick coatings, sticky dough can stick to them. Line with parchment paper or grease well.

  5. Baking:

      Yes, the long slow baking is needed for proper taste and texture. Originally, depending on where in Iceland you lived, it was baked overnight in an iron pot over the hot embers from the wood cooking fire, or by burying in the sand around a very hot geothermal pool. Here in Southern California our kitchens very rarely include hot wood embers, and most communities lack steaming geothermal pools. Most of us can use an oven that can hold about 212°F, but an Oven Thermometer is highly recommended as the temperatures on the oven dial are especially unreliable at temperatures that low. The high temperature start in this recipe cuts the low temperature time. If you start at 212°F you will have to bake for at least 12 hours.

  6. Comments:

      In this recipe I have cut the amount of Golden Syrup to 2/3 most recipes. It's still too sweet for me, but then I'm not Icelandic. Increase the syrup to 1 cup if you want to be "authentic", and pray for you blood sugar level. Actually, it's also made in Iceland without any sugar, but it's still sweet because the long baking time breaks down starches into sugars.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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