• About Me
  • Products
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Drinks
    • Salads
    • Soups
    • Vegetables
  • Places
    • Restaurants
  • People
    • Potters
  • Books

A Good Dish

making food simpler

Icelandic Lava Bread – Actually It Is Rye

January 26, 2018

Lava bread with smashed avocado
Porcelain plate by Aysha Peltz

We spent 3 weeks in Iceland in 2010 and it remains one of our favorite trips. Driving the ring road around the country and out onto the Snaefellsness Peninsula, we saw landscapes we never even imagined – waterfalls, moss covered lava fields, an iceberg lagoon, black beaches  and volcanic mountains rising out of coastal fjords in every shade of green, brown, grey and blue. The natural beauty stunned us. The food was another story.

Icy river in southwest Iceland

Since tourism and food culture in Iceland have exploded in the last decade, there are more kinds of foods available in restaurants and grocery stores. There are now greenhouses where a range of salad fixings are being grown. That wasn’t true on our first trip. Let me just say there were not a whole lot of green vegetables. What stood out were the major protein sources caught, produced or raised on the island, fish, dairy and lamb, and their lava bread.

Lava bread is moist and dense, perfect for toasting

Icelandic lava bread (also known as thunder bread, volcano bread, geyser bread, Icelandic brown bread or rugbraud) is one of the simplest breads to make. It is typically made of rye although it can be partly wheat, kamut or spelt flour, a sweetener (usually a combination of brown sugar and glucose syrup although I use maple syrup), baking soda, salt and buttermilk. Rye flour is available in good grocery, health and specialty food stores. I’ve even seen it at Job Lot. If you have a grain mill or Vitamix grain container, you can grind your own from rye berries in seconds. I like to add 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds for texture and nutrition but that is optional.

If you have a choice, use one that hasn’t been messed with, like the one on the left
Baked bread can be stored in the carton until ready to use

Traditionally lava bread is slow cooked in the geothermal heat of earth or sand from hot springs underground, hence its name. Although it bakes at a low temperature for a long time, it falls into the category of a quick bread, like pumpkin or banana bread. Since it is unyeasted, it doesn’t need a rise, and is more like savory cake in texture. It is a dense, sweet and dark, reminiscent of Boston brown bread and mixes up in just a few minutes. I make it in quart milk cartons but you could use empty cans or covered loaf pans. Lava bread is delicious freshly sliced or toasted and would make tasty croutons. Spread on a little butter or top it with cream cheese, fruit spreads, mashed avocado or make an open faced sandwich of egg, tuna or salmon salad, smoked salmon or ham – you’ll find your own favorite topping for this easy homemade bread.

Sliced lava bread with smoked salmon
Porcelain plate by Aysha Peltz

LAVA BREAD

Preheat oven to 210 F and remove top rack, making sure milk cartons will fit, standing upright, on bottom rack.

  • 4 1/2 cups rye flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2 TBs baking soda
  • 1/2 cup raw sunflower seed (optional)
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup

Combine all the ingredients until just blended and divide evenly into 2 milk cartons (of which you have already opened the top end).

Bake for 6 1/2 – 7 hours at 210 degrees F (100 C). The bread will feel springy not squishy through the carton when you press on the sides.

Cool somewhat before tearing off milk carton. You can leave the second one in its milk carton for storage while eating the first. If you remove the carton, store in a sealed bag to keep from drying out. Makes 2 loaves which keep fresh 3-4 days and can be frozen when wrapped well.

Reykjanes peninsula coastline

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: bread, Breakfast

Comments

  1. Larry says

    January 28, 2018 at 11:10 am

    very nice, both food and plate. It is so hard to get good bread. I enjoy the layering implied in the plate and the soft color of the glaze works well. The simple food takes me back to color theory class – but you know salmon on the avocado with a slice of tomato and a piece of bacon… not too much, you think? Of course then there’s the problem of plate to mouth. – sometimes if feels like iceland around here. I need some lox.

    • A Good Dish says

      January 29, 2018 at 11:05 am

      I don’t think its too much – sounds delicious, in fact. This recipe is so easy and makes great toast. Thanks for the feedback!

  • View agooddishblog’s profile on Facebook
  • View agooddisher’s profile on Instagram
  • View a good dish’s profile on Pinterest
Spring Market on Columbus Ave
West 97th St Farmers' Market

Welcome to A Good Dish

Here you will find recipes and ideas for easy to make and tasty meals, sources for interesting dinnerware on which to serve those meals and resources for ingredients, classes and food related travel. My goal is to make daily cooking simpler and to inspire you to try different recipes beyond the handful you already make repeatedly. I hope that relaying my experiences will enhance yours. Follow along and let me know about your own cooking and food journeys.

Archives

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Copyright © 2023 · Lifestyle Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.