I have a deep love of traditional foods, recipes that have been handed down through generations and stood the test of time for good reason. Often served topped with smoked salmon or lamb, rúgbrauð is a classic Icelandic bread commonly found in cafes and homes throughout the country.
This is the perfect bread for non-bakers – no yeast, no kneading, just mix it all together. My Icelandic grandmother introduced me to some of her childhood favorites through the local Jólabasar, Christmas market, and Þorrablót, mid-winter festival. Open-faced rúgbrauð sandwiches are a staple and I knew I had to bake some myself when I found the impossibly simple recipe.
Back in the day, this dough used to be formed in empty milk cartons. The carton was buried near the natural hot springs and left all day to bake by the geothermal currents in the ground. Iceland has amazing renewable resources, with two-thirds of their energy coming from geothermal.
While the milk cartons have mostly been upgraded to sealed tins, quite a few families and some local cafes still bake their bread this way. The traditional origin leads to the long and slow baking time in an oven. It’s a labor of love for a day spent at home, or even better overnight so it’s fresh out of the oven for breakfast.
Rye has very little gluten compared to other flours, which produces the moist, dense texture. Modern recipes often include some whole wheat flour to make it a little softer and less crumbly.
For the full experience, rúgbrauð is truly delicious topped with smoked salmon or lamb, but I love it smeared thickly with butter.
Rúgbrauð Icelandic Rye Bread
Ingredients
- 2 1/3 cups dark rye flour (300 g)
- 1 cup whole wheat flour (120 g)
- 3 t. baking powder (14 g)
- 1/2 t. baking soda (3 g)
- 1 1/2 t. salt (3 g)
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (370 g)
- 3/4 cup golden syrup (250 g)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°F/93°C.
- Combine dry ingredients thoroughly.
- Slowly add buttermilk and syrup. Dough will be very wet and sticky; stir only until combined.
- Pour dough in a greased loaf pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake at 200°F/93°C for 8 hours.
- Turn the warm loaf onto a kitchen towel and wrap until cooled, so a hard crust doesn’t form.
- Slice thinly and serve with lots of butter.
What is golden syryp? Please explain
Hi Donna! Golden syrup is a pure cane sugar syrup. You can also use dark corn syrup in a pinch – I often use this when I run out of golden syrup, because it’s much more widely available in America.
I just made this last night, and it was really tasty! I had mine in the oven for 8.5 hours, and it was perfect–neither over- nor under-baked. I ate a couple of thin slices with some butter and will next try a slice with some smoked salmon. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
The recipe was tasty and easy to follow. I substituted the golden syrup to cane syrup due to the unavailability of gold syrup. This is a great breakfast bread. Perfect with butter, jelly or smoked salmon. I’ll make this again. ❤️
Made this for the first time and my family loved it. Served warm with butter, but also with thin slices of onion and smoked mussels. I didn’t have buttermilk on hand, so I used regular milk with cream of tartar. A great recipe, easy to make, and the oven helped warm the house throughout the day. I already have requests to make this again. Thank you for posting this!
Robin, I’m so glad you & your family enjoyed this recipe! Onion & smoked mussels sounds wonderful, I’ll have to give that a try myself. Thanks for sharing!
Just made your bread recipe. My husband and I visited Iceland last year and loved the bread there so much.. Was very excited after baking the bread all day to cut a slice and it was a delight with butter. Thank you for sharing your grandmothers recipe.
A delicious and simple recipe. Thanks for sharing. We enjoyed it with a bowl of homemade soul and looking forward to munching on it for a few days, Definitely a keeper, I saved it to my recipe book!
I fell in love with this bread on my first day of a holiday in Iceland when it was served along with traditional Icelandic soup. When I got home from the holiday (about 10PM), I put down my bags, took of my coat, and went straight into the kitchen and made this bread. Cooling the bread in a tea towel is very important so that a dry crust does not form. Great recipe! (I found dry buttermilk at my Bulk Barn.)