"In Iceland's geothermal areas, rye bread is baked underground: the dough is buried near a hot spring and left to cook slowly in the earth's heat for about 24 hours."
About Rúgbrauð
Ancestral 'Thunder Bread' slow-baked for 24 hours in high-gravity geothermal sand pits; the result is a dense; cake-like dark rye with a high-intensity caramelization and no 'shatter-crisp' crust; its high-precision sweetness pair perfectly with smoked arctic char or high-luxury pickled herring.
Rúgbrauð — a staple of Iceland's cuisine
Geothermal Bread Rugbraud is a dark, dense, faintly sweet Icelandic rye bread, and in geothermal areas it is baked in the most Icelandic way imaginable: the dough is sealed in a pot, buried in the hot ground near a hot spring, and left to bake slowly in the earth's heat for around twenty-four hours. The result, sometimes called hot-spring or lava bread, is moist and almost cake-like.
Sweet and Dark The long, low baking caramelises the dough to a deep brown and a gentle sweetness. It is sliced thin and eaten buttered, often with smoked lamb, pickled herring or simply on its own, and is a staple of the Icelandic table.
What to Expect
Around Lake Myvatn and other geothermal spots, bakers still pull pots of steaming rugbraud from the hot ground. Eaten warm and thinly sliced with butter and smoked lamb or herring, the dense, sweet, dark bread is a memorable taste of Iceland's volcanic landscape.
Why Try It
It is bread literally baked by the volcano, a delicious and uniquely Icelandic use of geothermal heat that you can sometimes watch being dug from the ground.
Insider Tips
Try it warm and buttered, ideally with smoked lamb or pickled herring.
Around Lake Myvatn, some places demonstrate baking it in the geothermal ground.
Its dense sweetness pairs especially well with salty toppings.
