Icelandic Rye Bread 

Submitted by: Kevin Grace

I got this recipe from a friend in Reykjavik several years ago when I was doing some books & reading research there.  It’s very easy to make and it goes great with a strong cheese or salted butter.  This bread is excellent with peanut butter too!

Makes one large loaf.

Ingredients

• 3 cups rye flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 ½ cup bread flour, and additional as needed
• 2 tablespoons dry yeast
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 2 ½ cups milk (can be whole or skim)
• ½ cup molasses (can be light or dark)

Instructions

1. Warm the milk with the molasses.  Pour ½ cup of the warm mixture into a bowl and stir in the yeast.  Let it stand until it froths.
2. Add the rest of the milk mixture and mix in the rye flour, the whole wheat flour, half the bread flour, and the salt.  Mix it until smooth and add flour as you need to, making the dough stiff and moist.
3. Knead it well, shape it into a ball, place it in a large bowl with a little rye flour sprinkled on it, and loosely cover it.  Place it in a warm place for 1 ½ hours or until it doubles in size.
4. Punch the dough down, knead it lightly and shape into a 1-foot long loaf.  Let it rise again for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and with a sharp knife, cut six diagonal slices on the top of the loaf.  Brush it with water and sprinkle kosher salt on it.
6. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes or until you get a hollow sound when you rap on the bottom.  Be sure to let it cool on a rack before slicing.