Iceland’s unique climate with its volcanoes, lakes and hot springs is one of the most famous climates on the planet. But the lava bubbling beneath the surface of the island also allows for some local delicacies, including this delicious rye bread called Hverabrauð.
It is made fresh every morning by local bakers who take their dough to the nearest geothermal hot spring. These are caused by lava flowing underground, heating the water and bringing it to boiling temperatures. The dark and hot sand creates something like a natural oven. We can use A [normal] But it’s a lot more fun,” Sigi Hilmarsson told Great Big Story.
This particular type of bread is known as Hverabrauð or “warm spring bread”. There is evidence that the dish was created in the village of Hilmarsson in the late 1800s, and the recipe has been mastered over the generations.
“This method was passed down to me from my grandmother to my mother,” he explained.
Mix rye, flour, milk, butter, sugar, salt and baking powder in a pot. This paste is then sealed in the ground for 24 hours and the Siggy buries itself exactly 16 inches below the surface. Come back a day later (as long as it hasn’t rained and cooled the ground) and you have a freshly baked loaf of bread. Siggy takes an average of 70 each week.
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The result is heavy, chewy, and dense, and you can top it with whatever you like. Common local choices include butter, various pastes, or pickled herring. As delicious as it sounds, be careful not to eat too much. Besides being called “warm spring bread”, Hverabrauð is also sometimes called þrumari – meaning “thunder bread”. This is not a comment about the weather or geothermal systems, but a clue about the side effects of overdosing on Hverabrauð on your digestive system.
Most Icelandic rye bread is now made in modern ovens, but lava scrubbers remain. The use of the island’s natural resources is by no means limited to this – geothermal power plants produce 25% of the country’s total electricity production and more than two-thirds of its total energy consumption.
That’s important to locals like Hilmarsson, who said, “From generation to generation, we’ve learned to respect this energy and use it carefully.” He also emphasized that there is no real substitute: “It’s hard to define the taste, but warm spring bread has its own flavor.” Bread in the oven doesn’t even come close. “
