Rúgbrauð – dark Icelandic rye bread

Ingredients

• 300 g wholemeal rye flour
• 150 g plain flour
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 150 g dark syrup
• 5 dl cultured buttermilk
• butter for greasing

Method

1. 1Heat oven to 100°C. Grease a 1.5-litre loaf tin and line its base.
2. 2Mix flours, bicarbonate and salt. Mix syrup with buttermilk and stir into a thick batter.
3. 3Pour into tin, cover tightly with double foil and bake for 6 hours. The loaf should be firm and a skewer free of wet batter.
4. 4Cool completely before slicing thinly.