🇮🇸 Icelandic Cuisine

Hverabrauð

Hot Spring Bread

Prep Time 20 min
Servings 8
Difficulty Medium
Calories 193 kcal

Bread baked underground in naturally heated geothermal ground near hot springs. Dense, sweet, and uniquely Icelandic.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1 Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  2. 2 Add warm water and molasses, stir until a thick, sticky batter forms.
  3. 3 Pour into a metal pot and seal the lid tightly, wrapping with foil to prevent water entry.
  4. 4 Dig a hole near a hot spring (ground temperature around 100°C) and bury the pot 30cm deep.
  5. 5 Leave buried for 24 hours.
  6. 6 Dig up, unwrap, and turn out the bread. It should be dark, dense, and sweet throughout.

Did You Know?

The Fontana geothermal bakery near Laugarvatn lets tourists watch them dig up the bread — it comes out perfectly baked every time.