Barley and Rye Flatbread for the Road
Thin, flat barley and rye griddle cakes, baked on a stone or hot plate, unleavened. Dry and sturdy, they keep a long time: the bread of the walker between worlds.
Thin, flat barley and rye griddle cakes, baked on a stone or hot plate, unleavened. Dry and sturdy, they keep a long time: the bread of the walker between worlds.
I never stay in one place: Jötunheim in the morning, Ásgard in the evening, and the road between them. One does not travel on an empty stomach between the nine worlds! Mix barley with rye, just water and salt, roll it thin as a leaf and cook on the hot stone until it crackles. Slip them into your pouch: they will last as long as my lies — which is, believe me, a very long time.
- •Barley flour — two parts (rustic base)
- •Rye flour — one part (flavor and structure)
- •Water — as needed (binding)
- •Salt — a pinch (seasoning and preservation)
Barley and Rye Flatbread for the Road
Thin, flat barley and rye griddle cakes, baked on a stone or hot plate, unleavened. Dry and sturdy, they keep a long time: the bread of the walker between worlds.
Why this dish? Loki is the god who constantly travels between the nine worlds — Ásgard, Jötunheim, Niflheim — always on the road, always between two tricks. Dry flatbread, which keeps for weeks in a pouch, is exactly the traveler's fare capable of crossing all realms.
I never stay in one place: Jötunheim in the morning, Ásgard in the evening, and the road between them. One does not travel on an empty stomach between the nine worlds! Mix barley with rye, just water and salt, roll it thin as a leaf and cook on the hot stone until it crackles. Slip them into your pouch: they will last as long as my lies — which is, believe me, a very long time.
Ingredients (period version)
- Barley flour — two parts (rustic base)
- Rye flour — one part (flavor and structure)
- Water — as needed (binding)
- Salt — a pinch (seasoning and preservation)
Ingredients
- Barley flour — 200 g (base)
- Rye flour — 100 g (flavor and structure)
- Warm water — about 150 ml (hydration)
- Salt — 1 teaspoon (taste)
- Angelica or caraway seeds — 1 teaspoon (optional) (Nordic fragrance)
Method
- Mix flours and salt, add water gradually until a firm dough forms.
- Knead briefly, divide into balls, roll out very thinly.
- Cook each flatbread 1 to 2 minutes per side on a hot griddle or pan, without fat, until golden and blistered.
- Let dry completely on a rack so they keep.
- Eat with salted salmon, cheese or a little honey.
How it was made : Unleavened flatbread (flatbrød) baked on a stone or iron plate was the travel and storage bread of the North: dry, it kept for months, hung from the rafters. Barley dominated where wheat grew poorly. It was the provision (nesti) taken to sea or on expedition.
The contemporary twist : Stack them like slates with a leather cord like a traveler's pouch, under the name “rations of the nine worlds.”
Loki · Charactorium
