Laufabrauð

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 200 grye flour
• 2 tspbaking powder
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspsugar
• 50 gbutter
• about 400 ml hot milk

To fry

• beef tallow or oil, for deep frying

Equipment

• a laufabrauðsjárn cutting wheel, or a sharp knife
• a flat plate as a template

Directions

1. Mix the flours, baking powder, salt and sugar, rub in the butter, and bring it together with hot milk. Use the milk genuinely hot. It scalds the flour and makes a dough that rolls out paper-thin without tearing, which cold liquid will not do.
2. Knead it hard for 10 minutes into a very firm, smooth dough, and work it while still warm. Keep it covered at all times. This dough dries out within minutes of being exposed and cracked dough cannot be patterned.
3. Take a small piece and roll it as thin as you possibly can, until you can read print through it. Laufabrauð should be almost translucent, and anything thicker fries into a biscuit rather than a crisp leaf.
4. Cut a neat circle using a plate as a template, about 18 cm across. Now the cutting, which is the point of the whole exercise and is done as a family, around a table, over several evenings in December. Fold the circle in half in your mind and work symmetrically.
5. Cut short parallel slits in rows across the surface with the wheel or a sharp knife. The cuts must go right through and the folds must be pressed down firmly, or the pattern flattens out in the fat and disappears. Keep the finished rounds stacked between sheets of paper, covered, until you fry them. Heat the tallow to about 180°C (355°F).
6. Fry each round for 20 to 30 seconds a side only, holding it flat under the surface with a fork or a flat lid. Hold it flat. It is done the moment it turns pale gold and crisp; a few seconds more and it browns and tastes burnt.
7. Lift them out and press them flat between two boards or under a weight while they cool. Pressing them as they cool is what keeps them flat enough to stack, and Icelandic households keep them under a board in a tin.

Technique

• The cutting evening, laufabrauðsgerð, is a family occasion in its own right and children are given the simple patterns.
• The special cutting wheel is cheap and sold everywhere in Iceland in December.
• Tallow is traditional and gives a distinct flavour; oil is what most households now use.

Substitutions

• A sharp small knife and a steady hand, in place of the wheel.
• Neutral oil in place of tallow.

Variations

• Made with all wheat flour, which is the modern version.
• Cut with very simple patterns, which is how beginners start.
• Served plain rather than buttered.

History

A northern Icelandic Christmas tradition from times of scarce flour, cut by the whole family before Advent.

Frequently asked questions

What is Laufabrauð?

Laufabrauð is a bread & pastry from Iceland: paper-thin rye rounds cut with patterns and fried crisp for Christmas. A northern Icelandic Christmas tradition from times of scarce flour, cut by the whole family before Advent.

How long does Laufabrauð take to make?

Laufabrauð takes 2 hr of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 20. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Laufabrauð?

Yes, within limits. A sharp small knife and a steady hand, in place of the wheel. Neutral oil in place of tallow.

What is the most important thing to get right in Laufabrauð?

Take a small piece and roll it as thin as you possibly can, until you can read print through it. Laufabrauð should be almost translucent, and anything thicker fries into a biscuit rather than a crisp leaf.