If you’re looking for a delicious quick bread version of wonderful Icelandic brown bread, this is it! It’s healthy with the addition of whole wheat flour and so quick and easy to make!
Things have been chaotic lately. This recipe is for times like those, it’s my good old reliable standby that everyone loves. This recipe is the perfect recipe for anyone who isn’t feeling too adventurous. It’s easy, it’s fast (except for waiting for it to cool down!), and it’s so delicious!
As much as I love making yeast breads, this is one of my favorite quickbreads. It’s not fancy, no nuts, seeds, fruit, etc. But it’s so good.
And I can always count on my husband to eat this too. In fact, usually, I have to make a couple of loaves just so he’ll have enough for breakfast the next day.
He likes it best as is, with a little sweetness from the brown sugar. You can reduce it if you like, but it really is perfect, as is. My husband was actually the one who introduced me to this recipe.
I believe this recipe actually came from an old family recipe book (and yes, his family is Icelandic!) and has probably been made for a very long time. I love recipes like that 😀
Icelandic Brown Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 grams) whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1/4 cup (80 grams) molasses (not blackstrap)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 °F (150 °C). Grease or butter a loaf pan well and set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a measuring cup measure out 2 cups buttermilk(or substitute 1 1/2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice and then fill up the measuring cup up with milk to 2 cups) Mix in molasses and then pour into the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
- Once completely mixed, pour into the prepared loaf pan and let stand for 10 minutes. After letting it stand, place in the 300 degree oven for 60 minutes.
- Check if the loaf is done with a toothpick in the center and when the loaf is done, remove from the oven, run a knife around the edge if needed, then turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool at least 30 minutes before slicing. We like this best served warm with butter.
Photos on this post were updated January 6, 2018. Here’s what they looked like before 🙂
Comments & Reviews
Lois says
This bread turned out to be amazing. Enjoyed it tonight with a bowl of scrumptious soup. Will definitely be making it again. Baking the bread at 300 degrees for 60 minutes was perfect.
Erin @ Easy Wholesome says
I’m so glad to hear that it came out well! Thanks so much for your feedback. And great to hear that the temp and baking time worked for you!
mia says
So I made this bread again today; increased the temp to 350; the outside is fairly brown and the inside is still slightly undercooked so I do not understand what it can be..if I keep the bread any longer the exterior would be burnt…
This is my third message and certainly would be shocked if I finally get a response
Erin @ Easy Wholesome says
I’m so sorry for not replying. Everyone in my family and I have gone through 2-3 rounds of stomach flu and regular flu in the last 2 weeks. I haven’t been at my computer (the posts you see posted were scheduled last month). My fever broke last night, so I’m here now. 300 °F is the correct temperature. You said if you kept it in any longer, the exterior would have been burnt. That’s because you increased the temperature to 350 °F. Do you have an oven thermometer? I would check to see if your oven is running at the correct temperature (sometimes they don’t). I also mentioned using a scale below for accuracy. Or did you make any subs at all to the recipe? Or use regular milk in place of buttermilk? Oh! I have an idea. Did you end up using agave or honey? Molasses is acidic, honey is slightly acidic and agave is more neutral in acidity. Acid reacts with the baking soda to help leaven the bread, creating bubbles and lift. This is why you don’t need as much baking powder when using molasses, since it’s already providing some of that acid needed for the soda to activate. If you used honey or agave, that could be problem. And I have no way of knowing exactly how much you should adjust the baking powder or soda, so molasses should be used. I’ll update my first reply from a few minutes ago.
Mia says
I just made this bread, I should have listened to my gut and preheated the oven to 350. A little undercooked and visually doesnt look anywhere near the photos on here…enjoy the taste. will make it again…this would pair nicely with gravalax, lox and/or salmon pate…
Thank you
Erin @ Easy Wholesome says
I’m glad you enjoyed the taste. Do you have a scale? I just added the gram measurements for you because it sounds like you might be measuring your flour differently.
Fiona says
I tried this a few days ago. I would cut the sugar by half but otherwise lovely texture and flavour and still good 4 days after baking.
Erin @ Easy Wholesome says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂 I’d love to hear how it comes out with less sugar.
Mia says
Can you use honey or agave instead of molasses.
Thanks
Erin @ Easy Wholesome says
Molasses is acidic, honey is slightly acidic and agave is more neutral in acidity. Acid reacts with the baking soda to help leaven the bread, creating bubbles and lift. This is why you don’t need as much baking powder when using molasses, since it’s already providing some of that acid needed for the soda to activate. So in this case, you really need to use molasses. Otherwise, your bread might not bake up properly.
Ellen says
Could this be made without the all-purpose flour? By using all WW flour instead of the 1.5 cup white all purpose?
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Yes. In this recipe I wrote that you can use white whole wheat or all purpose. White whole wheat is a whole wheat flour that is from a grain that is white(instead of red) and thus has a milder flavor and breads and goodies baked with it are usually a little lighter too. You can use all regular whole wheat flour if you’d like but it will be considerably denser and drier than if you use white whole wheat. I much prefer using white whole wheat flour in this recipe but using all regular whole wheat flour should work.
Clare says
I LOVE this bread! I made some last night and it turned out beautifully. I just used it to make a grilled cheese with cheddar, bacon, and apple slices, and it was the best grilled cheese I’ve ever eaten. The slight sweetness and the nutty flavor of the bread really added a lot to the sandwich. Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
I’m so glad you enjoy it – it’s one of our favorites! Your sandwich sounds amazing! We usually just eat it toasted with butter, but I’ll have to try that.
Maryea {Happy Healthy Mama} says
Yum! This bread reminds me of a bread my grandma used to make. I love old family recipes!
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Me too. Even if there are no memories connected to them(like this one is from my husbands family) there’s still something so special about them 🙂
birdie to be says
This bread looks so good! Thanks for sharing.
Maris (In Good Taste says
Easy fast and tastes awesome sounds like the ideal braed for me!
Ashley @ The Drunk Squash says
Ooo I love non-yeast breads! I love being able to just mix and cook and eat. And this looks straight up delicious.
And I totally know what you mean about sometimes just not feeling like big experiments and kitchen creations… it’s great to have some good, easy standbys to rely on.
kate says
theres seriously nothing better than warm bread & butter!
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
I agree 😀
Averie (LoveVeggiesandYoga) says
mmm, the bread and the rhubarb dessert from your last post both look wonderful 🙂
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Thank you!
Jess@Healthy Exposures says
This bread looks awesome! I would love to give it a try. A nice change if you’re not feeling a yeast bread, I think 😉
And I can certainly relate to just not feeling like being creative! I went through one of those phases a while ago. I was just in a funk and felt like eating quick, “old faithful” types of foods. It was kinda nice while it lasted; but who am I kidding? I love experimenting, too.
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Yes I think so too. Sometimes you really don’t want to wait all day for a loaf of bread right? 🙂
It is kind of nice for the time being and then sometimes looking back I’m like “ugh, I totally should have done that meal differently. That could have been so much more exciting!” But then I don’t want to be eating the same thing for weeks because I had to make it twice. Lol!
Bonny says
Yes it is a family recipe. I have a copy of it too, from the cookbook our mutual sister-in-law (the older of the two) made for my hubby. It is an old recipe for sure! I like it with crushed berries spread on it (not jam!)
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Mmm, never tried that before. Sounds yummy. I gotta make more 😀