The robust bread of the Rye Cup recipe can be easily added with larger amounts of chopped herbs of various kinds.
Julie A. Swane is the author of a series of foraging books about edible herbs and plants that can be found wild and mixed into bread dough. Julie recommends everything from spruce, Swiss chard, rosehips and rosehip flowers, nettles, sweet chervil / Spanish chervil or dandelions.
The recipe below is with spruce syrup.
To give the Rugkop rye bread a taste of spruce, the recipe's 3 lids of honey/syrup can be replaced with spruce syrup , for which Julie gives the following recipe:
- 6 dl fresh fir shoots
- 4 dl water
- 4 dl sugar
Rinse the shoots thoroughly. Put them in a pot together with the water. Let the shoots cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. Turn off and let it soak overnight.
Strain out the needles (they can possibly be chopped and used in a batch of rye bread dough) and add the sugar. Simmer over low heat until it thickens to a syrup. When it has the desired consistency, it is poured into clean scalded bottles. Close the bottles, let it cool and store in a dark and cool place.
When? Young spruce shoots are picked at the beginning of May. They are easy to see because they are distinctly light green and soft. Older but still green needle shoots can also be used. Therefore, spruce syrup can be made all year round.
Storage? They are kept frozen for the rest of the year, so that they retain their flavor and softness right up until they are added to the dough.
Bake the Rugkop rye bread as usual and enjoy the taste of spruce.
Get more inspiring knowledge about sankemad in Julie A. Swane's many books, which can be bought in Julie's fantastic flower shop Your Plant Friend at Amagerbrogade 7 in Copenhagen.