Elven Lembas Bread recipe: one bite will satisfy a man for a day!
First, what’s been going on in my kitchen these days?
Amalia has been experimenting on a recipe for Elven Lembas bread for months, and speaking for myself (a willing guinea pig to all her baking efforts!) I believe it’s ready for its worldwide debut. You can scroll down to the end of this post for the recipe, or read the story behind it first.
But first you might want to know about another exciting, related development!! (happy dance!)
Second: It’s here!!
Amalia and I finished writing our new ebook for you, our fellow Middle Earth dweller wanna-bes. It’s entitled “Recipes from a Halfling’s Pantry: lots of these” and I think I can say with reasonable confidence that . . .
(You are gonna love it!)
Click on over here to buy your own copy. It’s currently set at the “Pay What you Want” option, which means either you can get a real bargain, or we can be real beneficiaries of your generosity (hint!).
Hobbits, of course, are big into parties. IT’s PARTY TIME when you finally release your ebook!
Thirdly, a little backstory
Ladies, oh, sweet, dear, hard-working keepers of the home and warmers of the hearth: are there not days you’d love to just pull out the Lembas bread and put it on a plate and be done with dinner, already? And you MEN. . . those of you who would like to take off for the day without worrying about what you will pick up for your luncheon . .
Let’s pop into author J.R.R. Tolkien’s imaginary world of Middle-earth, just for a few moments. The hobbits who lived in their cozy underground homes were all about peace, comfort and good food, and indeed, I get hobbits, being a little preoccupied with comfort, good food and whatnot myself.
(To prove this point, at this very moment in my home, the wood stove is radiating heat against the chill of this breezy day; there’s vegetable beef stew in the crock-pot for supper, and a batch of Lembas bread sits cooling on the countertop. If I was a foot shorter and had furry feet, I might actually be mistaken for a hobbit.)
Elven Lembas bread, also called Way bread, was a special type of bread or cake made by the Elves in Tolkien’s books. It was pocket-sized and exceedingly nutritious. It stayed fresh for months when wrapped in leaves, and was a type of superfood carried along on long journeys. Think super-powered energy bars.
According to the books (I’m referring, of course, to the Lord of the Rings trilogy) Lembas was brownish on the outside, and cream-colored on the inside. The secret of Lembas was very closely guarded, and it was not given to anybody who was not an Elf except on very special occasions. Like other products of the Elves, it was offensive to evil creatures; the loathsome creature Gollum refused to eat it.
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“In the morning, as they were beginning to pack their slender goods, Elves that could speak their tongue came to them and brought them many gifts of food and clothing for the journey. The food was mostly in the form of very thin cakes, made of meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the colour of cream.” – The Fellowship of the Ring
(photo credit to http://2.bp.blogspot.com)
” . . . we call it lembas or way bread, and it is more strengthening than any food made by Men . . .”
–the Elves, in The Fellowship of the Ring.
I’m a lucky mama . . .
This photo is from our visit to New Zealand’s Hobbiton, a few years ago. Exuberant Amalia, tired Malachi.
. . . for I have a daughter who really loves to cook who–though she’s a college girl now–occasionally pops home to cook or bake up goodies for her friends and family.
A devotee of the works of Tolkien, and of reading in general, actually, Amalia has been experimenting with a recipe for Lembas bread, the Elvish bread written about in his books. She has been cooking and baking Tolkien-inspired recipes for years, in fact. I wouldn’t be surprised if she stumbled onto the Elvish Lembas secrets, in her own pretty imagination.
She started out by using a recipe that she found online, and then she played around with it until she liked it better. We’ve been enthusiastic guinea pigs to her (many!) baking efforts. Don’t stop experimenting (*burp*) yet, Amalia!
What do you think made the difference?
I think it was the fact that she wasn’t satisfied until she had made batch after batch, bless her heart. This last batch that Amalia made was so delicious–just a little sweet, with a marvelous crumb and a creamy texture inside–that I knew she was as close as anybody could get to the secret Elvish recipe.
It was time, I decided, to share this recipe for Elven Lembas bread with you, gentle readers, and Amalia agreed. Because, after all, it’s more fun to share, and who doesn’t need an exceptional superfood from time to time?
Amalia’s Lembas bread recipe is buttery and rich, and just a little sweet. I don’t know if one bite will honestly satisfy a man for an entire day (I’m skeptical) as the Elves claimed, but it’ll more than likely satisfy your folks for some time, anyway!
Why not give it a try today? Oh–and a skiff of peanut butter and a drizzle of honey does not, after all, go amiss on this treat!
If you ever have a chance to visit Hobbiton, in New Zealand, jump at it! It’s marvelous!
Here is Amalia’s recipe:
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar or 1/4 cup honey
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Cream together the butter and sugar or honey. Add the flour and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Put out on suitable surface and knead until quite smooth, about 5 minutes, adding a bit of flour if necessary to keep dough from sticking.
- Roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 3″ to 4″ squares, scoring with a knife halfway through each square with a butter knife. Place on buttered cookie sheet and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
Thank you for popping in!
Hey . . . hey . . . hey! A couple of postscripts for you:
P.S. 1: Reminder! My Tolkien-crazy daughter Amalia and I finished writing our Hobbit-inspired recipe ebook, “Recipes from a Halfling’s Pantry: lots of these” and it is now available for sale!
It is a big, fat, recipe-full and photo-rich ebook, which you can download and refer to again and again for all your hearty, delicious, cozy meals. We are offering it in “Pay What You Want!” format, so click here to get yours today, for as much as you’d like to pay! $1.00 . . . or $10.00 . . . or $100.00 . . . or . . . 😉 Of course any income that Amalia and I make from this ebook, we’ll use to support our blogging adventures.
P.S. 2. Here’s my very favorite rolling pin and yes, you can order yourself one TODAY if you like.
Thank you so much!
A little teaser for you
See . .. here’s the cover of our ebook. Isn’t it a beauty??
Isn’t it pretty??
By the way . . . do you keep an Amazon list most of the time? I find that I do. I live over an hour’s drive from the city where I can shop, so online ordering if becoming more and more convenient for me. And if you can get free shipping and great prices . . . sometimes it’s a great choice. If you click through with my links, Amazon will pay me a few pennies, and it won’t cost a cent extra for you. Any income I make from this blog, I pour right back into it, and I do appreciate your support.
Under its rather quiet appearance is a very tasty and filling treat.
That’s it!
Thank you for popping in! Now go. Make some Lembas bread!
*hugs*
173 thoughts on “Elven Lembas Bread recipe: one bite will satisfy a man for a day!”
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This looks delicious and easy to make. Well done!
Thanks Carol!
much better with Almond flour!
Thanks for letting me know, Geoff. I’m going to try this!
What changes did you make, Geoff?
I know almond flour is denser and doesn’t “glue together” as well.
Dave
Do you have a ratio?
I could see almond flour being delicious for this or adding finely ground almonds to the mix.
Just printed the recipe! Looks so simple! Can’t wait to have my husband try it! He’s my cook: http://toninelsonmeansbusiness.com/stunning-video-looking-to-the-future-a-very-creative-video/
I’ll bet you’ll be hooked on them like we now are, Toni!
This sounds interesting, rather like a biscuit. You and your daughter Evlin are to be applauded. Your thinking out of the box has produced something you can share.
Francene,
They are very biscuit-like and are marvelous with a bit of honey or jam!
Oh my an elf treat? I’ll need a pillowcase full for around here. Can your darling daughter fulfill orders?
I could ask her, Shawn . . . they probably would ship quite well . . . 😉
This sounds fabulous!! I will give it a try – please thank your daughter for me!
Carrie
Amalia will appreciate your mention, Carrie. Thank you for stopping by!
Looks yummy! I’ve just pinned it!
Thanks so much, Patricia! 🙂
Loved how this final product looks and the story behind it, just wonderful Amy! Really awesome and simple! Now just gotta convince my elf to try to make it, LOL!
Thanks so much Delia, that really means a lot coming from you. I hope you get your elf to make some!
I haven’t read those books since the dinosaur’s roamed the earth- but love the imaginary world of the Hobbits. And that recipe sounds WONDERFUL- Amalia sounds like she did a great job- and I’m going to check out the recipe! In fact, it made me realize, I’m hungry!
Hooray! I hope you enjoy the recipe, and maybe it’s time to re-read the Tolkien books?
It’s been too many years (over 40) since I’ve read Lord of the Rings. I never would have tried to create a recipe and bake bread based on bread in the book. Your daughter sounds amazing.
Alana, You’re so sweet. I will make sure that Amalia sees your comment because it’s going to make her day!! Thanks so much!
Ooh, that sounds yummy! Might be nice to add a dash of cinnamon too!
Cinnamon is an awesome idea, Rachel. (Amalia, are you seeing this?? Cinnamon!) Thanks!
…or orange zest…
I love the sound of that recipe – and your daughter’s creativity! I’m a big fantasy fiction fan myself, and the Hobbits will always have a warm place in my heart. I’ll have to give this a shot!
Katie,
Every time I think of those books, I just float away on a wave of nostalgia, because I think they were the first REAL books that I read. You know what I mean–REAL books in that they just carried me away and left me breathless, wanting more. I was in junior high or so. I’d love to read them again for the first time–again!
This looks absolutely divine, always looking for new recipes for Christmas. We must try it 🙂
Thank you Anita-Clare! Try them, they are easy to make, and so buttery and delicious!
I do believe you have stumbled onto something. A superbread that will keep for weeks when wrapped in leaves indeed. I do believe I should have some.
Yup, Chef, when you get tired of cooking and need a day off (or three) make some Lembas bread! Really, it is very tasty. I like it with a skiff of butter and a drizzle of honey . .. yum . .
I made these the other day for a friend’s birthday party, since most of our social circle consists of LARPers and fantasy fans. They went over super well!
I’ve made lembas several times before, but I’ve always felt that, while good, it was too bland to be of Elven-make. This recipe wasn’t the case at all, and this is currently my favorite lembas recipe for that reason. I made a slight change; instead of using brown sugar OR honey, I used both. I’m one of those people who really loves honey in lembas, and I didn’t want to sacrifice the brown sugar taste; besides, I like sweet things, and lembas has always been sweet in my mind. I also brushed a bit of the honey on top of the lembas before baking, and I added a bit of cinnamon (about 3/4 tsp for one batch, more or less; your mileage may vary depending on how much you like cinnamon) to the dough, since I did like the use of cinnamon in other lembas recipes and it would play up the spice notes in the raw honey I used (Pine Barrens honey). The result was buttery and sweet, but not sickening or sugary. I think it tasted fairly Elvish, if that means anything.
I used banana leaves for wrapping, and tied them up with raffia: https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1/1524569_633167683397113_2144360480_n.jpg
Wow, Thank you, thank you for all these notes about your lembas bread-making. I’ll share them with my daughter Amalia, who is really the lembas bread maker in the family. She’ll love doing some experimenting! And say, your photo with the banana leaves wrapped around the bread was really neat!
I wonder if this recipe could be made more sustaining by giving it the “Cornell bread” treatment(adding wheat germ, soy flour, and dried milk to the flour for added protein and fiber). Off to the kitchen I go…
Vince,
Did you try it? I’d sure like to hear of your results!
This is a shortbread cookie recipe, so it is actually a pastry instead of waybread. Lembas, or elven waybread, was modeled after hardtack bread of a higher quality. Still, it’s a nice touch of LotR theme to the delicious cookie.
David, the books never actually say that Lembas bread was similar to hardtack. Many people assume that Tolkien modeled it after hardtack, but that doesn’t mean that it was hardtack. In fact I think that the only resemblance is the long shelf life, since Gimli is quoted saying that Lembas is similar to and actually tastier than the honey-cakes that Beorn gave them, which were described as sweet and light. Traditional hardtack is more of a salty cracker, which not only doesn’t sound Elvish but also isn’t what Gimli describes. Thus I would argue that this recipe is actually more true to the book in flavor and texture, even though it probably won’t last as long on a shelf.
Good point, Timothy. Thanks for your comment!
They’re referred to as “cakes”, so something biscuitish would be more what I would expect than hardtack or cram. I’m definitely going to try this one.
You’ll like it! They are pretty easy to make, too.
could it be possible, that the elves dehydrated them so they can keep good for a long time???
haha! Possibly?
Additionally, the elves tell the fellowship that the lembas keeps for a particularly long time *if* kept in its mallorn leaf wrappings, which has always led me to think the recipe itself needn’t be especially long-keeping like hardtack. 🙂
Yes, yes, I agree!
Yum! Made this with 100% whole wheat flour and it is quite tasty!
Thanks for letting me know, Jenn! I’m going to add that to the recipe!
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This stuff looks amazing!!! im a huge Lotr fan, and i just wanted to try lembas bread… thanks!
THank you so much, Teresa, and I really do owe all the kudos to my daughter Amalia, who developed the recipe. Have you checked out our Hobbit-inspired ebook yet? Snatch it up now for a donation: http://vomitingchicken.com/recipes-halflings-pantry-lots-ebook/
I made these and they were delicious. The taste like shortbread biscuit/cookies.
Eya,
Aren’t they delicious? I really love to drizzle a bit of honey on them while they are warm. AND they don’t need butter, but the tiniest skiff of good butter does not go amiss . . .
This lools great and so simple! However I don’t think my oven goes up to 325 degrees….what do I do?!
How hot does your oven get, Serena? I’d try to bake them anyway, cooler temps will just result in slower baking. Experiment and let me know what you find!
Are you working in Celsius or Fahrenheit? The 325 is in F.
Fahrenheit, Kitharis.
Ah that makes sense! I’m in Celsius (I did think for a moment that some conversion would be needed). Thanks! Can’t wait to try this now
No problem, Serena–good luck!!
But will it keep for months on a long journey? 😀
Legend has it, Dave, that it totally will. 🙂 If you can keep the Hobbits from snacking on it. 😉
This recipe is so EASY! I’m only 14 and I can make this! Can’t wait to see -and taiste- how it turns out when I make it! 🙂
Christina, good for you! It’s so easy that you’re going to make them again and again! If you like the recipe, check out our ebook on the subject, too: it’s full of rich and filling and easy-to-make Hobbit fare: https://gumroad.com/l/Otsk
Oh, and send me pics and I’ll share them on my blog!
Since this is an older post, are you still selling the book?
Just made these and because my kitchen is warm, put the dough in the fridge for a few minutes to roll out easier. Delicious!!!. I may sprinkle with cinnamon sugar before baking the next time I make them.
Dianna, I agree that they are even more scrumptious with a bit of sweetener added. I also like to drizzle honey on top when they are warm . . . yummm . . .
I’ve made this so many times now! My family loves them and get really excited when i make them. even my mom, who’s really not a sweets person. They’re all LotR fans too. I use a few shakes of cinnamon and found that walnuts make them delicious! It even penetrated the phenomenon of when you make food and it tastes not as good to you but everyone else loves it. try the walnuts.
Walnuts sound like a perfect addition! Thank you so much! I’ll share that with my daughter, too, who makes this recipe most often in our house. Did you know that we have an ebook available with lots more Hobbit-inspired recipes? You can pick it up here: https://gumroad.com/products/Otsk/edit# Thanks again for your comment!
your recipe sounds very good. is it in Celsius or Fahrenheit?
I use Fahrenheit, Lucy. But I’m sure there are calculators online that you can figure the Fahrenheit to Celsius, if need be.
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Hi!
Really wanted to try this but needed to covert everything being in UK.
Here is the conversion should anyone else need it.
160 degrees celsius or gas mark 3
240g butter
90g Brown sugar
220g flour.
Ill let you know how we get on!
Thank you Ali!
Wow this looks great. I am going to make it as soon as I am done with this post, as well as a recipe from Vegan, Not Gross, which I have made before. I like the taste of seeds and natural things but my girls are not so enamoured of them 🙂 I am SURE that they will like Amalia’s recipe and I am looking forward to it myself. THANK YOU not only for sharing your family’s recipies but also your faith and interests. It is so great to meet another person who loves Jesus and enjoys the SciFi/Fantasy genre. We seem to be a rare breed 🙂 Thank you, Amalia, (so close to the Sindarin term “amaelin” . . . meaning “beloved”–surely not a coincidence!) for letting your Mama share your recipe!
Pamela,
Thank you for your kind words. I personally don’t see a conflict in being a believer of Jesus, and enjoying SciFi/Fantasy. J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were both devout Christians, and God made the final frontier, after all, strange worlds “where no man has gone before!!” 😉 You are very sweet and your suspicions that Amalia is truly beloved are spot-on. Thanks again for your comment!
These were very good, rather reminiscent of shortbread. I used whole wheat white flour and found my dough to bit dry and crumbly, but I may have measured the butter with the wrong measuring cup! I just added a bit more butter and sugar. I will make these again and I bought your cookbook!
Pamela, thank you so much for purchasing our cookbook! I’d love to hear about your experiences making the recipes. Don’t you just love the white whole wheat flour? I use it all the time. Using it is a great way to get the whole wheat, without the graininess of the red wheat.
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I couldn’t find the quote, but I recall reading that lembas bread was twice baked, which sounds like biscotti. That could be another avenue for exploration.
My bad. I found the reference, but the twice baked cakes are what Beorn gave to Bilbo and the dwarves, not lembas. It would still be fun to duplicate them, though.
Thanks for checking into that, Diane. I was wondering how I could have missed that crucial tidbit!
I do love biscotti. 🙂
Hi, would love to make this bread, have the the measurements in Grams?
Thanks so much.
Lisa
Lisa, I would recommend finding an online calculator to do those calculations for you. Easy-peasy! And good luck with the recipe!
It looks like an adapted shortbread recipe, traditionally short bread is 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar.
I would look for a way to add essential nutrients that actually stave off hunger, like using oat flour, incorporating chia and some form of protein. It won’t be as cookie like in its form, but Lembas was never supposed to be a desert. Even using sunflower seed, almond, or peanut butter in place of half the butter in the existing recipe (warning fat shortens the shelf life, but I don’t expect you plan on them lasting more than a week). Quick tip if you use almond in it, try adding 1/4 tsp of poppyseeds, they are rich in calcium, iron and magnesium. On top of that the flavor will amaze you.
What an interesting comment, Piper. Thanks so much! I’m going to try the recipe with your emendations!
Remember that the book does describe the lembas bread as tasting like honey–so they were originally sweet!
I’m so glad I found this! I’m throwing a Tolkien themed party for my husband’s 40th, and all the recipes i’ve found for lembas bread are crazy. This one looks simple and sounds amazing. Will be making it this week. I’m also from Nebraska. Nice to see other Tolkien fans in the area! I’ll have to look into your book. I love to make food from literature stories.
Looking forward to making these as food for cons!
I was thinking of maybe stuffing them with peanut butter or lemon curd.
Any tips on doing so?
Alexis,
Hmmm that does sound good! You might make them smaller, like a cookie size, to make it easier to slice them open for stuffing. Let me know how it turns out!
I just finished a batch of lembas for a LOTR marathon tomorrow (I finally got a friend of mine to read the books, and now we’re watching the movies together!). I was initially skeptical because the recipe is so simple–most of the other lembas bread recipes I’ve seen have about a dozen ingredients–but it’s delicious and really easy to make. Maybe next time I’ll try adding some herbs to the dough; perhaps lavender for a sweeter, floral shortbread or a more savory basil and rosemary batch.
Sarah,
Amalia and I both discussed adding herbs to the dough, too. Have you considered buying our ebook on halfling foods? I hear that it’s quite good and you’d have many more recipes to make for your LOTR marathons! My nearly-twelve-yo son Malachi is starting to read the LOTR books. I’m so excited. I’m going to read along with him, and then we’ll watch the movies together. Probably we’ll have to make a feast to accompany our movie-watching too!
I’m going to try adding some finely ground almonds and a bit of nutmeg.
That sounds perfecT!
I made them for my whole family and they loved it. It is also easy to make i could make it and I’m 12. I’m making lembas with brown sugar and a little bit of honey. Btw my nickname is in dovahzul from the elder scrolls 5 skyrim it means strong to mind. You can learn the dragon language at thuum.org
Good good good! Thanks for the great comment!
They are delicious with brown sugar and like a teaspoon of honey. Also they taste really good with butter
Looks great! Can’t eat carbs anymore, so the almond flour idea sounds good. Any idea how much almond flour should be used?
No idea, Pete, but I would start experimenting–today!! You’ll figure it out!
Try topping them off by putting them in some green tinted wax paper (cut in squares and tilted 45 degrees to make it a diamond shape) and fold over the corners. Could also use a something more natural for the sheen and colour, like seaweed paper. But wax paper is easier/cheaper, I would suspect (and won’t go bad). Not only could you gift them away that way, but they would hold that elvish paper look too!
Awesome ideas, Matt! Did you make them yourself?
This is a joke? right? I made these and they melted in to a mess that nearly burned.
What I got was like a bad crumb topping to a pie.
Well, Marshall, you may want to double check your own method, because I’ve never (ever) heard this from anybody else who has made this recipe, including my daughter who developed it, and has made batch after batch of these with great success. Perhaps you read the recipe incorrectly. I would encourage you to try the recipe again, (or find a different one) rather than give up right away and toss insults my way.
1 cup of butter is a lot, I thought there was something weird about it. when it was done it had spread out all over the pan and there was butter everywhere. Are you sure this need 1 cup? No insult was made I’ve seen lots of recipes that are mean’t as jokes, like the chain email cookie recipes that call for 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of flour.
nope I followed the recipe, and it just made a mess.
Marshall, Nope, it’s not a mistake and we’ve made this recipe over and over without any problems. I wonder if you are overbeating the dough? That can definitely cause it to spread and make a mess. Maybe try it again and handle the dough a little more gently?
Made something similar for my son’s LOTR birthday party over fifteen years ago. Wrapped the bread in slightly green tinted large very thin pancakes.
So smart, Linda! Neat idea.
I plan on making Lembas bread for my church one Sunday, this is a big help. I do have one question however, (and please forgive the blasphemous nature of this question in regards to the canon taste of Lembas) is there a way to make it savory? Like say a butter and herb type of savory..I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen but for the life of me can’t find a way to make savory Lembas.
Teri, great question! I think the easiest thing to do would be to experiment. If I were going to make it savory, I might add some sauteed and very finely diced onions, and herbs . . . sprinkle with salt and parmesan cheese? It will be a totally different type of bread, of course, but who knows? It might be very tasty!
Lembas Bread aka Scottish Shortbread – I hope not to much time was spent reinventing this very old and tried recipe.
My daughter developed the recipe, and she’s a sharp cookie, so I doubt it took her very long. Thanks for the note!
Thanks for the idea. I added sunflower seeds and cranberries into it and it came out wonderful (I also used a half/half mixture of the brown sugar and honey).
Ooh, that sounds great! Thanks for the addition!
Preheat oven to 325 degrees? Are you insane? Most ovens can’t heat to 325°C. And if they do, then the bread won’t survive that for 25 minutes
If you are using exotic units, then maybe at least mention that?
It’s in Fahrenheit, not Celsius! It’s an American woman’s blog, it’s all American measurements. Might be the first time I’ve heard Fahrenheit referred to as “exotic”
Thank you, Ashton. I couldn’t find the words . . .
Found this looking for a recipe for Lembas Bread.
Went to the Second Breakfast blog (in xmas 2019) and found it enchanting.
Picked up the Halfling’s Pantry and found it to be the best online purchase novelty cookbook ever.
Even though the blog is no longer active, I highly recommend this cookbook for the cost. It’s got some extraordinary recipes in it.
10/10, would randomly google again.
Thank you Victor. I shared your thoughtful comment with my daughter Amalia, the co-author of the Halfling recipe book, and the author of the Second Breakfast blog. That cookbook is a labor of love from the both of us. We love to cook and bake, and working together on that cookbook was a blessed process for both of us (at least for me, ha!). Thanks again.
I’m thinking about trying these with a bit of cardamom spice instead of cinnamon… And then w/o for comparison of course 🙂 Hubby and I both love LoTR. They sound delicious.
Oh my, that does sound lovely! I would appreciate it if you would report back your culinary findings, Steph.
Tried it and it would bond and ends up as a sandy, crumbling mixture.
Not sure it is the butter not bonding or the flour lacking something.
If the recipe is supposed to be that crumbly, then it is not as ‘easy’ or ‘simple’ as advertised.
Just sharing my experience from following the recipe.
Bianca, a number of things could be happening to keep your dough from sticking together.
1. Was your butter too cold? It should be warm enough to be creamy, which will help with the bonding process.
2. Did you measure the flour carefully? Even just a little bit too much will make a difference.
3. Did you overwork the dough? like pie pastry, you want to handle it just as little as possible.
I would guess that if you made it a second time, employing these tips, you would have great success! Good luck!
Hi, Going to try and make this for the first time but I am not a baker at all. What will happen if I use bleached flour instead? Thank you!
Rebecca,
It shouldn’t make any noticeable difference in the recipe.
The recipe I know includes flour, baking powder, salt, cold butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, maple syrup, vanilla, and milk (or cream). Its always turned out perfect & delicious. This recipe didn’t turn out well at all for me when I tried it, so I’ll stick to the one I know.
I was scrolling Google for Lembas Bread recipes, and I was excited to see the name Amalia! I’ve named my younger daughter (4) that, and it seems to be a not-too-common name, so it stands out to me when I see it. And she’s literarily inclined, as well, which is even better. My older daughter (6) is named Menolly after a book character.
I can’t wait to try the recipe! Thank you so much for figuring it out.
Caitlin,
I hope you love the recipe and that it works out well for you. I love the name Amalia, as well. We pulled it out of a book (“Spring Comes on Forever,” by Bess Street Aldrich) and I daresay even Amalia herself if quite fond of it.
I ADORE THESE! They taste amazing and bring a bit of magic and feeling of middle earth right into our everyday life! Thanks so much 😀
I’m so glad you love them as much as we do!!
I love this recipe! As a big lord of the rings fan I am very happy to have found it! Is there any ideas on dips or coverings like chocolate or honey? Thanks so much!
Dipping the bread in honey is especially nice! A skiff of butter also does not go amiss!!
I made this, though I did brown sugar (1/4 cup) and honey (1/8) for preference.
Came out fabulous!
Janice, I so appreciate your feedback! Thanks so much!
I, a Scotsman, foolishly thought that the oven temperature was in Celsius. Since my oven only goes up to 250 degrees Celsius, I put it to that and decided to add about 5 minutes to the baking time.
When I came through to check on them 20 minutes later, I saw a light fog in the living room. I go to the kitchen, open up the oven, and am blasted in the face with smoke.
The Lembas Bread was blackened. I’m about to nip out and get some more butter to give it a second try, THIS TIME putting the oven at the 160~ degrees that it should be at.
Edit: Second batch turned out much better. Very delicious!
Wonderful! Thank you for the update!
OH, goodness, I’m so sorry, GentJest!
I ought to get into the habit of reminding my gentle readers that I write my recipes in American measurements & in Fahrenheit, not Celsius!
How much calories are in this? Besides that this is a really great recipe. My sister and father are really big Lord of the Rings fans, so I decided to try it. It tastes AWESOME. Highly recommend, thank your daughter for me. If your doubting making this don’t, I bet you’ll like it. Thank you!!!
Kally, in the spirit of the Shire, I’ve never figured out calorie counts! But I’m so happy that you enjoyed the recipe and that your sis and dad liked it too. I’ll pass along your compliments to my daughter Amalia!
I made these using Almond flour, which required about 3 cups vs the 2 cups mentioned in the recipe. I served them with honey for drizzling and everyone loved them. Afterwards, I read through the comments and love the idea of trying it next time with cinnamon and or other spices.
Yes! Louis, they are just a lovely blank slate and you can add to them with all sorts of lovely spices! Cardamom is good too, allspice, and even crushed fennel seeds! You just can’t go wrong.
This is actually a Scottish shortbread recipe as shown on
“https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/scottish-shortbread/”
The recipe with almond flour instead of regular flour is very good. It can be improved by rolling the dough into a log, wrapping it up and putting it in the fridge overnight. The next day slice and bake it.
Great tips, Reg, thank you!
HUGE. LotR. FAN. YES! Finally a lembas recipe that is true to the books! Thanks so much!
you are so welcome! If you’re interested in more LotR recipes, check out the ebook that my daughter Amalia and I wrote. It’s chock full of Hobbit-inspired recipes! Click here to buy a copy for yourself:
https://gumroad.com/l/Otsk
I grind down oats and either Hazel nut or almonds until fine then add to the flour mix. I small splash of nut milk to help hold it all together. Not only gives a yummy flavour but gives the added goodness of both.
OOh. That sounds so wonderful! Thanks for your notes, Jai. I may try that, myself!
Wonderful recipe ❤
The ingredients are amazing I would just bake it a bit shorter.
It taste exactly as I imagined it. I tried one recipe before which was too sweet but this one is perfect.
Thank you very much
Thanks so much for the feedback, Natalie! Of course temperatures vary from one oven to another, so it’s always best to watch your first batch carefully! I agree, the fact that this recipe is so charming is that it’s not very sweet. Also, you can slather butter and honey onto it while it’s warm with no guilt whatsoever. 🙂
Looks great! Must try it out.
Any idea if i can somehow use polenta to make it more yellowish?
Avi, I’m sure you could substitute yellow corn meal for some of the flour, and you’ll have a more golden colored dough. Try it! The texture will be a little coarser, with the corn meal, but it would certainly be a worthy experiment!
Loved it! My 13 year old son and I made some tonight and it was delicious! Taste kind of like shortbread. We followed the recipe to a T but had to add about another tablespoon or so of butter. It was way too crumbly without the extra butter.
Oh, I’m so glad you liked the recipe, Amy! And thanks for the feedback.
I have been listening to the books on audio book by Phil dragash and it’s been a life changing experience! When ever he would declare them to be “way bread” my mind was hearing “whey bread” so I assumed the elves had cows and made cheese and these tasty longevity cakes were containing ye old protein powder. Something to perhaps try to bump up the nutritional value for long journeys!
What a splendid idea! I’m going to make a point of looking for the books narrated by Phil Dragash. Thank you much for that recommendation!
Hey there! Just found your page after looking at how to make some elven bread, and I am in love!!! I will be using so many of these, can’t wait to make these for my friends and I! Honestly looking at that book and rolling pin too, you offer so many good things!! <333
Awww thank you, Taylor! I hope you signed up for my email list! I’d love to notify you when I write new posts. And we have gotten some very good reviews from our Halfling recipe book. It’s a winner, if I do say so myself. THanks so much for your kind comment!
You are so sweet, Taylor. Thanks for your nice comments and for making my day today.
Tried this recipe and added a bit of cinnamon! I can’t wait to have a cup of coffee with it 🙂
I like the way you think, Alyssa. These go so great with coffee!
Made these last year and added some blitzed up pecans and dried cranberries. Coming back again for the recipe this year because my husband often mentions how much he liked them.
Oh boy, that’s sounds so good! Christmas Lembas breads!
Can you do this with regular flour?
Absolutely! It’ll work just as well.
Thanks for the great recipe! We used this as a starting point for some recipe experiments where we tried to make the highest-calorie “bread” possible (the goal was to get to 6000 calories for a single cake, since LOTR says one cake could sustain a tall man of Minas Tirith for a full day’s march). Anyway, we made some tweaks to sacrifice taste for calories and a had a lot of fun. Thanks again!
Travis, I would love, love love to hear what all you added to this recipe to give it such a great calorie content! That sounds like a delicious project!
Hi, I’m a detail nut both in literature and in cooking, and a huge LOTR fan, so may I offer a few suggestions with the aim to make it as canonical as possible?
You may! It may be easier to sent them to my email: [email protected]. I’ll share them with my daughter and co-author, Amalia. Thanks!
I love to make it feel as real and genuine as possible. Very well written fantasy makes you feel like you were really there and in this case, as if you were eating real Lembas.
To that end: it is described in the literature as having an “earthy taste” = this is usually associated with potatoes and/ or nuts, as being “sweet” = the old world used honey bc they did not have sugar yet, as being cut into “30 pieces” = that’s easy, as “keeping a long time” = many think Tolkien had hard tack in mind in how he describes it and in his experience to WWI, as originally coming from “Aman” and special “corn” being used there, as the “Mallorn” tree’s nuts and leaves being used = use Beech tree leafs to wrap it and use hazel nuts in its baking bc they come closest to the descriptions, as being “twice baked” = crunchy, and as being in “rectangular pieces”.
With the data extrapolated could we make a recipe with something like this:
a biscotti recipe but made with honey instead of sugar, with some corn meal used with cake flour or hazel nut flour, some hazel nuts shaving in and/ or outside it, cut into 30 rectangular pieces, and wrapped in big beech tree leaves?
Wow! Thanks for this detailed content!
Do you know what the approximate shelf life would be for this recipe?
Shane, it’s a relatively dry bread and freezes well. It’ll last a long time if you freeze it, or maybe up to a week left out at room temperature. I guess I don’t know for sure, since it gets eaten fairly quickly at our house!
Is the flour in this recipe self-rising or all purpose flour?
Jarred, I use all-purpose or unbleached. I rarely use self-rising flour.
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