Lembas - Elvish Waybread: a real-world recipe

Here's a recipe I put together for Lembas bread. Didn't know I could bake, did you? Well, I can, and I'm pretty durned good at it when I want to be.

Note: Okay, this isn't exactly directly related to OD&D, but we all know that there is a relationship between OD&D and Middle Earth, and this makes for a good holiday treat, or a nice, filling and fairly healthy snack at the gaming table.

Here's how it came about: we were doing a Lord of the Rings marathon at my buddy Mike's house when the RotK extended edition came out. Mike has a 42" widescreen and a really kick ass surround sound system, so we got together at 9:00 AM on Saturday and watched all twelve-plus hours of the epic trilogy back to back. It was awesome.

Anyway, I wanted to contribute something so I started searching for recipes for Lembas bread. My efforts that year were futile, but flash forward to last Christmas. I got the hankering to try again, so I looked up some recipes online. This time I was successful in finding a bunch, but was wildly unhappy with the vast majority of them. It seemed stupid to me that everyone puts orange peel or citrus fruit into Lembas, when elves lived in a temperate climate in England.

So I set about to make my own, based on what we know of Lembas bread. Here's what Tolkien says about Lembas:

  • They contain honey (or at least they "remain sweet for many days" and are reminiscent of, and better than, "the honey-cakes baked by the beornings.")
  • they are cream-colored on the inside with a light brown outer crust
  • they are thin and regular-shaped (mine are rectangular).
  • they are hearty and healthy. One cake is supposedly enough to sustain a man for a full day's march.
  • They contain the "fruit of the Mallorn Tree" - a fictional plant from Middle Earth, but the "fruit" is described as a nut with a silver shale.
Some other things we can guess, just based on what Lembas is: It is likely it contains fruit and flower-water or juice of some sort. Since elves live in a temperate climate, apples or berries, perhaps strawberries or blueberries, are a good bet. The type of fruit used will change the flavor of the bread. I am going with apples due to the fact that Tolkien says Lembas is golden on the outside and cream-colored inside; berries would color the bread dark inside, while apples will not have this effect.

In addition, Lembas should contain some kind of finely ground light-colored nut for protein (recall that the "fruit of the Mallorn tree" is actually a nut with a silver shale). I use walnuts, but peanuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, or even chestnuts would work well, too. Some have described the Mallorn fruit as being similar to acorns, though due to the dangers of consuming improperly prepared acorns, this isn't recommended for us mortals.

It's likely that nourishing flour, such as whole grain, would be used. I use half wheat flower and half white. My original attempt used all wheat flour but resulted in a very heavy, very dry cake. Using pastry flour for the wheat portion also makes for a lighter cake.

A final note: the addition of vanilla and cinnamon to my recipe was originally done to help offset the somewhat floury flavor of the final cake, and it worked out brilliantly. However, as an added bonus, there are in fact health benefits to both vanilla and cinnamon, so they fit in well with the overall recipe! It is, however, unfortunate that cinnamon and vanilla are both tropical plants, so their inclusion does remove the recipe somewhat from the realm of probable accuracy.  I'd be interested in hearing any suggestions for replacing these two spices with some that are indigenous to Europe in the U.K. region, which would work well with a sweeter bread such as this. 

So without further ado, here it is: my recipe for Lembas. I am constantly tweaking this recipe; this is the most recent version and I am transcribing it here having just pulled a batch out of the oven not ten minutes ago. The final consistency of these is somewhere between a bread and a cookie, not unlike a shortbread.

UPDATE 3/17/2016: I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in September. It's been a hard road but I'm learning to manage it, and that includes discovering substitutes for higher carb foods. In this recipe, I have added substitutions into the ingredients below to make the cakes more diabetic-friendly. 

About the New Ingredients: Replacing the whole wheat and white flour with almond meal/flour not only greatly reduces the carbs in the bar, but should have the added effect of making the cinnamon and vanilla entirely unnecessary as the cakes will have a "nut" flavor rather than a floury one. 

Replacing the brown sugar with Splenda or Stevia is a must, in this case, as is replacing the honey with sugar-free honey-flavored syrup (which is essentially a flavored maltitol syrup. This means that some diabetics who are sensitive to sugar alcohols may still have issues with it).  Finally, if using almond flour, it might behoove the baker to also omit the 1/4 cup of nuts, as they might be redundant and create an overpowering flavor. In the end, I'm back to experimentation.

  • 1 3/4 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 3/4 cups of white flour
  • (alternate for Diabetes-friendly: 2.5 cups almond meal/flour in place of wheat and white flour)
  • (additional Diabetic alternate: 1 3/4 cups of Carbquik baking mix in place of white flour)
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 8 Tablespoons cold butter
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar 
  • (alternate for Diabetes-Friendly: 1/3 cup brown Swerve (erythritol))
  • 2 Tablespoons cinnamon (optional)*
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla (optional)*
  • 1/3 cup honey 
  • (alternate for Diabetes-Friendly: 1/3 cup sugar-free honey-flavored syrup)
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 fresh, peeled, finely-chopped apple
  • 1/4 cup nuts (walnuts, pistachios, peanuts)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

3. Chop butter into mixture with a pastry cutter or knead in with your fingers until you get a crumbly mixture.

4. Add sugar, cinnamon, vanilla (optional), honey, apple, and nuts, and mix.

5. Add milk. Stir with a fork or knead with hands until dough forms.

6. Roll the dough out about 1/2 inch thick.

7. Cut out 2-3 inch squares and transfer to an ungreased cookie sheet (optionally lined with parchment). Criss-cross each square from corner to corner with a knife.

8. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set and lightly golden. Makes 20 to 25 cakes.

* Foregoing cinnamon and vanilla may result in a floury taste to the final cake. If using almond flour instead of white/wheat, cinnamon and vanilla are entirely unnecessary. Additionally, for a more "realistic" recipe using spices indigenous to England, instead of cinnamon and vanilla, experiment with common hogweed, herb bennett, magnolia petals, meadowsweet, and sweet clover. Be forewarned about these last two, as they contain coumarin, which can be an anticoagulant in high doses.

Comments

  1. I found your recipe while searching online and it's similar to the one I used as a base before. (ie, before I lost my printed and scribbled on copy.) I too substituted whole wheat flour for half the flour, but also was able to throw in some rice flour and almond flour to further tip the scale away from the white. I also experimented with spices particularly cardamom to get an exotic, otherworldly scent to it. I'm looking forward to trying it with apple now. The citrus never bothered me since elves seemed to be remarkably green-thumbed and able to grow things easily. A greenhouse garden or even valley would not be impossible given their other accomplishments.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Hm. Good catch. Using some corn flour would solve that issue neatly.

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    3. The original lembas recipe is ancient, dating back to before Elves settled in Undying Lands or Blessed Realm which makes greenhouse garden fruits even less likely ingredients imho. I believe apples are most probable given their ties to Europe and European mythologies, namely Celtic and Norse.
      "It is said by the Eldar that the art of preparing the Lembas came from the Vala Yavanna as far back to the Elves Great Journey to Aman, when she brought to them a special corn grown on her fields there" lotr wikia

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    4. I'm am replacing the cinnamon with 2 1/2 tsp of Cardamom also added 1/2 cup of oats I upped the honey to 1/2 cup and used raw honey as elves probably used raw honey I made afew other adjustments like using 2 cups of corn flour in place of the whole-wheat since it said they used big golden ears of a special golden corn I cut the white flour to 1 1/2 cups and added 1 tsp baking soda since corn flour is gluten free also used pear and apple and threw in some dates for the nuts I used pecans although I am going to use almonds next time and I threw in 1/4 cup corn meal as well going to try baking at 375 degrees and will let u know how it turns out

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    5. Tolkien doesn't say "ears of corn." He just says a special kind of corn. In the context in which it's used, "corn" just means "grain." It's actually unlikely that he was talking about the corn we have in the U.S. since that's not native to England, but a magical form of wheat or other grain used by the elves.

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    6. "Barleycorn"? Maybe the four is barley...

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  2. (No idea if you're still reading comments on this...) A friend directed me here after telling me about this recipe. I was wondering, have you ever tried grinding up nuts and using those as part of the flour? A lot of European desserts use almond flour as a base, and that would help contribute to a more tender consistency, too. Oat flour might be a good bet as well. Both nuts and oats are easily ground up in a cheap coffee grinder, I've got one at home that can't do jack for coffee beans but works wonders on everything else. I'll try this out soon, thanks for putting up the recipe!

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  3. I haven't actually ground nuts into the flour. I have in my last attempt added cinnamon, which goes a long way towards helping it hold moisture and cutting any floury flavor. I use 1 Tbsp of cinnamon in the mix.

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  4. Thank you I've been searching for a more sustaining recipe and I like these ideas. It made me think also perhaps you could use a nut flour such as almond flour(although I doubt almonds would be the right type of nut but you get my point). If it's said that one bite could sustain a man for a day them it must be extremely heavy and protein/fat dense I would imagine. Can't wait to try it out!

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    1. The use of nut flour might be really good. I expect you'd need to add a bit more baking soda or another leavening agent as nut flour would be a lot heavier then normal white flour. My own thought is that it should be protein dense, have a fair amount of carbs, but not necessarily a great deal of actual fat.

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    2. If you soak raw almonds overnight (in the fridge) this will change the fat to protein content/ratio. They will also begin to form a sprout on the inner sides of the almond. You'll see the tiny sprout once you separate the almond halves. Be sure to peel the skins from your almonds before grinding.

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  5. I've been having some trouble with the bread. I was wondering if you know whether or not gluten-free flour would effect the way the bread bakes and if I need to let it bake longer due to the difference in flour.

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    1. Honestly, I don't know. I'm FAR from a professional baker; I'm a dabbler at best! I know that when I used whole wheat flour originally it made the dough extremely heavy and dry. My guess is gluten-free flour might have a similar effect?

      But enter my wife, the baker, to the rescue! When using gluten-free flour you need to add a leavening agent. Here's an article on it:

      http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/od/glutenfreecookingbasics/a/xanthanguargums.htm

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  6. I've been watching (and listening, I like audio books) to "The Hobbit" and LOTR again and I love to hike. Walking through the deep woods listing to LOTR is COOL!

    Anyway it seemed that there ought to be a good recipe for Lembas out there and this one looks like it should work. I look forward to trying it out and munching on some of these cakes on the trail.

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  7. Hello love. I have a few comments regarding your bread:

    1. I know you're not an almond fan, but you could try almond extract or almonds in the bread or flour. They are not technically native to England but they can grow there.
    2. Dried apricots would also be nom for a different twist. Drying the fruit first would add an interesting consistency in general. Again, not native, but can be grown there.
    3. I was a little surprised by how high you set the temp to bake, I usually bake at 350 or 375, tops.
    4. Sour cream is an awesome ingredient for moist, delicious baking goodness. Even a little can add a lot of moisture. So is applesauce. Omnomnom.

    Love you!
    ~Yer wife

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  8. Hello,
    Thanks for this recipe idea.Yours is the first lembas recipe that is trying to be a waybread- Elvish energy bar. I too went back and read Tolkien's description and am thinking of trying to make an almond and fruit filled cookie/thin cake I may try adding oatflour and maybe amaranth or another seed to add nutritional value.

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    1. Amaranth worked well. Still dry but not bad at all.

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  9. I just made a dozen from this recipe, but it rather turned out like some soft tasty cookies instead of some bread like consistent? is that normal? well might have improvised with eye measure at some of the ingredient since i didn´t have all the things i needed for baking.

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    1. They should be more like a cross between a cake and a shortbread. They're not a "bread" per se. As Rosanna said above, they should be more like an "Elvish energy bar." They tend to be heavier and crumblier than bread. They've got an almost cookie-like consistency but rise like bread does.

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  10. I wonder if perhaps you might consider Cattail Flour made from the pollen of the Cattails?

    TimCadwell

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    1. I am unfamiliar with cattail flour. I'll look into it.

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    2. Cattail flour comes from the starchy root. I've made griddle cakes with them. It might be worth a shot. The seeds (the brown cattail part) are....not great. The pollen (yellow part at the top) carries some natural yeasts and loads of vitamins which can give a vibrant yellow colour and the little bugs some added protein lol.

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  11. Going completely off the ranch (Ala cinnamon) here are some other thoughts...

    Cardamom seeds instead of or along with nuts...first commentator is onto something there!

    When I do regular bread with whole wheat flour, for each cup of flour, I add 1 TBSP of vital wheat gluten. If you did this with 100% whole wheat, I bet you'd have better success.

    Olive oil instead of butter?

    If you measure and pour out the oil first, use the same measuring cup moments later for the honey. If you do (and don't rinse or wash the 1/3 cup), all of the honey it will slide right out.

    Raw sugar instead of brown sugar? Possibly slightly less sweet due to no molasses.

    Sour cream works as someone said above...so does yogurt. Might be a bit creamier than milk.

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  12. It seems odd to me, that you object to vanilla and cinnamon, but not brown sugar, since sugar cane grows in the tropics. I think that substituting this for maple syrup would help add some of the flavor you're looking for, while also working toward authenticity. For native spices, you could try anise, mint, or sweet cicely.

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    1. An equivalent substance to brown sugar can be found in England--a sweetener could be distilled from fructose gathered from indigenous fruit, and molasses added from grapes or sugar beets. It's moot that it's not generally made that way in the modern era. The simple fact is that is is indeed a POSSIBLE addition based on what can be naturally found in Great Britain.

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    2. In my most recent batch, I used maple sugar, which not only worked very well, but compensated for the lack of vanilla and cinnamon!

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    3. One thing my historical re-enactment mentors taught me was that while cane sugar is not native to Europe, what was used more often was beet sugar. I haven't had access to it to try, but they tell me it tastes a but different to cane sugar, and it's normally distilled as a liquid. I think that's what a Renaissance-era sugar loaf was made from. Brown sugar is probably the closest in common use now.

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  13. I just made a batch of these! I substituted 1/4 of the total flour with millet flour. It's been consumed by humans for at least 10,000 years, being the oldest known cereal grain that we've eaten. I did not use vanilla or sugar, but instead added just 1 tbsp of cardamom seeds. For the nuts, I used pistachios and turned them into a fine meal using my blender. These are delicious! I have to say, this is the best base recipe for lembas that I have ever come across. Thank you!

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  14. I am going to try my hand at Lembas this weekend and think that your recipe is the best of the ones I have read. This is more food for thought but I am an herbalist and a student of Medieval England. Since Tolkien was trying to write mythology for England because there was one, Medieval England seems to be the time period that he has used for Middle Earth. Nuts that I have not seen considered but were used in Medieval cookery are pine nuts and by the First Crusades most spices including cinnamon were used by the wealthy, and I believe that Elves were wealthy, but a substitute for cinnamon would be ginger. A fruit that was used commonly in Medieval England was pears so I will be using pine nuts, ginger and pears in my version of lembas bread and will let you know how it turns out.

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    1. Great ideas! I have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes so I have also been considering ways to reduce the glycemic index of these. My thought has been to eliminate the white flour entirely and use half whole wheat pastry flour, 1/4 almond flour, and 1/4 oat flower. This will not only make them more carb-friendly, but increase their nutritional value as well.

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  15. Awesome base recipe. I'll keep y'all posted. I'm going to see how many days I can manage off just lembas. The batch this week swapped 1/4 cup flour for 1/4 cup red kratom powder..... I do not recommend, not for any off flavours just very dry.

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  16. Honest question: How do you know that Tolkien said Lembas has honey and Mallorn nut in it? I'm trying to research the heck out of Lembas and I can't find any primary sources that mention honey and Mallorn nut. I'm not ridiculing or anything. I just wanna know. Much appreciated.

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    1. I was wondering about that too. Everything else is from the source, but idk about the fruit part?

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    2. I cannot remember for the life of me where I read it. I know I did somewhere; I just can't recall (or find) where. Still, it's clearly stated that lembas is wrapped in Mallorn leaves, and Samwise is given a mallorn fruit at one point (which is where it's described). It would stand to reason that if it's wrapped in the leaves, the nut is also use in it. As for honey, it's stated to have a taste reminiscent of (but better than) the honey-cakes of the Beornings. So again, it stands to reason that it has honey in it.

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    3. Oddly, it's not just me. There are recipes all over the Web that cite it as containing the fruit of the mallorn tree, quotes and all. It has to be out there somewhere. That being said, I've recently found quotes that may indicate that lembas does, in fact, use corn in the traditional sense of the world. The corn is described as having yellow ears that are harvested without scythe or blade, and white stalks. That certainly sounds like, you know, corn.

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    4. Just wondering, since someone has almost certainly tested this: how long does this keep at room temperature if it's in an airtight container?

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    5. I haven't tested it in detali (ie. to see how long it takes for it to go bad), but I have kept it for a good week in a tupperware container with no issues

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  17. Found out that Mallorn trees were inspired by beech trees, and whaddaya know, beech nuts are edible (just don't eat large quantities of raw nuts). Maybe beech nut ground into the flour might help, and maybe even be the most authentic part?

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  18. I'm guessing you don't still look at this but I decided to start a fantasy baking project during lockdown and wanted to thank you for this recipe and the discussion which were both great inspiration.

    I used an equal mix of whole-grain spelt flour (fairly ancient & slightly lower GI than white) and half ground almonds as well as replacing the chopped apple and nuts with 2 tablespoons each of (unsweetened) apple, and chestnut purees. Made for a softer dough and thus a more cake-like consistency than is probably accurate but they were very tasty and lasted more than two weeks sealed in a bees-wax wrap :)

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    1. Actually I do still read this, and I appreciae your comment!

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  19. Pearl, from 2023 here! I've searched for 6 decades for a relatable lembas recipe...and for decades have seen mostly cakes, biscuits and cookies that only vaguely resemble what I understand lembas/waybread to be: a nutrient rich, somewhat dense, filling, flavourful hardtack type "bread" that falls somewhere between crisp, crunch and hard!

    I reckon I've finally found the best base recipe and suggestions here in this post AND comments...and it's only taken me 63 years!!!

    Thanks ever so much, ALL of you!!

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