Watch this while you bake.
Lembas Bread
From Rachel Garofalo
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 12 servings (will feed 200 hobbits)
"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
Ingredients
2 ½ cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
⅓ of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
½ of honey
⅔ of heavy whipping cream
½ teaspoon of vanilla
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425° F.
Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.
In the same bowl, add the butter and mix with a well till fine granules (this is easiest with a hand-held electric mixer)
Then, add the sugar and cinnamon, and mix them thoroughly
Add the cream, honey, and vanilla and stir them in with a fork until a nice, thick dough forms.
Roll the dough out to about ½ in thickness onto parchment paper. Cut out 3-inch squares and transfer the dough (still on parchment paper) to a cookie sheet (bake the bread on the parchment paper).
Criss-cross each square from corner-to-corner with a knife, lightly (not curring through the dough and stopping slightly before the corner edges).
Bake for about 12 minutes or more (depending on the thickness of the bread) until it is set and lightly golden.
Allow lembas to cool on cookie sheets for at least 5 minutes before moving, cool completely before serving, or transferring to an airtight container for storage. This original recipe says: “Let the bread cool completely before eating. This bread tastes best at room temperature and dry.” I (Rachel) enjoyed the bread warm and cool. So, you may do what you wish.
Wrap in leaves and tie with twine for an authentic presentation. See this from Celebration Generation’s recipe blog:
NATURAL LEAVES
As pictured, we used fresh collard greens to wrap our lembas, then tied with some kitchen twine.
Another fresh option would be to use banana leaves, if you have access to them.
Both fresh leaf options are best if you’re going to use the lembas the same day, I wouldn’t recommend them for longer term storage.
NOTES
For more flavor, you can add more cinnamon or other spices.
Original recipe from theweepingtimelord (on Pinterest)
Gluten-free lembas bread from Celebration Generation
“Eat little at a time, and only at need. For these things are given to serve you when all else fails. The cakes will keep sweet for many many days, if they are unbroken and left in their leaf-wrappings, as we have brought them. One will keep a traveler on his feet for a day of long labour, even if he be one of the tall Men of Minas Tirith.”