Øllebrød (Danish for "beer bread") is a traditional

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

dish. It is a porridge or thick soup made of sourdough rye bread (

rugbrød () is a very common form of rye bread from Denmark. usually resembles a long brown extruded rectangle, no more than 12 cm high, and 30–35 cm wide, depending on the bread pan in which it is baked. The basic ingredient is rye flour ...

) and

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

(often

hvidtøl The beer market in Denmark is dominated by the brands Carlsberg and Tuborg. Since Tuborg was acquired by Carlsberg in 1970, Carlsberg has held a near-monopoly. A number of regional breweries, however, managed to survive, and most of them merged in ...

). These ingredients give it a slightly sour-sweet, caramelly, full taste. It is often eaten for breakfast, a par with

oatmeal porridge Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been de-husked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains (groats) that have either been milled (ground) or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel-cut oats are ...

. It is also regarded as easily digestible and nourishing and frequently served in hospitals and retirement homes. Considered a thrifty dish, it's very rarely served at restaurants, but New Nordic Cuisine restaurants such as Noma and Agern (of chef Claus Meyer) have offered gourmet versions. Traditionally, bread scraps are used for øllebrød so as not to waste any bread that would otherwise get discarded. It's likely to be a very old dish, given that rye bread and beer were a ubiquitous staple. Some claim the recipe originated from

monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...

living, when monks would dip their bread into hot beer, but this isn't particularly plausible since both that practice and the ingredients would be present everywhere, especially in rural life. Formerly, øllebrød would be served unsweetened and could be part of all meals of the day. Nowadays, it is mostly sweetened with sugar and eaten for breakfast with milk, cream, whipped cream or egg yolk beaten with sugar. Variety recipes spice it with lemon peel, orange peel or vanilla, but many Danes disapprove of this since øllebrød is (by most) not regarded a dessert. It is best made of traditional rye bread of fine-ground flour. Since the 1970s, whole-grain rye bread, or rye bread with whole sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or similar, have become increasingly popular, but the grains or seeds will make a lumpy øllebrød, unless it is puréed with a blender or passed through a sieve. Instant powder mixes, consisting of dried rye bread and sugar, have become commercially available. These mixes are similar to ymerdrys, differing only by a more fine ground content. Øllebrød is also part of Scanian cuisine, formerly a Danish province. A Norwegian dish exists of the same name, but is made of wheat flour, milk, beer and sugar. This yields a pale result. It is very rarely eaten today. In Denmark, it is called ''norsk'' (Norwegian) ''øllebrød''.

External links

Wikibooks Cookbook: Øllebrød
Danish cuisine Porridges {{denmark-cuisine-stub

See also

External links