Iceland review - 2012, Qupperneq 80

78 ICELAND REVIEW
Curious about this large person just beyond
the water’s edge (maybe she had food, who
knows?) the ducks came quacking up to
investigate while chickens clucked their way
over to inspect me sprawled out there. It was
delightfully calm and peaceful—just the vast
sky, the curious birds; the isolation of this
outpost in the Icelandic countryside.
As I closed my eyes, my thoughts drifted
through all this and beyond. I heard familiar
voices along with the occasional quacking
and clucking of the poultry. I thought of
the week before and the week ahead as the
voices drifted past me and became softer
down the road…
Then I opened my eyes, staring straight
up at the sky. Those voices were my fellow
volunteers heading back down to the vans! It
was move or be stranded out here! I bolted
off, just managing to catch them on the road.
Good thing I’m a light sleeper.
Off we went to Seyðisfjörður, a postcard-
pretty artist’s colony on the fjord of the same
name. The town at the water’s edge is sur-
rounded by high glacial mountains. Roaming
around, I shopped at the handicraft coopera-
tive and later joined everyone else at the local
coffee shop for a cup. Our group walked past
wooden homes in colorful rows to where
our van again was parked just outside the
Blue Church. Seyðisfjörður’s Blue Church
—it’s powder blue like the sky—also hosts
concerts each summer, making it a much-
loved venue.
When we were back on the road again, I
pulled out my notebook. Izzy Morgan, one
of the two young Scots who oversaw the
farmhouse at Skálanes that year, had shared
her bread recipe with me. When I returned
home, I gave Skálanes Farm Bread a try.
The recipe produces a basic rustic loaf.
Like any recipe passed from one home baker
to the other, it can be altered a bit to suit
your taste, with the addition of white whole-
wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour, for
instance, or a handful of whatever dried seeds
or fruit you may have in the cupboard, and
honey instead of sugar.
It reminds me of my day in Skálanes: a lazy
nap by the duck pond, wide blue skies on
the vast edge of Iceland and warm, welcome
meals at a long table with those who would
become my friends. 
SkálaneS Farm Bread
(MAkeS ABOuT 3 One-POunD LOAveS)

6 cups of white flour
(up to 3 cups can be replaced with white whole-wheat flour)
1 cup whole-wheat flour
a handful of seeds
2 tablespoons instant yeast
¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
2 teaspoons sugar
mix the dry ingredients together. Add enough lukewarm water
as you mix the dough so that a spoon inserted in the bread
mixture can stand on its own (about 2½—3 cups)
knead until the mixture is soft and the dough comes away
from your hands (this will not take long)
cover and let the mixture rise until doubled, then separate
into greased loaf pans for a second rise. Cover pans with plas-
tic wrap or a tea towel. This rise may take 30 minutes or so
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade (350 degrees
Fahrenheit, or gas mark 4)

Bake the loaves for 40 minutes. The loaves should be lightly
browned on top and have a hollow sound when tapped
The boys of Skálanes fondly greet all their guests, which hail from all over the world and
include scholars, tourists, students as well as inhabitants of nearby farmsteads.
A group of friends from the nearby town of Reyðarfjöður
feast on traditional meat soup, accompanied with
the famous Skálanes farm bread.
fOOD