Lembas Bread | Lord of the Rings Inspired Recipes (2024)

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“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.“

—The Fellowship of the Ring, “Farewell to Lorien“

It’s time for another fictional foray into the magical and mystical world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

While the books are timeless and are well worth the puruse for avid fantasy readers, it was the movies that really stole my tweenager heart and began a lifelong obsession where I’ve continued watch the movies (extended editions ONLY) at least once a year, well into my adulthood. In fact, Return of the King is playing in the background as I type this right now.

The Fellowship of the Ring is where it all begins – and where we are introduced to lembas bread, an elvish whey bread that could fill the stomach of a grown man with just one bite.

And as someone who appreciates bread more than the average person, I just knew it was the perfect recipe to make my way into the delicious lore surrounding Middle Earth.

While there are many recipes for lembas bread out there that are inspired by a more authentic take on how this bread was made in Lothlorien by the elves, I always fancied the actual recipe for lembas bread to be more akin to a focaccia – but with less air bubbles.

One thing is for sure, making your own lembas bread at home is easier than taking the One Ring to Mordor!

Authentic Lembas Bread

The elves passed this recipe from generation to generation (even Galadriel herself had a part to play in this recipe keeping intact) and is a closely guarded secret – however exceptions to who could consume it were made from time to time. It was light and slightly crisp, with an undertone of sweetness. Even Gimili enjoyed this bread!

In the books, lembas is a whey bread made from ground corn and seed. Like other food made by Elven hands, lembas bread could not be corrupted by evil and therefore couldn’t be eaten by those also corrupted themselves. Gollum was unable to take even the tiniest of bites.

The bread itself was likely inspired by real life bread that Tolkien would see consumed on long journies at sea, called “tack” – which was dried and meant to last many months on a ship.

Lembas Bread Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make your very own lembas bread with ingredients that can be found here in Middle Earth.

• flour – all-purpose flour or whole wheat will work for this recipe
• active dry yeast – activate the yeast in warm water until it is foamy and bubbling for best results
• warm water – 90°F to 110°F is the range we are looking to hit (any hotter will kill the yeast!)
• sugar – to give the yeast something to snack on
• fine salt – to evenly enhance flavor
• olive oil – for flavor and golden coloring
• Italian seasoning – I found specifically that “pizza seasoning” works great in this recipe
• finishing salt – I used Fleur de Sel (affiliate link) for my “salt from the Shire”

This recipe was based off this recipe from King Arthur for no-fuss focaccia.

Letting Lembas Rise

Like any bread, the rise time is the longest part of this recipe. There is a sweet spot to how long to let it rise – you don’t want too many large air pockets but also you don’t want to let it over proof. Focaccia dough is very, very wet so it takes a bit more time to rise than average dough – keep a close eye on your dough while proofing so it doesn’t become fragile looking. You want hearty shaped lumps, but no huge bubbles. This recipe creates a tighter crumb than your typical focaccia.

The dough should be doubled in size, but not bubbling up, when it is ready to be baked. It will still be pretty thin. I used a slightly larger pan than I intended to and spread the dough all the way to the edges to make the focaccia even thinner.

While we may not have access to mallorn leaves, which help keep real lembas bread fresh for weeks, this lembas bread is wrapped in parchment paper printed leaves that I went on my own long journey to obtain off of Amazon (affiliate link).

Check out the parchment leaves below:

To wrap the lembas, I placed two leaves back to back so that the inside of the wrapping was green as well. There’s just a little bit of misalignment – but I think it turned out pretty good looking!

If you want a more authentic option, banana leaves can also be used as a wrapping. I used butcher twine to tie the leaves around the bread prior to serving.

This bread can keep fresh in their parchment leaves – in an airtight container, preferrably chilled – for up to 3-4 days. Unlike the lembas on neverending journey, this lembas bread does keep longer under refridgeration.

Well, what do you think? Is this an authentic take on lembas bread? Are you excited for the new show or will you stick to the movies (or books)?

What Lord of the Rings inspired recipe should I take on next?

Let me know in the comments below!

And shout out to my hubby for hand making most of the wooden bowls and goblets in the photos – I asked him for “hobbit bowls” and he delivered! Follow his woodworking @ChuckandMoonbeam on Instagram.

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