Viking Bread in Birka: What Did the Vikings Eat?

Asking “What did the Vikings eat?” is a bit like asking what did the Europeans eat between 700 and 1063 A.D. Vikings hailed from everywhere and covered an area from Russia to the Atlantic seaboard of North America (for at least a couple of seasons). The Viking population is diverse enough that what they ate would heavily correlate with where they came from while incorporating what was available locally. Still, food is an important aspect of life, and bread is one of the pillars upon which societies are built.

Bread Grains in Birka

Gravesites in Birka and central Sweden have yielded at least nine different types of bread. These Viking breads were made with oats or hulled barley. Wheat was used for the thinner breads. Viking bakers also used rye on rare occasions.

Viking Bread in Birka

Breads could be rectangular, when baked in a form. Bakers would make round loaves and hang them from a wire. Buns were oval. There were two different kinds of biscuits and little fried dough balls. One snack was crunchy and shaped like an eight.

Vikings in the Birka area might eat two types of flatbreads. The first type was like a tortilla that they could layer with food and fold. The second style of flatbread was great for storing. It featured a hole in the center, so they could hang it. It was dry, thin, round, and crispy. Archeologists have discovered breads with seeds sprinkled on top and baked-in herbs.

Widespread or Local?

No one knows if this was typical of Viking life everywhere. Bread this varied may have been a particular specialty of Birka and the surrounding region.

A Viking Bread Recipe

The Viking Ship Museum (Vikingeskibs Museet) in Roskilde, Denmark, posted a recipe for a type of Viking bread based on archeological findings. We’ve converted it into American standard measurements.

Ingredients:

• Wheat flour: 1 ⅔ cups (400 ml)
• Oats: 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (20 ml)
• Salt: ½ teaspoon (½ tsk)
• Butter: 3 ½ tablespoons or 3.5 tbsp marked on a stick (50 g)
• Honey: 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (50 ml)
• Water: ⅘ cup or roughly ¾ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (200 ml)

Directions:

•     Combine the wheat flour, oats, and salt in bowl.
•     Knead the butter into the dry ingredients by hand.
•     Add honey and water and mix until it forms a dough.
•     Let the mixture rest for a half hour.
•     Take a walnut-sized ball of dough, flatten it to about 1/5 inch (5mm).
•     Fry on a dry pan at medium to medium-high heat until the biscuit is cooked.

The museum says that this is great on a stove, but even better at over a campfire. The end product will be something closer to a biscuit or cookie due to the butter and honey.

Liselotte Bergström wrote a doctoral thesis on Viking bread. I have been unable to find a copy in English. There are several articles that refer to her thesis, and Neil Price was her opponent when she defended the work.