Viking Bread

When we first dreamed up the gourmet-style dining concept for The Keeper’s Kitchen Inn, we had one clear goal and that was to spark a delicious, anticipatory thrill in our guests the moment they sit down.

You know that feeling? It’s the quiet excitement before the first bite, the sense that something special is about to happen.

We wanted our 'opening act' to be a little surprising, a little special, and a whole lot memorable as well as tasty. That’s when our Viking Bread was born, and we knew we had something special to serve as our table bread.

To be clear, the Vikings never actually ate this bread! But, I have my very own Viking...... Reidar is Norwegian and in fact, his name is a very old Viking name, so we thought it very fitting to give a nod to his Viking heritage.

Our Viking Bread draws inspiration from the classic Norwegian ‘Krumkake,’ which translates roughly as ‘curved cake.’ It’s a delicate, lightly sweetened waffle cone of sorts, traditionally filled with whipped cream or sweet fillings. We do a dessert with krumkake and bakeapple (cloudberry) when in season (pictured below).

We make our Viking Bread on a similar machine used to make krumkake, but we serve it flat and cracked in two pieces. Krumkake is made using the dowel pictured below when the pastry is still a little hot off the press. The dowel is what gives it its cone shape.

The original idea for this type of table bread came from our friend, Chef Marcos Scorcza of Andre Estasje and Taket restaurants in Tønsberg, Norway. With his permission and encouragement, we used the base of his recipe to make our own version with one very special addition: Newfoundland savoury.

Savoury is a staple in every Newfoundland kitchen. I often tell our guests that every kitchen in Newfoundland has three main seasonings - salt, pepper and savoury, and probably not many others. Every Newfoundlander will tell you that it has to be Mt. Scio savoury or it's not proper savoury! To the best of our knowledge, the variety grown at Mt. Scio is a particular strain of the herb only cultivated here.

Adding savoury to our sourdough batter transformed the bread into something that perfectly represents the marriage of our two cultures and gives it a unique and distinctive flavour that our guests rave about.

So, if you’ve ever wondered why that first bite at The Keeper’s Kitchen tastes like nothing you’ve had before, now you know. It’s a little piece of two worlds, blended into one perfect, crispy bite – a nod to our roots and a promise of the unique flavours that lie ahead in our multi-course evening meals.

Book your stay with us today.... and don't forget to add the evening meal to your reservation: www.thekeeperskitchen.com/rooms