Okay, this project was an excuse to do some cooking. But really, Vikings did make bread and sometimes archaeologists find the remains of cereal grains or the bread itself. Barley and rye were commonly grown in Sweden and Denmark 1000 years ago. Barley was often used in beer, while rye was often a bread ingredient. Wheat usually came from Viking strongholds in England and Ireland. Seeds were either homegrown or imported.

For a printable version of this project, click here.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 cups whole grain flour (we used whole grain rye)

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp dry yeast

• 1 cup of seeds (we used sunflower seeds, but you can use millet, pumpkin seeds, etc.)

• 2 cups warm water

• baking sheet (or clay pizza stone)

1. Put both types of flour and salt in a big bowl and mix.

2. In a separate bowl, mix yeast and water. Then add to flour and mix. If the dough is too wet, keep adding handfuls of flour, preferably the whole grain.

3. When the dough is stiff, turn onto a floured surface and knead. Mix in seeds while kneading.

4. Let the dough rise for one hour in a warm spot. (We only let it rise once because Vikings are too busy to knead again and let it rise again. Light, fluffy bread is overrated!)

5. Place dough on a baking dish, or pizza stone, and bake at 350ò F. We baked it for 45 minutes. If you want to be a true Viking, however, when it looks done, take it out of the oven and tap it. If the bread sounds hollow, it’s cooked.

6. Now you can eat the bread. Try it with honey, that’s what we did. It was delicious. Hearty and dense, just as the Vikings liked it. Just don’t hit anyone with it.