Stonebread
Name: Stonebread
Also known as: Hearthloaf, Graycake, Dustloaf
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Description:
A dense, round loaf with a dark, cracked crust and a warm, smoky interior. Despite its name, Stonebread isn’t hard—but it’s hearty, chewy, and filling. The outer crust is baked to resemble the cracked stones of old hearths, a tradition meant to ward off hunger spirits and bad dreams.
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Ingredients:
• Crushed dusk-grain flour (a common, ash-colored grain that grows in dry soil)
• Root mash (often from shaveroots or bitter yams)
• Salt or pickled brine
• Burnt yeast or bark-soot starter (gives its distinct smoky aftertaste)
• Sometimes enriched with: foraged nuts, dried mountain beans, or leftover meat shavings
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Preparation:
Stonebread is often baked in communal ovens or iron-lidded hearth pots buried in embers. The longer it sits, the richer and darker the crust becomes. Every village has its own variation.
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How It’s Eaten:
• Sliced thick and slathered in marrow butter or ash-jam
• Dipped in bone broth or root stew
• Served with morning tea, or as the base for layered meat dishes
• Carried by travelers—wrapped in cloth and soaked with a splash of vinegar to keep moist
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Cultural Significance:
• It’s said that “no one goes to war or the grave without Stonebread in their belly.”
• Breaking a loaf with someone is a sign of trust or reconciliation.
• Mothers often press sigils or blessings into the crust before baking—some decorative, others protective.
The Hollow Hearth Tavern “If it ain’t baked black, it ain’t worth the chew.” Evening Menu – Stonebread Variants
1. Embercrust Stonebread – 2 coppers Thick-cut slices of our signature loaf, baked in coals overnight. Crust blackened, interior soft and smoky. Served warm with marrow-whip and pickled onion jam. “Best eaten with the back of your hand ready—hot crust bites like a beast.”
2. Pig-skin Layer Loaf – 4 coppers Slices of Stonebread baked with layers of salted pork rind between the dough. A house favorite. Crispy, chewy, and salty enough to make a man cry for water. "A miner’s meal, good for cracked teeth and broken hearts."
3. Hillmother’s Herb Loaf – 3 coppers Baked with foraged bittergreens, dried mintroot, and wild onion. A lighter, spiced version, favored by healers and old men with poor teeth. “Smells like spring, tastes like memory.”
4. Garlic Ash-Ring – 5 coppers A rare ring-shaped loaf dusted with charred garlic, black salt, and river flaxseed. Served with goat-fat dip and fire-roasted stew scraps. “The Shepherdess herself would trade prayers for this one.”
5. Sweetbell Stonecakes (3) – 3 coppers Miniature rounds made from Stonebread dough mixed with crushed sweetbell nuts and honey pulp. Served after dusk with warm veilmilk. “Not for the road—this is bread to sit with.
Add-On: Ale-Soaked Crusts – 1 copper A bowl of bread-ends soaked in dark ale and bone broth. For dogs, drunks, or hard travelers with nothing left to lose.
“Stonebread Rises Slow” (Traditional tavern work song — often sung in call-and-response)
[Verse 1] Knead it hard, then let it rest, Dust and ash upon your chest, Grain from dusk and root from deep, Stonebread waits while fire sleeps.
[Chorus – All] Stonebread rises slow, my friend, Cracks like earth but does not bend. Feed the mouth and warm the soul, Bake it black and serve it whole.
[Verse 2] Brine the air and stir the soot, Slap the loaf with calloused foot, Mark it with your mother’s sign, Bless the crust with smoke and time.
[Chorus – All] Stonebread rises slow, my friend, Cracks like earth but does not bend. Feed the mouth and warm the soul, Bake it black and serve it whole.
[Verse 3 – Optional/Quietly]
Lay a slice ‘neath death’s cold head, Even ghosts must break their bread. May the Lady watch the flame, And call us by our kneaded name.
[Final Chorus – Slower, Reverent] Stonebread rises slow, my friend, Cracks like earth but does not bend. Feed the mouth and warm the soul… Bake it black and serve it whole.
The Hollow Hearth Tavern “If it ain’t baked black, it ain’t worth the chew.” Evening Menu – Stonebread Variants
1. Embercrust Stonebread – 2 coppers Thick-cut slices of our signature loaf, baked in coals overnight. Crust blackened, interior soft and smoky. Served warm with marrow-whip and pickled onion jam. “Best eaten with the back of your hand ready—hot crust bites like a beast.”
2. Pig-skin Layer Loaf – 4 coppers Slices of Stonebread baked with layers of salted pork rind between the dough. A house favorite. Crispy, chewy, and salty enough to make a man cry for water. "A miner’s meal, good for cracked teeth and broken hearts."
3. Hillmother’s Herb Loaf – 3 coppers Baked with foraged bittergreens, dried mintroot, and wild onion. A lighter, spiced version, favored by healers and old men with poor teeth. “Smells like spring, tastes like memory.”
4. Garlic Ash-Ring – 5 coppers A rare ring-shaped loaf dusted with charred garlic, black salt, and river flaxseed. Served with goat-fat dip and fire-roasted stew scraps. “The Shepherdess herself would trade prayers for this one.”
5. Sweetbell Stonecakes (3) – 3 coppers Miniature rounds made from Stonebread dough mixed with crushed sweetbell nuts and honey pulp. Served after dusk with warm veilmilk. “Not for the road—this is bread to sit with.
Add-On: Ale-Soaked Crusts – 1 copper A bowl of bread-ends soaked in dark ale and bone broth. For dogs, drunks, or hard travelers with nothing left to lose.
“Stonebread Rises Slow” (Traditional tavern work song — often sung in call-and-response)
[Verse 1] Knead it hard, then let it rest, Dust and ash upon your chest, Grain from dusk and root from deep, Stonebread waits while fire sleeps.
[Chorus – All] Stonebread rises slow, my friend, Cracks like earth but does not bend. Feed the mouth and warm the soul, Bake it black and serve it whole.
[Verse 2] Brine the air and stir the soot, Slap the loaf with calloused foot, Mark it with your mother’s sign, Bless the crust with smoke and time.
[Chorus – All] Stonebread rises slow, my friend, Cracks like earth but does not bend. Feed the mouth and warm the soul, Bake it black and serve it whole.
[Verse 3 – Optional/Quietly]
Lay a slice ‘neath death’s cold head, Even ghosts must break their bread. May the Lady watch the flame, And call us by our kneaded name.
[Final Chorus – Slower, Reverent] Stonebread rises slow, my friend, Cracks like earth but does not bend. Feed the mouth and warm the soul… Bake it black and serve it whole.
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