First, what the &*&^%$% is Crispbread? It is real food - The Holy WIKI teaches us that: Crispbread has been baked in central Sweden since 500 AD. It was made as round wafers with a hole in the middle so the bread could be stored on sticks under the roof. Traditional crispbread was "invented" about 500 years ago.Finland and Sweden have long traditions in crispbread consumption, and crispbread has been known in most households since the 1800s. Traditionally, crispbreads were baked just twice a year; following harvest and again in the spring when frozen river waters began to flow. Traditional western Finnish crispbread was (and still is) made in the form of a round flat loaf with a hole in the middle to facilitate storage on long poles hanging near the ceiling. Seen today in the grocery store as WASA brand crispbread - if you want to buy & try before you break out the oven. Crispbreads are also called crackers, but to me there are in the same 'class' of Chow as a hard biscuit, pilot bread or even hardtack. Which is to say, a flour (rye, wheat, mixed) product made with an eye to simple long term I have a deck of WASA brand crispbread (which, BTW, I just had some for breakfast) that has been open in the kitchen cabinet now for over 9 months - it is still as crunchy today as when purchased. Again, long term storage with little care and still good. To be honest, it is something of an acquired taste,. much like pilot bread. Unlike my (former) go to Sailor Boy, the WASA has a light crispy (D'oh) and flavorful slice. Yummy looking, eh? How do you bake this? A not quite traditional recipe (this has yeast) 1 package dry yeast 2 cups lukewarm water 1/2 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon fennel, crushed or 1 tablespoon anise seed 3 1/2 cups coarse rye flour 1 1/2-2 cups wheat flour Dissolve yeast in the water. Add salt and fennel/aniseed. Add rye and enough wheat flour to make a firm dough. Knead really well for at least five minutes. Divide into 16 parts and roll to balls. Let rise, covered, for 40 minutes. Heat the oven to at least 450F, 500F if possible. Roll out one piece at a time to a thin circle, 8-10 inches in diameter. Use a lot of of rye flour when rolling. Make sure to roll them pretty thin. Make a hole in the middle, using a cookie shape, or a glass Prick the surface all over with a fork or a chop stick (in Sweden they have special rolling pins or “pricking tools” for this purpose). Bake one at a time on a dry tray in the oven for about 2-4 minutes. They should get brown, but not too burnt. Let them cool fully on a rack before serving. or try this one Ingredients 200 ml (1 cup) whipping cream 300 ml (1 1/4 cup) water 260 g (2 1/2 cups) dark wholemeal rye flour 320 g (2 1/2 cups) strong bread flour 1 tsp salt 14 g (4 1/2 tsp) instant dried yeast Topping 1 tsp sea salt flakes 1 tsp sesame seeds 1 tsp cumin or caraway seeds Method 1. Heat the cream and water together until warm to the touch. 2. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast and stir. 3. Add the cream and water mixture and mix together to form a dough. 4. Using the rye flour for dusting, turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead it for 2-3 minutes. 5. Cut the dough into six equal pieces, then knead them into round balls. 6. Place the dough balls on a baking sheet, cover with a cloth and leave somewhere warm for 20-30 minutes. 7. Preheat the oven to 250C (475F, gas 9, fan 200C) 8. Using the rye flour for dusting, knock back a dough ball and then roll it out using an ordinary rolling pin to about 15cm (6in) diameter. Then transfer to a sheet of baking parchment and continue rolling out with an ordinary rolling pin until it is as thin as possible or at least 30cm (12in) diameter. Don't worry too much if the dough does not end up circular. You can trim roughly if you want, but the shape is not critical. 9. Sprinkle with the salt, sesame seeds and cumin seeds. Roll again to help the topping stick. 10. Make a pattern on the surface using a fork or a patterned rolling pin. 11. Bake for five minutes and then turn over and bake for about three minutes or until dry and hard. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 12. Repeat with the other dough balls. 13. When the oven has cooled to about 50C, pop the crispbreads back in to dry out. This will help to make them nice and crisp. 14. Store the crispbreads in an airtight container. Tips - Use any flour you want. If you want to go rustic, use stoneground, and if you want to go healthy, use fine rye, spelt or barley flour. - Other toppings to try include linseed, sunflower seeds, rosemary or just salt. Recipe courtesy of John Duxbury, editor and founder of Swedish Food.
Rye mold ( Ergot ) in my weather concerns me enough I would not use it here but, in a better less humid climate this would be a winner I do like rye.
Were Yuppies around 500 years ago? It has become something of a 'thing' for Swede hipsters. I'm of German decent and scarcely hip.... fat azz maybe.
I'm going to use my pasta machine to roll out my hard tack dough, anything other than flour salt and water shortens the storage life. Here is the recipe How to Make Hardtack: A Cracker That Lasts for Years
In the 1940's in Minnesota flat bread, with holes in it and hung from sticks and lefse were staples in our house and in school lunches. Oat meal for breakfast, homemade bread or flat bread with cheese or sour cream and home made butter , often with a smoked sausage for dinner, and meat and potatoes for supper. Flat bread was usually used instead of crackers and it or lefse were usually eaten as a light snack.
I have mine with Cream cheese, and sometimes summer sausage. Crispbread has a light crunchy profile (as seen in the photos ) unlike pilot bread, which is basically hardtack. In the old days, snow or ice was worked into the dough before baking. As the ice melted, it would leave a void, accounting for the 'bubbles' seen in early breads. Nowadays, the use of yeast produces the bubbles...
is this recipe the same as hard tack? just curious because I have been experimenting again with cooking with no wheat, you can't beat gluten for holding things together for this kind of baking. Changing flour types is a process and I haven't mastered it yet
No. Both recipes I posted use yeast.or baking powder. They do call for baking until the bread is both dry and 'hard' Crispbreads have a light bubbly profile, rather than a flat, hard product. Both will keep for long periods, tho the use of oil (the video bread) will limit storage time. As for the flour, you can mix rye flour and wheat flour. I often suggest mixing stone ground wheat and white flour 50/50 when making regular (yeast) bread. I'm still perfecting my buttermilk biscuits.... I know I can get the kind I discovered in the South, one of these times
@DKR and you will post a recipe when you get the buttermilk biscuits recipe perfected? IM still scratching my head over 'bake on a dry pan' not sure what that means I keep hoping @Tully Mars or his wife (not sure Tully can cook) will post a good buttermilk biscuit recipe
