Knekkebrød (Crispbread)



picture of Norwegian crispbread

This thin, semi-hard Norwegian quickbread, crunchy in texture and reminiscent of crackers, goes at least back to sixth century Sweden, where it was known as Knäckebröd, and can be relied upon to remain relatively fresh for a long time. In ancient times, it would be stored indoors near the ceiling, and brought down when needed, but is best kept in an airtight container. It can be used with any meal, and is good with butter, jams, fruit compotes, and many other coverings. Try it with gravlax, cheese, brunost, yogurt, fruit spread, just fruit itself, egg salad, sliced boiled egg, cold cuts, pickled herring, dips, hummus, babaganoush, or whatever else you fancy.

The recipe is very amendable to substitutions; e.g., try other seeds and flour types.



Makes two sheet pans, approximately 30 breads.

Ingredients:

Materials:

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325°F / 160°C. Cover two sheet pans completely with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine honey and warm water, and whisk to combine.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the rye flour, oats, wheat bran, seeds, and salt. Slowly add in the honey-infused water, stirring until a wet paste forms. Let stand for a couple of minutes, so the flour and oats can soak up more of the moisture, and you get the right consistency.

Pour half of the mixture over one of the sheet pans, and spread evenly and thinly, to the very edges. You can use the back of a spatula, or take plastic wrap over the top of the mixture, pressing down with your hands or a measuring cup, and spreading to get an even thickness across the sheet pan. Do the same with the rest of the mixture and the other sheet pan.

Place both sheet pans in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven, and carefully cut into 15 rectangles (or smaller sections, if you wish) per baking sheet. This will make it easier to separate them, when they are fully baked.

Place the sheet pans back in oven, and bake for another 50-60 minutes, alternating the top pan with the bottom one once, through the cooking time. Occasionally, open the oven door to release steam. Check the knekkebrød towards the end of the cooking time, and look for them being dry and brittle, with light browning on the edges.

When finished, break the breads apart gently, and let them cool completely on a wire rack. Store in a tight plastic or tin container, and they should last for several weeks.



Collected and re-published at http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/recipes/knekkebrod.html by Rick Moen <rick@linuxmafia.com> on Nov. 17, 2022. Individual recipes are free from copyright. Share and enjoy!

Recipe lightly adapted from https://northwildkitchen.com/knekkebrod/, the estimable Nevada Berg's site, North Wild Kitchen, featuring the food, outdoors, and people of Norway.

Image was © 2006 by Cymydog Naakka, who released it into the public domain, and, for any jurisdiction where that is not legally possible, granted anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. Our thanks for Cymydog Naakka's generosity.