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Swedish recipe: how to make super thin rye crispbread

Food writer John Duxbury shares his recipe for thin crispbread (tunt knäckebröd).

Published: 16 February 2018 07:59 CET

Swedish recipe: how to make super thin rye crispbread

Swedish crispbread. Photo: John Duxbury/Swedish Food

Knäckebröd (crispbread) is often served with a meal in Sweden, so every Swedish supermarket has a wide selection of different types of knäckebröd. Most are made using rye flour and spices, but the thickness varies a lot. Click here for a slightly thicker crispbread than the one below.

Although you can buy very good knäckebröd in stores both in and outside of Sweden it is worth making the effort to bake some yourself as they always taste a bit special when homemade.

This recipe produces really thin knäcke, much thinner than you can normally buy in shops, so they are almost like crisps (chips). They are good to serve with drinks as an appetizer, although they do have an annoying habit of disappearing very quickly. They are also good with cheese and some nice pickles, either at the end of a meal or for lunch.

Traditionally knäckebröd was made with a hole in the middle so that the breads could be stored on sticks under the roof. Although these days they are usually stored in tins or wrapped in paper, many people still like to cut a hole in the middle of the bread as a reminder of former times.

Flavouring

Swedes usually flavour tunt knäckebröd with lightly crushed anis (anise), brödkummin (caraway) or fänkål (fennel) seeds. Brödkummin or kummin is a false friend to English speakers as it means caraway, not cumin (cumin is spiskummin in Swedish). My personal favourite is anis as it has a more intense liquorice-like flavour. Whichever you use, lightly crush the seeds with a pestle and mortar to help release their aroma.

Decorating

I like to decorate the knäckebröd with sea salt flakes and black and white sesame seeds. The sesame seeds add little in the way of flavour alongside the intense aroma of anise, so I really only use them for their appearance. You can buy black sesame seeds in good health food shops, Asian shops or online, but if you can’t get black seeds just use ordinary white sesame seeds on their own.

Summary

Makes 12 rounds

Preparation: 10 minutes

Cooking: 50 minutes

Total: 60 minutes (plus 15 minutes to prove)

Tips

– I have based this recipe on using a stand-mixer, such as a KitchenAid or a kMix, but it is also easy to make the dough by hand (knead for 4-5 minutes if making by hand).

– Although traditionally knäckebröd is made in rounds with a hole in the middle, any shape will do provided it is nice and thin.

– Take care not to use too much salt!

– If you have a pizza stone (baking stone), the knäckebröd will appreciate the quick burst of heat. Simply slide the knäckebröd onto a piece of baking parchment and transfer directly to the stone.

Ingredients

35 g oil, preferably rapeseed

140 g water

115 g rye flour, preferably stoneground

125 g strong (bread) flour, preferably stoneground

½ tsp salt (increase to 1 tsp if not using sea salt flakes)

2 tsp anise seeds, lightly crushed

7 g “fast action” dried yeast, 1 packet

1/2-3/4 tsp sea salt flakes, optional

2-3 tsp black and white sesame seeds, optional extra rye flour for dusting work surface

We recommend using digital scales to measure liquids.

Method

1. Prehead the oven to 250C (480F, gas 9, fan 220C) and line a large baking tray with baking parchment.

2. Put the oil and water in a saucepan and heat gently until lukewarm, 40C (105F). Stir to ensure that it is evenly warmed.

3. Put the flours, salt and anise seeds in the stand-mixer’s bowl and stir thoroughly with a spoon.

4. Add the dried yeast and mix thoroughly.

5. Fit the stand-mixer’s dough hook and with the motor running on minimum gradually add the warmed oil and water mixture.

6. Increase the speed to 2 (kMix) or 3 (KitchenAid) for 2-3 minutes until the dough begins to form a ball. You might need to add a teaspoon of water if the dough looks too dry, or a teaspoon or two of rye flour if it looks too wet. If necessary, knead the dough lightly by hand to form a ball.

7. Cover the dough and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

8. Divide the mixture into 12 evenly sized pieces and shape them into balls.

9. Sprinkle the work surface with rye flour and roll the dough out until it is about 8 cm (3 in diameter), turning and flipping frequently.

10. Transfer to a square of baking parchment and continue to roll it until it is about 18 cm (7 in).

11. Trim the dough into a circular shape, using a plate as template, and roll in some sea salt flakes and black and/or white sesame seeds if desired.

12. Prick all over with a fork (or roll with a kruskavel).

13. Cut a hole in the centre if desired and slide it onto a baking stone or baking tray.

14. Bake for about 4 minutes, until slightly golden round the edges, but keep an eye on it to ensure that it doesn’t burn. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

15. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.

16. Once the oven has cooled to 50C, put the crispbreads back in the oven and leave to dry and cool completely with the oven door open.

17. Transfer to an air-tight container until required. They should keep for several weeks.

Recipe courtesy of John Duxbury, founder and editor of Swedish Food.

How to grow your own fruits and vegetables in Sweden

Know your growing zone

Sweden is split into eight different growing zones, known as växtzoner in Swedish, with one being the mildest zone in the far south of the country and eight being the harshest, in the far north.

The easiest way to figure out which zone you live in is to search your address on a digital growing zone chart like this one from the Swedish Garden Association.

There are two “bonus” zones too, which you’re unlikely to see on plant labels: zone zero, which refers to extra mild conditions in zone one, like a sheltered south-facing garden or the climate inside an unheated greenhouse, and the fjällzon or zone nine, which is found in mountain regions.

Lots of fruit trees can handle snow, for example, but not all of them will survive the winters in harsher, colder zones.

“Apple trees or fruit trees will survive snow,” British gardener and cider maker John Taylor, known for presenting Swedish gardening show Trädgårdstider (Garden Times), told The Local.

“You can grow all kinds of apples, pears, plums, cherries, we can grow edible quince in southern Sweden, so there’s a bunch of fruit trees which will survive, but it depends what rootstock they’re on – that’s called grundstam in Swedish,” he explained.

“There’s one rootstock called B9 that survives down to minus 40, because it’s from Russia, then there’s another called M106, and that probably doesn’t want to live in the depths of Norrland.”

Buy plants local to you

An easy way to make sure the plant you’re planning on buying is going to survive in your zone is by sourcing it from a local plant nursery or garden centre, as they won’t sell plants that can’t handle the local climate.

“There’s a nursery in the north of Sweden and Finland called Blomkvists, they sell lots of fruit varieties which will survive up there,” Taylor said. “You can grow pretty much anything you want up there, just as we can [in Skåne, southern Sweden], but it will be different varieties that taste different and will survive the frost.”

You won’t be able to grow Mediterranean fruits like lemons or oranges in Sweden unless you bring them inside during the winter, although you should be able to grow peaches or nectarines in most of the country.

“The further up in the country you go, the further north you are or the further away from the coast, the harsher the climate becomes, so you might need to have them on a south-facing wall or in a greenhouse,” Taylor said.

Think outside the box

Although the growing season in Sweden may be shorter than it is further south, there are still a number of crops from warmer climates that do surprisingly well.

“People don’t really grow cucumbers outside here, I don’t think they realise that you can actually grow them outside,” Taylor said. “Tomatoes, too. You don’t need a greenhouse, you just stick them in the ground, they’re basically a weed – you’ll get so many you won’t know what to do with them.”

Sweetcorn, for example, performs well in a Swedish climate, Taylor said, although Swedes more often grow it as a feed crop for pigs.

You can also test things by trying to build a microclimate so you can grow things that are one or even two growing zones away from yours. Usually this is done by providing shelter from the wind and the weather using fences, hedges or by planting near buildings, as well as providing protection during the winter.

And if you’re pushed for space, look into companion planting, where you can grow multiple plants which complement each other in the same space.

One example of this is the “three sisters”: corn, climbing beans (or peas), and squash. The corn provides a support for the beans or peas, which anchor the corn in high winds while fixing nitrogen in the soil, while the squash’s large leaves provide shade for the soil, preventing it from drying out.

Don’t be put off just because you don’t have any outside space

Thinking outside the box applies to balconies too.

“If you’re in a built-up area, you will get reflected light from other buildings, so even if you’re on an east-facing balcony, you should be able to grow a lot of stuff. North is a bit more tricky, but east and west are probably better than south as you’re not getting hammered by the sun all day,” Taylor said.

You should be able to grow things like tomatoes, cucumbers and flowers, but it’s important to get hold of good soil and replenish it each year, so your plants have enough nutrients.

“Anybody with a balcony can grow pretty much the same that you can in a garden, you just have to get the soil up there and you always have to fertilise, the soil becomes nutrient deficient after one season.”

“But if you’re prepared to get the soil up on your balcony you can grow anything, even fruit trees. They will be smaller and stunted, and won’t give as much fruit – I’ve done it myself – so don’t see it as an obstacle, see it as a possibility.”

Kale and tomatoes growing on a balcony. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Take inspiration from Swedish growers

Thinking outside the box doesn’t mean that you should completely ignore what all your Swedish neighbours are doing. If you’re not sure what to plant in your garden or what fruit and veg you should try to grow, take a look at what other people who live near you are growing.

You might also come across some crops you’ve never tried before which work well in a Swedish climate, like Alpine strawberries (smultron), honeyberries (blåbärstry), wild garlic (ramslök) or sea buckthorn (havtorn).

This doesn’t just apply to varieties, but also where you plant them in your garden. Some crops need full sun, some work best in shade, and others, like asparagus, can grow tall and cast a shadow over your garden.

“You want a south-facing location for all fruit, and berries – check out what your neighbours are doing,” Taylor said.

If you don’t want tall plants to cast a shadow over other crops, see if you can plant them at the northernmost edge of your garden, while making sure that sun and soil conditions are still optimal. Blueberries, for example, need acidic soil to thrive, meaning you will probably need to amend your soil if planting in the ground, or even plant them in containers.

Think about what you want to do with your harvest

This may seem obvious, but it’s important to plant what you like to eat, too. If you hate the aniseedy, licorice-y taste of fennel, why bother growing it?

You should also choose the variety of crop based on what you’re going to use it for. Do you want to make pickles with your cucumbers, or are you going to eat them on salads? Do you want cherry tomatoes for snacking on, or big beef tomatoes for making sauces?

“Think ‘what am I going to do with my harvest’,” Taylor said. “Am I going to juice it? Am I going to preserve it? Am I going to make cider with it, for example?”

Apples, for example, can range from sweet eating apples to tart cooking apples, so make sure you do your research before you commit to buying an apple tree. Most varieties exist in English-speaking countries, so you should be able to search the name of the variety online and find some information in a language you understand, if you don’t speak Swedish.

“Patience is a virtue,” he added. “A lot of fruit trees are going to take two or three years, or even more, to give a harvest. So you have to have patience.”

Learn to deal with the Swedish weather

Many areas of Sweden along the coast or in the south of the country can get windy, which you’ll have to learn to deal with.

“How to deal with the wind? You can’t,” Taylor said. “We cannot affect this, we are powerless.”

“What you have to do is plant them in areas where there’s less wind, usually behind large buildings.”

Some plants simply won’t survive the wind, so either you plant them close to buildings, protect them, or accept that you’re restricted in what you can grow.

Make sure to provide supports for crops which will grow tall, like sunflowers, peas, beans and sweetcorn, and tie these down well or bury them deep in the ground, so summer storms can’t blow them away.

Listen to the full interview with John Taylor in The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers. Out on Wednesday, May 8th.

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