Swedish rye crispbread

Prep: 15 mins plus 1 hour for rising
Cooking: 10 mins
Ages: Toddlers to Teens
Difficulty: Intermediate
Makes: 20 Crispbreads

What is Swedish rye crispbread?

Crispbread known as knäckebröd, has been baked in Sweden since 500 AD. They were very popular as they could be kept fresh for long periods of time. Traditionally it was made from round loaves of rye bread with a pole put through them. The pole was so that they could be hung nearer the ceiling for storage. This way of making them meant that most Swedish and Finnish crispbread was in the form of round wafers with a hole in the middle, a custom that still continues today in particular in Finland.

Nowadays however we also produce rye crispbreads in all shapes and sizes, and the custom has spread across the Continent. They have remained a household staple in Finland and Sweden since the 1800s and have also become incredibly popular in Germany.

How do you make it?

If you’ve tried store-bought rye crispbreads aimed at low calorie diets, you may have found that they lack a bit in taste. This is not the case with homemade rye crispbreads! If anything they have a deeper flavour than wheat crackers as rye is a much more complex flavour. Our crispbreads have caraway seeds and a light maple syrup glaze made from maple syrup and egg white to make them completely flavourful!

Traditionally rye crispbreads were much plainer and were made up of just wholemeal rye flour, salt and water. Today however, rye crispbread can be made using a number of different combinations of flours, spices and seeds. Many recipes use a combination of rye and wheat flour or oat flour and include fennel seeds, sesame seeds and lots of other great garnishes.

Our Swedish rye crispbreads

In our recipe we have chosen to stay with rye flour only. There are a number of surprising health benefits to eating rye. It’s high in fibre, better for blood sugar, rich in both vitamins and minerals (such as iron and magnesium), it boosts levels of probiotic bacteria in the gut, to mention just a few.

In order to make basic rye crispbreads you start by combining the rye flour with the active yeast and warm water. The mixture is left to rise for about an hour. You then return to it and divide the rye dough up into small balls. With a floured surface and rolling pin you roll the dough balls out as thinly as you can to make crunchy crispbreads. How thin you can get them is the key to a successful crispbread!

Ingredients

Rye crispbreads:

• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, plus a little extra for sprinkling on top
• 2 cups of light rye flour (280 grams) plus extra for dusting
• 1 teaspoon dried active yeast (3 grams)
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt (5 grams)
• 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
• 200mls warm water

Maple glaze:

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 egg white
• Salt crystals

Instructions

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl combine all the ingredients, the rye flour, yeast, salt, maple syrup, caraway seeds with the warm water.
2. Stir well into a stiff, wet paste. Cover the bowl with cling film. Leave in a warm place to rise for one hour.
3. Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius and line two baking sheets with baking paper.
4. Take the dough out of the bowl after the hour is up. It should feel less sticky than it did before. Flour your hands well and take a small part of the dough. Roll it into a ball about the size of a table tennis ball.
5. Portion and roll out the remaining dough into dough balls of a similar size.
6. Take a rolling pin and a clean surface and sprinkle them generously with rye flour.
7. Slowly roll out each ball to into a flat elliptical shape. Each one should be approximately the thickness of a pound coin (3mm thick). Tidy the edges with a kitchen knife, or leave them as they are for a more rustic crispbread. Carefully transfer each piece to the parchment-lined baking sheets.
8. Using a fork, prick each crispbread all over.
9. In a small bowl mix together your maple syrup, egg white and sea salt crystals to make a glaze. Brush the glaze evenly across the surface of each rye crispbread.
10. Sprinkle with caraway seeds and sea salt.
11. Bake on the bottom shelf for 10 minutes until golden. The crispbreads can brown up and burn quite quickly so keep a close eye on them.
12. If they are browned on the outside but not quite crisp enough on the inside, then after cooking place them in the oven again at a very low temperature. This will help to dry them out.
13. Enjoy with your favourite toppings!

Swedish rye crispbread – our step by step guide:

Combine all your ingredients, rye flour, yeast, salt, maple syrup, caraway seeds with the warm water in one big mixing bowl.

The water should be warm but not boiling hot. This is so that it’s the right temperature to activated the yeast.

Stir it all together and knead the rye dough a few times in the bowl.

There’s no need to knead it for a long time as with regular bread.

Cover the bowl with cling film or a towel and leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

You may need to bake the crispbreads in two batches.

After the one hour resting period is up, take your rye dough out of the bowl.

With well floured hands, separate into small balls (about the size of a table tennis ball).

The dough may still feel a little wet but it should be dry enough to shape into balls and to then roll out into thins. If not add a little more rye flour.

Roll each dough ball out into a elliptical shape.

When rolling roll repeatedly from the centre outwards to get an even, thin cracker that doesn’t tear.

You want the crackers to be quite thin, about the height of pound coin (3mm) or even thinner.

Thinner dough will yield a crispier cracker, whereas thicker dough will give you a bit more chewiness.

Transfer your freshly rolled dough to your parchment-lined baking sheets and prick the crispbreads all over with a fork.

In a small bowl mix together your maple syrup, egg white and sea salt crystals to make a glaze.

Brush the glaze evenly across the surface of each rye crispbread.

Sprinkle with caraway seeds and sea salt and bake them in the oven for about 10 minutes.

You’ll need to keep a close eye on them as they can go from done to burnt in no time at all.

They will start to brown and the edges may lift from the tray a bit when they are done.

Enjoy these Swedish rye crispbreads on their own…

…or with your favourite toppings as a healthy snack