After being tired of not finding great Knäckebröd(Scandinavian Crisp Bread) in the stores around my neighborhood in East Village, I started to make my own. Traditionally they are made as round wafers with a hole in the middle so you can store them hanging on a stick in the roof. They are often made with rye flour and rolled out with a special rolling pin with knobs. However I usually don’t use this tool and I like my home made knäckebröd as small crackers flavored with either or a combination of some: caraway seeds, fennel seeds, sesame or rosemary. My recipe is based on Alice Brax knäckebröd recipe.
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Knäckebröd Crackers
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: Approximately 60 crackers 1x
Description
These homemade Knäckebröd crackers are a delightful Scandinavian treat, perfect for snacking or serving with cheese. Customize them with your favorite seeds or herbs for added flavor.
Ingredients
- 25 grams fresh yeast
- 1 tbsp honey
- 200 ml (almost 1 cup) yogurt
- 400 ml (1 2/3 cup) water
- 600 ml (2 1/2 cup) rye flour
- about 600 ml (2 1/2 cup) regular flour
- 100-200 ml (1/2 - 1 cup) additional regular flour for kneading
- Optional: caraway seeds, fennel seeds, sesame seeds, or rosemary for flavoring
Instructions
- Warm the yogurt with the water to 37°C (100°F).
- Dissolve the yeast in some of the warm yogurt mixture.
- Add the rest of the liquid and blend in honey and rye flour. The dough will be quite sticky.
- Cover the bowl with a cloth and let it rise for about 1 hour at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead it with the additional regular flour until it is smooth and elastic.
- Divide the dough into smaller portions and roll each out thinly using a regular rolling pin or a rolling pin with knobs for texture.
- Cut the dough into desired cracker shapes and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Optionally, sprinkle with caraway seeds, fennel seeds, sesame seeds, or rosemary for added flavor.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until the crackers are golden brown and crisp.
- Let the crackers cool on a wire rack before serving or storing.
Notes
- For a more traditional texture, use a rolling pin with knobs.
- Store the crackers in an airtight container to keep them crisp.
- Experiment with different seeds or herbs to find your favorite flavor combination.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: Scandinavian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cracker
- Calories: 50
- Sugar: 1
- Sodium: 10
- Fat: 0.5
- Carbohydrates: 10
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 2
- Cholesterol: 1
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does this recipe use both rye flour and all-purpose flour?
Traditional knäckebröd is made primarily with rye flour, which gives the crackers their characteristic earthy flavor and dense crumb. The recipe uses 600 ml of rye flour alongside up to 700 ml of all-purpose flour (including the kneading addition) to keep the dough workable and produce a cracker that is crisp without being too brittle. 
Do I need a special knobbed rolling pin to make these?
No — the article notes that the author doesn’t use the traditional knobbed rolling pin and produces perfectly good crackers with a standard one. The notes do say the knobbed pin gives a more traditional patterned texture if you want to replicate the classic look.
How should the finished crackers be stored, and how long do they last?
The notes specify storing the crackers in an airtight container to maintain their crispness. The recipe yields approximately 60 crackers, so an airtight tin or zip-lock bag works well; properly stored, homemade knäckebröd will stay crisp for at least a week.
I have been wanting to try this recipe–I’ve also seen a version in the Ojakangas “Great Scandinavian Baking Book.” Are they anything like the Finnish Ryvita crackers (though likely not as thin…)? We use them to eat our hummus! Thanks for this and the cute illustrations, as always.
Thanks Sara,
If you roll them super thin you will get a much lighter and thinner cracker than Ryvita (which is one of my favorites). My crackers are also crispier than Ryvita “softer” texture.