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
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
For the Dough
- 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
For Shaping & Topping
- 100-200 ml (1/2 - 1 cup) additional regular flour for rolling
- Optional: caraway seeds (toasted and crushed), fennel seeds (toasted and crushed), sesame seeds (toasted), or rosemary (crushed), for flavoring
- flaky sea salt
- olive oil, for greasing the baking tin
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 and let it rise at room temperature in a draft-free area overnight, or for at least 6 hours.
- When the dough is ready, work in the regular flour and knead on a floured counter top until the dough is smooth. Preheat the oven to 225°C (435°F).
- Divide the dough into 15-20 equal parts.
- With your fingers, sprinkle either caraway, fennel, sesame, or rosemary together with flaky sea salt over each part and roll into balls.
- Use a rolling pin and the additional regular flour to roll out each ball of dough very thinly, then cut into approximately 5 cm (2 inch) shapes using a cookie cutter or a sharp knife.
- Place as many as you can fit on a baking tin greased with olive oil. Bake immediately for about 8-10 minutes in the middle of the oven, turning partway if needed for even color. Repeat until all the dough is rolled out.
- Let the crackers cool on an oven rack or a clean table, then store in sealed containers.
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. I use 600 ml of rye flour alongside up to 800 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 — I don’t use the traditional knobbed rolling pin and produce perfectly good crackers with a standard one. The knobbed pin does give 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?
Store the crackers in an airtight container to maintain their crispness. This 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.