Some wafers of crisp bread

Crisp bread or hard bread^[1] (Swedish: knäckebröd, hårt bröd, hårdbröd, spisbröd, Danish: knækbrød, Norwegian: knekkebrød, Finnish: näkkileipä, hapankorppu, Icelandic: hrökkbrauð, German: Knäckebrot or Knäcke) is a flat and dry type of bread or cracker, containing mostly rye flour. It is popular^[2] in armies and schools because of its light weight and simple, transport-friendly shape. Also, it is very cheap and if stored in dry conditions it will keep fresh and edible for a very long time. Crisp bread is a staple food^[3] and was for a long time considered a poor man's diet.^[4] However, in recent years there has been renewed interest in crisp bread in the Nordic countries.

Brands[link]

Notable brands include Ryvita and Ry-Krisp, which was introduced in 1899.^[5] The largest brand is Wasabröd with Finn Crisp being the second largest producer.^[6]

Origins[link]

Crisp bread has been baked in central Sweden since 500 AD. It was made as round wafers with a hole in the middle so the bread could be stored on sticks under the roof.^[7] Traditional crisp bread was invented about 500 years ago. Finland and Sweden have long traditions in crisp bread consumption and crisp bread have been known in most households since the 1800s.^[8] Sweden's first industrial crisp bread bakery, AU Bergmans enka, begun its production in Stockholm in 1850.

Ingredients[link]

Crisp bread traditionally consists of wholemeal rye flour, salt, and water.

Today, however, much crisp bread contains wheat flour, spices and grains, and is often leavened with yeast or sourdough, and milk or sesame seeds can be added.

In the case of unleavened crisp bread, bubbles are introduced into the dough mechanically. Traditionally, this was done by mixing snow or powdered ice into the dough, which then evaporated during baking.^[9] Today, the dough, which must contain a large amount of water, is cooled and mixed until bubbly.

Another method is to knead the dough under pressure in an extruder. The sudden drop in pressure then causes water to evaporate, creating bubbles in the dough.

Crisp bread is only baked for a few minutes, at temperatures usually between 200 and 250 °C.

See also[link]

• Flatbread
• Flatbrød
• Hardtack

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Crispbread

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