Sourdough Crispbreads

very thin and crispy

As I mentioned 2 breads ago we visited the Netherlands again recently. Even though the reason was a very sad one because my mother died, during the visit we also enjoyed the special time with family and friends. And we also enjoyed the food we can’t buy here in Thailand.

In the Netherlands you can buy “Scandinavian knackerbrod”. We love to eat it with cheese and jam. I was looking for a good recipe for a long time and I was happy to see crispbreads in the latest book of Chad Robertson. They don’t look the same as the (thicker) knackerbrod, but these crispbreads are definitely worth a try.

I was happy I tried this recipe. Chad’s crispbreads are delicious. I added black and white sesame seeds, nigella seeds, flax seeds and left some plain with just some flaked salt.

I think they are dangerously delicious ;-) Sometimes you have food you can’t stop eating and this is one of them. Luckily the crispbreads are filled with good flours.

 

left: plain, nigella seeds, flax seeds, black and white sesame seeds

enough?

Adapted from Tartine Book No 3: "Modern Ancient Classic Whole" by Chad Robertson 

Makes 8 big crispbreads

Leaven
0.5 tablespoon mature starter, 20 grams unbleached flour (550), 20 grams water
Place the mature starter in a bowl and feed it with flour and water. Cover the bowl with a lid and let the starter rise overnight.

Dough
42 grams mature leaven, 142 grams warm water, 142 grams unbleached flour (550), 85 grams spelt flour, 57 grams whole wheat flour, 20 grams wheat germ, 7 grams salt
Toppings
sesame seed (black and white), nigella, flax seed and flaky sea salt

I tested the leaven with the float test (a bit floats on the water). 

Pour warm water into a large bowl.  Add the leaven and stir to disperse.  Add the flours. Use your hands to mix the dough until all of the dry bits of flour have been incorporated.  So I wet my hand and worked the dough until no dry bits of flour remained. Let the dough rest for 25 to 40 minutes. Then add the salt and knead it until incorporated.  

Transfer the dough to a plastic container with lid. Leave for bulk fermentation for 2 hours. Every 40 minutes stretch and fold the dough (stretches a corner of the dough onto the main dough, fold it like an envelope). I placed the dough in the refrigerator for the night. The next morning I took it out and let it adjust to the room temperature.

Chad describes how he makes the crispbreads by hand, but he also mentions the use of a pasta machine. I made my choice and used the pasta machine. I divided the dough in 4 portions. I flattened the dough with my hands before I fed it trough the machine. 

I fed it trough no 7 en each time I gave it a nod. Chad goes all the way to no 1 on the machine. 

I stopped at no 2. It gave evenly thin sheet of dough, which I still could handle with some care. 

I sprayed the sheet with some water and sprinkled the seeds and flaked salt on top. With a plastic bag I rolled the seeds and salt into the dough.  

Pre-heat the oven to 220°C.

Bake the sheets 10 – 15 minutes, until golden brown. It can brown quickly, so keep a close eye on the color. Place the baked sheets on a wire rack to cool. When you are finished with all the sheets, lower the temperature to 95°C. Collect all sheets and place them back in the oven. Even though the crispbreads are baked, they still need to be further dehydrated and crisped. Leave the door slightly ajar and bake 10 – 15 minutes longer until thoroughly dehydrated. They should not darken in color.

Transfer them to wire rack to cool completely. Place broken pieces in an airtight container to keep them crisp. You can re-crisp them by heating in a 150°C oven for 10 – 12 minutes.

Enjoy them!

I send this loaf to Susans YeastSpotting. Don’t forget to visit Wild Yeast, there is so much to see.