SWEDISH CRISP BREAD: 4 WAYS + WINTER YOGA WORKSHOP & VEGAN DINNER IMPRESSIONS (V+, GF, CHF, NF)
In December (oh gosh, that seems so long ago now!) I hosted a winter yoga workshop in a converted warehouse in South East London. Some lovely yoginis joined me for a sweaty and fun ashtanga yoga practice. Their hard work didn't go unnoticed and certainly didn't go unrewarded because after nearly 2 hours on the yoga mat, I made sure they had the opportunity to enjoy a nourishing and delicious vegan winter soup.
B/W Photos by: JOASIS PHOTOGRAPHY (gluten-free)
We all tucked into my seasonal curried butternut squash soup, a firm favourite from the blog. It was super yummy and I am proud to report that not a drop remained uneaten. Cheekily I also did some recipe testing on my students and 'made' them try some home-made Swedish crisp bread. I'd discovered the recipe during a girly get-together a few months earlier and wanted to make sure it was blog worthy. The recipe is on the blog today so I am sure you can figure out what the feedback was ;)
B/W Photos by: JOASIS PHOTOGRAPHY
Before I share the recipe(s) I wanted to tell you about an exciting upcoming even: I will be hosting a 3 -day yoga retreat at a little farm in the English countryside this October. I am really looking forward to it. If you're interested in attending, please contact me at kimberly@thelittleplantation.co.uk OR keep your eyes on the events page for more info which will follow shortly. Hopefully see you there.
B/W Photos by: JOASIS PHOTOGRAPHY
Now for the recipe...
Swedish crisp breads. I'm obsessed with them frankly and have made them waaayyyy too many times since my dear friend Elisabeth gave me the recipe (it's embarrassing so don't ask me for exact numbers here). It's because I just LOVE simple recipes that taste great, are easy and quick to make and don't break the bank.
I was keen to take my friend's recipe and go a bit wild in the kitchen with it. So that's exactly what I did.
I tried 4 (well actually 5) different flours to see if the recipe would still be able to hold its own. I also wanted to find out if a change in flour made a significant enough difference to the taste and texture and if so, wheather it was worth writing about. I'm glad to report that it did :).
Though I love all 4 variations - there are 2 firm favorites for me and it's those two that I tend to now make most often. Firstly, I adore the gluten-free one. It's the version I made for the yoga winter workshop. It's divine. It really, really is.
Secondly, I am besotted with the einkorn flour one too. In fact, this one may be my ultimate favourite.
Before making the crisp bread I'd never worked with einkorn flour before, but I had been quite curious about it for some time. You see, einkorn is one of the oldest cultivated forms of wheat, domesticated around 7500BC. Essentially it is wheat as it was meant to be before we played around with its protein structure, before we were concerned about industralised production of wheat, before we used pesticides and before we basically mucked about with wheat and changed it into the food that's causing so much havoc on our digestive system today. You can see why I was getting all excited about baking with this ancient flour, right?
(spelt and corn) The Little Plantation
And let me tell you, it didn't disappoint. It felt really special working with it and I can only urge you to try einkorn too. It's got a unique, rich flavour all it's own. Because it's protein and gluten structure is unchanged by man, it's actually easier to digest than modern wheat (hooray). I must warn you though, einkorn isn't available in mainstream supermarkets. However, you can buy it in most health food stores now and of course via the internet (affiliate links in the tips section below).
Happy baking everyone and thanks so much popping by.
IMPORTANT: Please read the tips at the end carefully before you start baking.
(spelt and corn) The Little Plantation
SWEDISH CRISP BREAD: 4 WAYS (V+, GF, BF, ChF)
1 - SPELT AND CORN CRISP BREAD
Preparation Time: 15-20min
Cooking Time: 60-75min
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
150g of (organic) spelt flour
150g of (organic) corn flour
100g of (organic) sunflower seeds
1tbs of (organic) black sesame seeds
50g of (organic) pumpkin seeds
50ml of (organic) olive oil
300 ml of boiling water
1 tsp salt
(spelt and corn) (rye) The Little Plantation
3 - GLUTEN-FREE CRISP BREAD
Preparation Time: 15 - 20 min
Cooking Time: 60-75min
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
300g (organic) gluten-free flour
100g (organic) sunflour seeds
50g (organic) pumpkin seeds
1tbs(organic) black sesame seeds
50ml (organic) olive oil
300ml boiling water
1tbs Pink Himalayan salt
2 - RYE CRISP BREAD
Preparation Time: 15 - 20 min
Cooking Time: 60-75 min
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
300g (organic) gluten-free flour
100g (organic) sunflour seeds
50g (organic) pumpkin seeds
1tbs(organic) black sesame seeds
50ml (organic) olive oil
300ml boiling water
1tbs Pink Himalayan salt
4 - EINKORN CRISP BREAD
Preparation Time: 15 - 20min
Cooking Time: 60-75min
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
300g (organic) einkorn flour
100g (organic) pumpkin seeds
50g (organic) poppy seeds
1tbs(organic) sesame seeds
50ml (organic) olive oil
350ml boiling water
1tbs Pink Himalayan salt
(einkorn) The Little Plantation
Instructions:
Weigh and prepare all your ingredients and pre-heat the oven to 150C/130CFAN/300F.
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the oil to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Then pour the boiling water into the mixture and stir until nicely combined.
Prepare two large baking tray by covering each with parchment paper/greaseproof baking paper. Split the mixture in half, placing each half on one of the prepared baking trays. Then cover the mixture with a sheet of grease proof paper and spread thinly by rolling over the parchment paper with a rolling pin. Then use your hands to spread it even thinner and more evenly, especially in the corners (as shown in one of the images above). Roll the mixture out as thinly a possible. Do the same for the second half of the mixture.
Once done, carefully peel the parchment paper off the top of the mixture and place the baking trays in the oven.
Bake at 150C/130C Fan/300F for about 60-75 minutes (depends on your oven) or until it's nice and crunchy and you can easily snap a piece off.
Tip 1: This makes quite a lot. You can half the measurements if you only have 1 baking tray to work with.
Tip 2: I used this gluten-free flour and swear by it. I tried another brand but wasn't as impressed.
Tip 3: I felt it turned out better/crispier when I used my 'fan oven' setting.
Tip 4: I once made this at my mother's house and her oven is bigger than mine, so I had to increase the temperature a tiny bit. In short, keep an open mind as the temperature and baking time may need to increase/decrease depending on your oven.
Tip 5: I used this einkorn flour.
Tip 6: This keeps really well in a sealed container for at least a week.
Tip 7: Please go here to check out conversions into cups etc.
Tip 8: If your oven is very petite be prepared to use 3 trays!
Eat with.. some beautiful curried butternut squash soup, any one of these dips or, as we did the day these pictures were taken, with some spicy chutney and jam. Yum.
