Rye crispbread

Prepare: less than 30 mins
Cook: 10 to 30 mins
Serve: Makes 6-8
Dietary: Healthy Nut-free Pregnancy-friendly Vegetarian

The traditional shape of these holey crispbreads comes from the time when they were stored on a pole over the fire to stay crisp, but an airtight container works, too.

By The Hairy Bikers

From The Hairy Bikers' Northern Exposure

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Ingredients

300g/10½oz wholemeal rye flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 heaped tsp anise seeds or fennel seeds
1 tsp honey
30g/1oz butter, softened

For the topping (optional)

1 free-range egg white
mixture of seeds, such as caraway, anise, poppy, sesame

Recipe tips

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Put the flour in a large bowl. Add the salt, baking powder, anise seeds, honey and butter. Mix thoroughly, then start slowly adding 175ml/6fl oz water, stirring until you have a soft dough. Don’t worry if it’s a bit sticky, it will be fine once you start rolling.
Generously flour a work surface and turn out the dough. Roll the dough out thinly.
Cut out 20cm/8in rounds – you should get 6 - 8 rounds. Cut a small hole in the middle of the rounds.
Place the rounds on 3 baking trays and prick the crispbreads all over with a fork.
For the topping, whisk the egg white with 1 tablespoon water and brush over the crispbreads. Sprinkle with your choice of seeds and press down lightly.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove and leave to cool on a wirerack.