Remembering Old Recipes Q13-3
From SFHS
Although I admit that I adhere to a low carbohydrate diet these days, I did manage to locate and try the requested recipe for hardtack, or as it is called in the 1981 Vasa Cookbook, “Knäckebröd.” I will be looking for the recommended rolling pin for next time, but in preparation for this edition of the newsletter I simply rolled out my balls of dough with a regular rolling pin and poked it with my improvised tool - made from tinkertoys With butter on the table, just one batch didn’t last very long at our house. I’ve heard many anecdotes describing wheels of hardtack with a hole in the middle, hanging on a pole to dry. Nowadays, we find something like it in the grocery store, but you’ll never beat the flavor in this recipe. Simple. Delicious.
Knäckebröd
- 1 pint buttermilk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup shortening, melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 7/8 teaspoon baking soda
- Coarse rye flour
Mix ingredients to make a thick dough and shape into 24 balls, dipping them in flour. Roll out very thin with a special peg rolling pin (a barbed pin which pricks dough as it rolls). Bake on a cookie sheet in hot oven (425 F.) until browned, about 15 minutes. These are very crisp and tender.
