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Tunnbröd
Thin wheat and barley flatbread
Tunnbröd: thin Norrland flatbread of wheat and barley
Tunnbröd, 'thin bread', is the old flatbread of Norrland, northern Sweden, where barley grew better than wheat; families in Västerbotten and Jämtland baked it in big batches in wood ovens and kept it for months. It is made soft or crisp, rolled with a knobbled pin (kruskavel) that makes its dotted pattern, and the soft kind is wrapped around a hot dog with mashed potato in the famous tunnbrödsrulle. A common mistake is rolling it too thick, which makes it bready instead of flexible. Chef's tip: bake on a very hot stone for barely a minute or two and stack the breads under a cloth, so they steam soft.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the dough
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- 5 ½ oz barley flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp golden syrup
- 1 ¼ cups warm water
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Mix 10 ½ oz plain flour, 5 ½ oz barley flour, ⅛ oz fast-action dried yeast and 1 tsp salt. Add 1 ¼ cups warm water, 1 tbsp golden syrup and 2 tbsp rapeseed oil and knead for 8 minutes until smooth. Cover and rise 1 hour.
8 minStep 2: Heat the oven to its highest setting, 250–525°F, with a pizza stone or heavy tray inside for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Divide the dough into 8. Roll each very thin, about 2 mm, into a 25 cm round. Prick all over with a fork, or roll with a knobbled pin. Common mistake: thick bread; it won't fold.
Step 4: Bake one or two at a time on the hot stone for 1½–2 minutes, until puffed with brown spots but still soft.
16 minStep 5: Stack under a clean tea towel as they come out, so they stay soft. Serve with butter, cheese or rolled around fillings.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 180 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 2 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tunnbröd take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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