NORWEGIAN FLATBREAD

In the unending search for cheap ways to eat very well, I often use "folk" or "peasant" recipes to vary my diet and make it interesting.

Did you know, for instance, that most French cuisine is actually just peasant food? How many things one can do with hen eggs and cow or goat milk!

Some major companies have swiped such traditional recipes and are selling them as "junk" foods, at very high prices, with lots of added chemicals.

One such product is Nabisco's Rye Crisp. A reader posted a request for a recipe for this tasty cracker. Perhaps she plans to reshingle her roof?

Seriously, though, this is one of my favorite crackers. I haven't eaten it in 20 years. The Danes make a version of it; I used to eat it at buffets in Solvang, CA.

It's good with any or all of the following on it: cheese, nut butters, pickled herring, pickled vegetables, butter, or meats.

I never thought (duh) to look up a recipe on the 'net! Looks like I'll be making a run to La Montanita Food Coop for some rye flour!

From: Recipe Source

NORWEGIAN FLATBREAD

2 sm Potatoes, boiled or baked and pureed in the blender or food processor (about 1/2 cup)
2 c Of rye flour
1/4 ts Salt
1/3 c Water or potato water

"It is impossible to find a more spartan cracker than Norwegian Flatbread." It can be made with only rye flour, salt, and water, but adding a pureed vegetable, such as potatoes, increases the nutritive value and adds subtle flavor. This flatbread is excellent with mild cheeses.

In a large bowl or in the food processor, blend the pureed potato, flour, and salt together.

Add the water and blend well until the dough will hold together in a cohesive ball. With a sharp knife, divide into 10 equal portions. Turn these out, one at a time, onto a floured surface and roll into circles. Roll as thin as possible, at most 1/8 inch, so each is approximately 7 to 8 inches across.
Prick all over with the tines of a fork.

Lightly oil a griddle or large skillet and heat until it is very hot. One by one, place the rolled circles onto the griddle and cook until the bottoms begin to show light browning. Then turn and cook the other side. Keep turning until the whole cracker is dry and crisp.
Do not allow the flatbread to get more than medium brown. Cool on a rack. Yield: 10.

VARIATIONS: Substitute any pureed vegetable for potatoes. Flours other than rye can also be used.

Try wheat or barley. If the dough is too sticky to roll, add a little more flour. Letting the dough rest for an hour after mixing will also make it easier to roll.

Flatbread can also be cooked in the oven. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet at 400~F. for 8 to 12 minutes, or until crisp, turning 2 or 3 times.