Spicy Spelt Crispbread

I have just completed a 10-day fast during which I ate no solid food (but had lots of delicious broths and had wonderful juices), but now I'm looking forward to biting into something crispy. This recipe is derived from something I was given in Austria at the end of an earlier fast, but I have adapted and changed it considerably to make it into something that can be served together with an aperitif.

Although it is possible to make this with commercially available wholemeal spelt flour, the taste of the crispbread made with freshly ground spelt grains is incomparably better.

 

 

 

 

What you need

• 250 g spelt grains, ground to the consistency of wholemeal flour (substitute up to 50g with buckwheat)
• 200 ml water
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tblsp dried herbs
• 1 tblsp spice mix (I use hot paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and a touch of ground coriander)
• 1 tsp each of seeds (sesame seed, linseed, rapeseed)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• sesame or other seeds to cover (optional)

What you do

1. Mix all the ingredients into a smooth dough and leave to rest, covered or wrapped in clingfilm for about 30 min to give the flour time to absorb the water.
2. Roll out to about 2 mm (too thick and it tastes like cardboard).
3. Sprinkle the sesame seed on top, going over them with a rolling pin to make sure they stick.
4. Cut into the shape you fancy, put on a baking foil.
5. Bake in the preheated oven at 200° for about 10 to 15 min, until they are completely dry and brittle.

 

Tastes nice with some of the toppings presented earlier.

Tip: Instead of mixing all the olive oil in at the beginning, roll out the dough roughly and spread some of it over the dough, then fold and repeat. This creates a bit of a puff pastry effect.