two types of cheese biscuits

These are derived from the cookbook produced by the good people at Doune, a remote guesthouse on the Knoydart peninsula.  Timings are very precise and the biscuits are liable to burn if in too long on a high heat so watch carefully.  The biscuits need to be rolled very thinly so be very generous with the amount of flour you use on the board, and sprinkle more on top and on the rolling pin at regular intervals.
They will both remain crisp for a few weeks if kept in an airtight container.

1. knäckebröt (Swedish crispbread)

• 140ml whole milk (or milk with a little cream added)
• 70g rye flour
• 85g strong white flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 heaped tsp dried yeast
• Optional: sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds

1. Heat the milk to blood temperature.
2. Mix together the flours, salt and yeast, then gradually stir in the milk until well combined.
3. Leave in a warm place for 20 minutes.
4. Turn onto a well floured board and knead until a soft dough is formed.
5. Cut into six and roll each piece into a ball.
6. Leave for a further 15 minutes.
7. Set the oven to 220degC and place a large baking tray in the oven to pre-heat.
8. Firmly roll out each ball to produce a round as thin as possible (should be about 100mm across).*
9. If used, sprinkle with the seeds and roll again to make them stick.  Prick them with a fork - this helps to stop the layers separating.
10. Line the hot tray with baking paper and slide the rounds onto the tray.
11. Bake for 5 minutes - they should bubble slightly - then turn over and bake for 3 minutes more.  By then they should just be turning brown here and there. 
12. Leave the tray in the oven with the heat turned off and the door slightly open.  Leave in until the oven has cooled down.  By then, they should be fully crisp.  If not they may need another few minutes in a hot oven before eating.

* NB you can leave the rounds whole, to be broken up randomly when used, or you can score into 6 wedges with a knife after placing them on the baking paper, so that they can be snapped (knäcke!) easily after cooking.  In practice it can be difficult to roll out a perfect round, so instead you could roll out more of the dough and use a 100mm pastry cutter, or bowl of same size as a template.  Another option is to use a smaller say 60mm pastry cutter to produce lots of small round crispbreads.

 

2. water biscuits

You can make these up in the proving gaps while making the knäckebröt and cook later.

• 110g self raising flour
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 60ml cold water
• salt

1. Preheat the oven to 200degC.
2. Mix the flour, oil and water to make a stiff dough.
3. Allow to rest for a few minutes. 
4. Roll on a floured* board as thinly as possible.
5. Rest a few minutes again and roll some more!
6. Sprinkle with the salt and roll again to press the salt into the biscuits.
7. Cut into rounds with a 60mm pastry cutter and lay on a baking paper lined baking tray.  Prick each once or twice with a fork.
8. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned all over.  
9. Cool on a rack. 
10. Again, if not crisp enough when cooled, return to a hot oven for a few minutes. 

* Use the self raising flour; or if you want a little extra surface texture and making at the same time as the knäckebröt, you could use the rye flour.