These ‘thin breads’ vary enormously. They can be soft or crisp, and can be made from any combination of wheat, barley and rye. Even the rolling pin used to make them can alter their appearance and texture. Also known as Arctic breads, they share a history with crispbreads, originating from the northern Nordic regions. So far up in this cold climate, wheat is hard to grow, and only low-gluten grains can flourish: it simply isn’t possible to make breads that can rise.
Soft tunnbröd, as described in this recipe, is commonly used to wrap up fillings – as you might a tortilla. In the photograph, I have used it to wrap up a mixture of gravlax, pickled cucumber, lettuce and crème fraîche. A popular Swedish dish uses these breads to envelop mashed potato and fish. Crisp tunnbröd differs from the more common crispbread in being thinner, more compact and containing fewer air bubbles. However, it is served the same way: with almost all meals, simply spread with butter. Traditionally, though, tunnbröd is eaten with surströmming, a fermented herring, which is something of a national dish in Sweden. It is not given much mention in this book for one reason: the taste is not worth enduring the smell you experience on opening a tin.