Serenity Crisp Bread

Serenity Crisp Bread

Broad Bean-Seaweed-Kombucha Crisp Bread
By: Serenity Science and Art Assembly / Jutta Varis (Uusimaa)

The original recipe is the result of a 2015 bachelor’s project for the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Helsinki, where this crisp bread was developed as a highly shelf-stable, edible model for the department’s work to promote the use of broad beans.

In addition to being high in protein, broad beans improve soil fertility by fixing nitrogen, reducing the need for synthetic fertilisers. Seaweed from the Baltic Sea can also be used in the recipe, enriching the bread with minerals and fibre, adding a subtle salty flavour and reminding us of the need to protect fragile marine ecosystems.

This bread is a source of protein, low in salt and high in fibre.

Ingredients

140 g rye flour
50 g active kombucha (or other exopolysaccharide-producing ferment or sourdough starter)
200 g water (for the starter)
160 g water (for the dough)
7 g fresh yeast (or 2 g dry yeast)
30 g rapeseed oil
120 g coarse rye flour
100 g wheat flour (spelt, emmer, or other varieties)
150 g broad bean flour (e.g., from Karvinen tila or Vihreä härkä, others work too)
Gluten flour (Veggie Mix, seitan and others will also work) 10 g
7 g seaweed (bladderwrack, nori sheets, or other varieties)
5 g iodized salt

Method

Start by mixing the kombucha and allowing it to ferment overnight at room temperature in a draft-free place, or in a 30°C environment (such as a warm refrigerator) for about 16 hours. Next, dissolve the yeast in water, and add the solution to the kombucha and roughly half of the rye flour. Let the mixture rise for approximately 20 minutes. If using dry yeast, pre-activate it in 42°C water before adding.

Once the starter has risen, add the rapeseed oil and mix thoroughly. If needed, grind the seaweed to a finer consistency. Combine the remaining dry ingredients first, then quickly knead them into the dough. Adjust the amount of flour as needed to ensure the dough achieves the desired consistency.

Shape the dough by hand into thin, round loaves. Cut out the centre of each loaf with a small glass or similar tool, and pierce the loaves with a fork or decorative tool. Alternatively, you can roll the dough out with a rolling machine to a 3 mm thickness and transfer the sheet to the baking surface using a rolling pin. Allow the loaves to rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, or in a proofer at 30°C with 80% humidity for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to its hottest setting, ideally 330°C, and bake the bread for 7 minutes or until nicely coloured. Once baked, dry the loaves at 50°C overnight to ensure a crisp texture. Once dry, break the crisp bread into pieces and pack them in paper bags. Stored in a dry, cool place, this crisp bread can last for more than a year.