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What is Cracker Bread?

Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum

Cracker bread is a thin and crispy flat bread that is often used as an accompaniment to meals in many different cultures, most notably Turkish, Indian, and Mediterranean cuisine. As a favorite in the Scandinavian countries for many years, it more recently has become popular in the United Kingdom and is also enjoying a great deal of notoriety in the United States. Often flavored lightly with herbs and spices, cracker bread can be served with several sauces. Persons may choose to break off a section to dip into the sauce, or enjoy it without a garnish.

Typically, cracker bread is prepared and served in sections that are slightly larger than the standard piece of loaf bread. The thin crispy texture of the bread provides a crunch that is similar to that of a cracker, but it is much thinner than any cracker product on the market today. For persons who must have some sort of bread with a meal, but need to limit their intake of grains, this can be a wonderful way to fill the desire and still consume much less in the way of bleached or wheat flours.

Cracker bread has recently become popular in the UK.
Cracker bread has recently become popular in the UK.

Cracker bread is known by many different names around the world. In Scandinavia, the various herbal forms may be called brot or Knackebrot. Persons in the United Kingdom, with its sizable Indian population, often refer to it as lahvosh or lavosh. Various ethnic groups in the United States also call cracker bread by different names, although it often appears on menus in ethnic restaurants by this simple name.

Unlike saltine crackers, cracker bread is generally not strong enough to be used along with condiments such as peanut butter or cheese slices. Also, it is not intended to be used as a means of consuming party dips. Simple sauces that are often thin and very spicy are often served with cracker bread before the salad and entree are brought to the table. It serves the same purpose as breadsticks, in that it provides persons gathered around the table with something to enjoy while the main portions of the meal are prepared for serving.

Cracker bread is not limited to restaurants. A number of supermarkets and specialty food shops carry various types. Also, a number of ethnic grocery stores will carry three or four different varieties. Requiring no refrigeration, it can be stored in the cupboard and them placed in the oven for a few moments to heat through and provide the crispness that makes the bread so popular. Whether served as an appetizer or as an accompaniment to the main portions of the meal, it can add a nice and healthy touch to any diet.

Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum

After many years in the teleconferencing industry, Michael decided to embrace his passion for trivia, research, and writing by becoming a full-time freelance writer. Since then, he has contributed articles to a variety of print and online publications, including DelightedCooking, and his work has also appeared in poetry collections, devotional anthologies, and several newspapers. Malcolm’s other interests include collecting vinyl records, minor league baseball, and cycling.

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Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum

After many years in the teleconferencing industry, Michael decided to embrace his passion for trivia, research, and writing by becoming a full-time freelance writer. Since then, he has contributed articles to a variety of print and online publications, including DelightedCooking, and his work has also appeared in poetry collections, devotional anthologies, and several newspapers. Malcolm’s other interests include collecting vinyl records, minor league baseball, and cycling.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

CopperPipe

I actually just got into cracker bread when I moved to the United Kingdom -- there's a brand of cracker bread here called Ryvita, which is a lot different than the really ultra thin ones that we have in the states.

Ryvita cracker bread is almost more like a flatbread -- it's definitely thick enough to handle cheese/spreads, etc. And they also have some non-wheat based varieties, for people who need gluten free or wheat free bread. I just like it because its pretty cheap and goes well with the spreads I like to buy.

Another good alternative if you are living in the states is Wasa cracker bread -- although that can sometimes be hard to find.

rallenwriter

Does anybody have a good Armenian cracker bread recipe? I've just gotten into eating cracker bread since I've started on a low carb diet.

There's not a whole lot of low carb breads out there, so cracker bread seems to be the best alternative, for now at least.

So can anybody shoot me a good, easy Armenian cracker bread recipe? I'm not that great of a baker, but I can usually make a pretty good loaf of pumpernickel bread, so I think that I should be able to handle a cracker bread recipe.

Thanks!

yournamehere

I really like eating cracker bread for lunch. I find that it makes a nice addition to salads, and it also works well with almost any kind of sandwich meat you put on it, so it's a good choice for people who want to spice up their lunchtime a little.

You can also get really inventive with cracker bread. Besides the old standbys of meat and cheese, I also like to mix it up with a thick cut chutney every now and again, or even some thinly-sliced fish.

Of course, you have to use the flat bread crackers for this, not the soft cracker bread that some people use.

I personally prefer Armenian cracker bread, but that's just me -- experiment, find out what you like, and leave the old sandwich/soup combo behind for good. Brown-bagging will have never felt so good!

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    • Cracker bread has recently become popular in the UK.
      By: vasosh
      Cracker bread has recently become popular in the UK.