Flatbrød (literally "flat-bread") is a traditional Norwegian

unleavened bread Unleavened bread is any of a wide variety of breads which are prepared without using rising agents such as yeast or sodium bicarbonate. The preparation of bread-like non-leavened cooked grain foods appeared in prehistoric times. Unleavened br ...

which is usually eaten with fish, salted meats, and soups. Originally it was the

staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for an individual or a population group, supplying a large fraction of energy needs an ...

of Norwegian farmers,

shepherds A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

and

peasants A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising f ...

. Flat bread is dry and free from water so it is possible to store it for a long period of time.

Background

The basic ingredients are barley flour,

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

, and water, though many varieties exist which incorporate other staples. It was once generally eaten in all meals, most often with cured herring and cold boiled

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

, often along with

sour cream Sour cream (sometimes known as soured cream in British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturall ...

and/or

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

. It may also accompany betasuppe, a traditional meat

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with Stock (food), stock, milk, or water. According to ''The Oxford Compan ...

lobscouse Lobscouse is a thick stew made of meat and potatoes common to multiple Northern European maritime countries. It is particularly well known in a nautical context in the age of sail, when a long voyage might require the sailors to eat and drink w ...

, a traditional stew. The thinner the bread is, the better it is. It is rolled and then cooked on a large griddle. The tradition of making flat bread used to be passed down through generation after generation by housewives, and each person had her own recipe for preparing it. It is still an important part of Norwegian food traditions, particularly in the countryside.

References

External links

A sample Flatbrød recipe
Norwegian breads Flatbreads Unleavened breads Barley-based dishes {{norway-cuisine-stub

Background

See also

References

External links