Three-Grain Almond Hardtack

By norsegal8

This nutty cruspbread goes well with cheese. To achieve the characteristic pebbly texture on top of the bread, you will need a special hardtack rolling pin, which can be found in stores that specilize in Scandinavian foods and tools.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 cups all-purposed flour
• 1 cup dark rye flour
• 1 cup rolled oats, finely pulverized
• 1 cup unblanched almonds, pulverized
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups milk

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. lightly grease four 11-by-17-inch baking sheets.

In a large bowl, cream the shortening, butter and sugar until smooth. Add the all-purpose flour and rye flours, rolled oats, almonds, salt and baking soda and mix until crumbly and blended. Stir in the lemon juice (or vinegar) to the milk, then blend into the dry mixture, until a stiff dough forms. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Using a hardtack rolling pin, roll one part out all the way to the edges of each of the baking sheets. If you do not have a hardtack rolling pin, pierce the dough all over with a fork. Scor into 2-inch by 4-inch pieces, leaving the dough in place. Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Allow to cool on baking sheets, the remove and store in an airtight container.