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Stack of golden double-baked Schüttelbrot rounds studded with caraway seeds on a rustic wooden board.

Double-Baked Schüttelbrot: South Tyrolean Rye Flatbread

A thin, hand-shaken South Tyrolean rye flatbread, seasoned with caraway and fennel and double-baked until it snaps like a cracker.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: bread
Cuisine: Alpine
Calories: 319
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g rye flour, dark or whole
  • 100 g bread flour or all-purpose
  • 7 g active dry yeast about 2 1/4 tsp
  • 350 ml warm water about 40 C / 105 F
  • 1 tbsp honey or sugar
  • 10 g salt about 2 tsp
  • 2 tbsp caraway seeds divided, for dough and topping
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp anise seeds optional
  • extra flour for shaping as needed; for dusting the board and your hands

Method
 

Make the Dough
  1. In a small bowl, whisk the warm water with the honey and yeast. Let sit for 5 to 8 minutes until foamy on top.
  2. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the rye flour, bread flour, salt, 1 tbsp of the caraway seeds, the fennel seeds, and the anise seeds if using.
  3. Pour in the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon or the paddle attachment on low for 3 to 4 minutes until you get a smooth, sticky dough that looks closer to thick batter than bread dough.
  4. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rise in a warm spot for 45 to 60 minutes, until puffy and airy on top. Rye dough won't double in size the way wheat dough does.
Shape the Rounds
  1. Heat the oven to 250 C / 480 F and line two sheet pans, 33 x 46 cm / 13 x 18 inch, with parchment.
  2. Dust a work surface heavily with flour. Scoop out about 150 g of dough, roughly the size of a small orange, onto the floured surface.
  3. Dust the top with more flour, then pick up the dough and gently rotate and shake it between floured hands, letting it stretch under its own weight into a round about 18 to 20 cm / 7 to 8 inch across and 5 mm thick. Don't press or roll it, let gravity do the work.
  4. Transfer the round to a sheet pan. Prick it all over with a fork, then sprinkle with a pinch of the remaining caraway seeds. Repeat with the rest of the dough, spacing rounds about 5 cm apart, for about 6 rounds total.
Bake
  1. Bake the first pan for 10 minutes at 250 C / 480 F, until the edges puff and start to color.
  2. Lower the oven to 160 C / 320 F and continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes, until the rounds are pale golden, fully dry, and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
  3. Repeat baking with the second pan. Cool the flatbreads completely on a wire rack, at least 30 minutes, they crisp further as they cool.

Notes

  • Dough will look more like thick pancake batter than bread dough, that's correct.
  • First shaped round often looks ragged, it evens out by the third one.
  • Rise time is shorter than wheat bread since rye has less gluten to trap gas.
  • Bake in two stages, high heat first then low heat, don't shortcut the drying stage.