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 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.
