This is a traditional Icelandic rye flatbread, Iceland's version of "the wrap." You often find it on the breakfast table to be eaten with smoked lamb or other cured, sliced meat and cheese. It's wonderful with gravlax, smoked salmon, herring or smoked mackerel. For best flavor, it's preferably cooked quickly on a grill.

1 cup + 2 tablespoons (9 ounces) buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) pumpernickel
1 teaspoon baking powder

In a small mixing bowl, combine the buttermilk and salt. Whisk together the remaining dry ingredients, and stir them into the buttermilk. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured or lightly greased work surface, and knead it about 200 times, or until the dough is just developed. If you have time to cover this and let it rest for a couple of hours, or overnight in the refrigerator, the flavor and texture will be improved.

Divide the dough into eight pieces, each approximately 2 1/2 ounces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a circle about 8 inches in diameter. If you have access to a grill, cook the circles quickly on both sides, allowing them to get quite dark so you have a hint of the fire in the flavor. If you don't have a grill, or just want to make life easier, bake them quickly in a hot frying pan until there are dark brown spots covering the surface. If you feel like baking them in a very hot oven, you'll discover that they'll become rye pitas, as they'll blow up like little balloons.

Upon cooling, keep the pottbrau covered (deflate them if you've chosen the oven route), as they're meant to be soft and pliable.

Nutrition information per serving (1/16 of recipe, 35g): 65 cal, .5g fat, 3g protein, 12g complex carbohydrates, 2g dietary fiber, 1mg cholesterol, 117mg sodium, 126mg potassium, 1RE vitamin A, 1mg iron, 53mg calcium, 83mg phosphorus.

This recipe reprinted from The Baking Sheet Newsletter, Vol. XI, No. 5, Summer 2000 issue.