In Medieval times (1100–1200 AD) in central and southern Sweden, rye flour was baked into soft loaves or, in the central regions, into crispbread (knäckebröd, “bread which can be broken”). The crispbread was baked with a hole in the middle so that it could be threaded over a beam and stored suspended from the ceiling. From Medieval times and the introduction of the first simple watermills, these flatbreads and crispbreads were baked only once or twice a year and kept dry in a storage chamber.
