Krajanec Czech Flatbread

Let's visit Slovácko, a unique region in the Czech Republic, and bake Krajanec! It's a salty buttermilk flatbread that used to be served with sauces in the past as a side dish instead of dumplings. Krajanec smells of lard and tastes delicious even to nibble on, such as with good wine.

What Is Krajanec

Krajanec is a savory flaky cake, known mainly in Slovácko region, the south-eastern part of Moravia (Czech Republic). This flatbread was traditionally served with sauces or torn into pieces as a quick and filling dish on the go.

There are several recipes for krajanec. Some use cracklings or yeast dough; I chose the one with buttermilk. The recipe for buttermilk krajanec comes from the town of Hluk. It is straightforward to make, and the taste hardly finds competition.

Credit: A big thank you to Diana, who sent me not only a tip on the krajanec cake but also the original recipe from her Grandma, who used to bake this delicacy.

Ingredients

To make buttermilk krajanec, we need:

• Buttermilk
• All-purpose flour
• Pork lard; take it out of the fridge in time. The fat will come in the dough and also for spreading it.
• Salt
• Baking soda

For sprinkling:

• Caraway seeds
• Salt

✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

Instructions with Photos

1. Put the flour mixed with baking soda into a bowl. Pour in the buttermilk, add the lard and salt.
2. Work into a soft dough. Add some flour if the dough is too sticky.
3. Divide into two pieces, roll each into a flattened piece.
4. Brush the rolled dough with melted lard and roll up.
5. Roll into a round pancake about 8 inches in diameter.
6. Use a knife to make shallow slanting cuts on the surface. Sprinkle with salt and caraway seeds.
7. Place the krajanec flatbread in an oven preheated to 400 °F (200 °C) for about 15-20 minutes until golden.

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STEP 1 – Put all ingredients in a bowl:

STEP 2 – Make a soft dough:

STEP 3 – Roll the flatbread:

STEP 4 – Sprinkle with salt and caraway:

STEP 5 – Bake it in the oven until golden:

Serving

Tear the cooled krajanec and serve instead of bread with a sauce, goulash, legume dishes like Czech Čočka na kyselo.

Wherever you would otherwise use a piece of bread, you can reach for a krajanec flatbread.

Useful Tips

• Pork lard gives the sliced pork an extraordinary flavor. If you want to go a little further in authenticity, swap pork lard for goose fat.
• In the Czech Republic, children used to get krajanec to stave off hunger. They would break the freshly baked flatbread into pieces, tuck it into their pockets and run outside to play with the other kids.
• If you want to see how to prepare krajanec with crackling, watch this video (a Bohemian Granny making this cake; video in the Czech language).

🥐 More Czech breads

• Rohlíky – yeasted bread rolls
• Housky – braided rolls

Recipe