Knäckebröd methods changed somewhat over the years – superheated stones made way for wood ovens and natural leavening made way for fast-action yeast. By the turn of the twenty-first century the majority of crispbreads in Sweden were made this way, mass-produced to meet growing demand. But near the town of Ystad – deep in the southern wilds of Sweden – Peter Ljungquist and a group of his friends were doing something different. Peter wanted to breathe new life into traditional Swedish baking methods, so he turned to Jan Hedh – a beloved celebrity baker in his native Sweden – for help. Jan cultivated a special sourdough starter, and the pair had decided to roll back the clock, making their knäckebröd using traditional baking methods and recipes, and selling it in Peter’s bakery.

Meanwhile, two English friends – Ian Tencor and Wendy Wilson-Bett – had both recently left Cadbury’s in 2008 to pursue their dreams of owning their own Swedish bakery. They soon flew out to Sweden on a research trip and took in vast swathes of the country, absorbing all they could about the history and culture of Swedish baking. It was another baker who told them about Peter’s bakery near Ystad. When Ian and Wendy eventually tracked down Peter, they found his wonderful artisan bakery – pots of sourdough starter bubbling away gently; mahogany-crusted sourdough loaves; stacks of beautiful knäckebröd. Among all the delights of the bakery, it was the knäckebröd that really impressed – the use of a sourdough starter gave it extra complexity and a depth of flavour that they’d never tasted in a crispbread before.

Between Ian and Wendy’s business nous and Peter’s expertise, a partnership was born. The group started selling knäckebröd in the UK under the name Peter’s Yard, taking inspiration directly from Peter’s beautiful home in the south of Sweden. Though inherently humble and simple, knäckebröd was something totally new to Britain, and a dedicated following quickly grew behind the company – including the likes of Mark Hix and Nigel Slater, who swore by the new crispbreads.

Peter’s Yard was still baking all of its crispbreads in Sweden, and their popularity was starting to outstrip the amount the company could import. The final piece of the puzzle was John Lister – founder of Shipton Mill. Not only did he provide Peter’s Yard with an artisan bakery in the UK to base their operations from, he also supplies Peter’s Yard with a never-ending supply of organic Shipton Mill flour.

These days, the company’s gate logo is synonymous with crispbreads – Peter’s Yard has become the de facto choice we all reach for when we’re looking for crackers, whether it’s for a cheeseboard or for a tasty snack. Aside from the ever-popular original knäckebröd – perfect with a slice of gravadlax – the company makes a wide range of other crispbreads, including pink peppercorn, caraway, seeded wholegrain, charcoal and rye and a delicious spelt and fig cracker that goes beautifully with salty blue cheese.

Much has changed at Peter’s Yard over the last ten years. The company has a new artisan bakery to keep up with the rising demand for their crispbreads, as well as new flavours and new products, but Peter and Jan’s original recipe has always stayed exactly the same. The sourdough starter they use is forty-four years old and counting, and they still ferment each batch of starter for sixteen hours before the crispbreads are baked. In that sense, every batch of Peter’s Yard crispbreads that emerges from the ovens at their bakery has its roots in Ystad – that fateful meeting between the three and the traditional recipes revived by Peter and Jan remain at the very core of what makes these humble crispbreads special.