German Zwieback with Pumpkin Seeds

Zwieback, German word for “twice-baked”, is pretty simple to make and doesn’t require any fancy ingredients. Traditionally it’s made with wheat, but today I am sharing a gluten free version made with rice. A basic sponge loaf with Styrian pumpkin seeds folded in, first baked, then cut into thin slices and baked for the second time until crispy, golden and toasted, closely resemble melba toast.
These plain-jane biscuits are excellent either at teatime, breakfast with butter, jam, cheese or as a crunchy snack on its own. You can swap out the pumpkin seeds for coarsely chopped walnuts or almonds.

300 ml (8-9 large) Egg whites
1 pinch of salt
150 g Icing sugar
150 g Styrian pumpkin seeds
200 g Rice flour

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a 30cm loaf pan with parchment paper.
Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the salt. Whisk at medium speed until the eggs are starting to bubble. Increase the speed and whip, adding the icing sugar slowly by the spoonful, until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.
Sift the rice flour over the beaten egg whites and fold in, taking care not to deflate the mixture much. Fold in the pumpkin seeds or chopped nuts. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
Place the pan in the middle of oven and bake for 40-50 minutes until springy and lightly browned. Remove the pan from the oven and turn out on a wire rack to cool completely. Cover the loaf with parchment paper and let sit at room temperature overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 150C/300C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Slice the loaf into 4-5 mm thick slices. Place them on the baking sheets and bake, one tray at a time, with the oven door ajar, for 30 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the second baking sheet. Store them in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks.

6 comments:

Lola Martínez 22/9/25 12:54: A primera vista me ha parecido pan, si es bizcocho tanto mejor, más rico aún.
David M. Gascoigne, 22/9/25 13:10: Looks wonderful, Angie. The house right next door to me is for sale. Please buy it and move in as soon as possible. I will be on your doorstep every day!
DEZMOND 22/9/25 13:15: Danke fur making it glufrei, I would probably eat it just baked without baking it into toast and would enjoy the heck out of it. I do use a lot of pumpkin seeds, sometimes I even make green pies with the flour made from them.
Tom 22/9/25 13:18: ...pumpkin is the flavor of the season.
eileeninmd 22/9/25 13:26: Hello Angie,
Your bread look delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Take care, have a wonderful week.
Ananka 22/9/25 13:36: That looks amazing :-D