Making Your Own Crackers - Not As Crazy As You May Think
Homemade Crackers (photo courtesy of 101cookbooks.com)
If you take a little flour and a little water and blend them together until they form a smooth, doughy mass, you are halfway there to making your own crackers! But, these would be bland crackers, so you do need to add some flavour. Easily done: some salt, some cracked pepper, a bit of grated cheese, some chopped fresh rosemary and a small dribble of good, fruity olive oil. Now you have the makings of really fabulous, crisp, savoury snacks. I predict that once you start making your own crackers you will not stop. In the time it takes you to find your shopping list and write "crackers", you will have these crunchy ones in the oven. Actually, the dough has to sit for 30 minutes, so I lie. But the sitting time doesn't count, so I tell the truth. These crackers are inspired by a recipe in Rose Levy Beranbaum's book The Bread Bible.
Rosemary Crackers
2+3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup whole wheat flour; 1 tsp. salt; 1 cup water at room temperature; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary.
Combine flours and salt in mixer bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in all but 1 tbsp. of the water, the oil and the rosemary. With a paddle attachment, mix on medium speed until the dough comes together and cleans the side of the bowl. If this doesn't happen, add extra water 1 tbsp. at a time until a ball of dough forms. If the dough is too sticky, add flour, 1 tbsp. at a time until the dough is properly formed. Oil the dough lightly, cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature before rolling.
To make the crackers, preheat the oven to 450 F. Roll dough thinly on a floured surface. Brush the tops of the crackers with a little bit of water and sprinkle on a good pinch of kosher salt, which is coarse and mellow. Cut crackers any way you like and bake for 8-10 minutes. The crackers should have raised bubbles that are lightly browned. Cool and eat or keep in a covered container.
Coarse salt adds texture and taste to the tops of crackers
Once you find a cracker recipe you like, the creative possibilities are limitless. You can replace some of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat or rye flour. You can add an assortment of seeds to the dough for texture, colour and flavour. I love using fennel, flax and poppy seeds. You can chop up some fresh sage and incorporate it into the dough. You can cut the crackers into long, thin strips, or cute little stars. You get the idea.
Another winner in my house are these Crisp Seeded Mega-Crackers from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. My family say these crackers are better than chips, with the same winning pairing of crispness and saltiness, but nutritionally positive and pretty, with the seeds speckling the dough in a random, rustic way. You can brush the rolled cracker dough with water and sprinkle on some extra salt, or not.
3 cups all-purposed unbleached flour; 1 tsp. salt; 1/2 tsp. kosher or coarse sea salt for the tops of the crackers (optional); 2/3 cup assorted small seeds of your choice (sesame, flax, poppy, fennel, anise are all great); 1 tsp. ground black pepper; 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil; 1 cup cool water.
Mix together dry ingredients, leaving out the optional kosher salt for the tops. Stir in olive oil then add water, and mix until dough starts to come together. Add single spoonfulls of water if mixture is too dry, or single spoonfuls of flour if mixture is too wet and gloppy. Once you have a smooth, sticky mass of dough, oil it lightly, cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes. Roll dough out thinly on a floured surface and brush the tops with a bit of water. Sprinkle on a bit of kosher or coarse salt if you like. Cut crackers into any shape you like. Bake crackers at 450 F for about 10 minutes or until browned and crisp. Cool and store in airtight containers.
Once the aromas of home baking fill your kitchen, the idea of making your own crackers will not seem crazy at all. To further explore the world of breads and savoury snacks, take a look at these books:
Savory Baking From the Mediterranean by Anissa Helou
Flatbreads and Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Daguid