homemade crackers?
i've been enjoying the tiny kitchen videos at the nytimes website, and decided to try the cracker recipe. salt, flour, water, and seeds, right? how hard could it be?
very hard, as it turned out. rock hard. and tasteless, despite the fact that i used exactly the same method and recipe and even brand of ingredients.
i'm still game, though, considering that crackers are expensive and i can go through quite a lot of them.
anyone have a good tried and true recipe? preferably one that has at least some whole grains {i have spelt and kamut flour on hand} and a minimum of fat.
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7 Comments:
Alton Brown has a good recipe for crackers on the foodnetwork website.
ag3208 at 1:38PM on 01/04/09
No leavening? Hmmmm...
Sometimes I'll lop off a chunk of bread dough and use that to make both crackers and breadsticks. I also will use leftover pita bread to make pita crackers. I just cut the pitas into triangles and bake them until they're crispy. Sometimes I'll brush them with olive oil and add flavorings before I bake them.
I just did a quick look at some of the cracker recipes I've collected, and most have baking powder or baking soda. The ones that don't have any leavening tend to have either cheese or eggs, so the fat content is probably what's keeping them from turning into slabs on concrete.
Check the FN website for Seedy Crisps. I've never tried it, but it looks like it might be close to what you're looking for. It uses whole wheat flour, but you should be able to use what you've got. Maybe a little less water, since whole wheat tends to suck up a lot of water. Unless you've got whole-grain spelt and kamut.
dbcurrie at 1:45PM on 01/04/09
Daring Bakers did crackers of all sorts this past fall. They were easy and delicious and very versatile. Just google the food blogs for a recipe. And, if you have a pasta roller, I found that was a great trick to roll the dough!
Bumblebutton at 2:04PM on 01/04/09
Make sure when making crackers to dock the dough. Holes in crackers are called "docking" holes. The holes are placed in the dough to stop air pockets from forming in the cracker while baking.
If you do not have a docker, use a fork. Don't overdock just dock every so often.
JerzeeTomato at 2:45PM on 01/04/09
@dbcurrie and jerzee, thanks for the suggestions. i found a good looking recipe using yeast at the king arthur website, will try that one and substitute kamut for part of the white flour.
details to follow.
cybercita at 10:01PM on 01/04/09
I made these fig,flax,walnut crackers last year and they were unusual and delicious:
http://www.izzyeats.com/2007/10/homemade-crackers-from-cookie-fiber.html
izzy's mama at 11:49PM on 01/04/09
Ina has a bleu cheese cracker which begins with a roll of chilled dough.
I believe I've also seen a parmesan cracker on Giada. Good luck!
jackiejackiejackie at 3:49PM on 01/05/09