Around here, we love snacking on crackers. For all the things I insist on making from scratch, it wasn’t until recently that I even realized I could make crackers at home.
I came across a cracker recipe in one of my cookbooks, Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads, and decided to give it a whirl. I was surprised at how easy and relatively quick it was to make crackers at home.
As always, one of the things I love about cooking from scratch is that I get to control the ingredients. A lot of crackers are too sweet or too salty, and many contain ingredients that we'd rather not eat. These contain healthy oils, local honey, and organic whole wheat flour. As is generally the case with homemade food, they’re much less expensive to make than to buy in the store.
These crackers were inspired by the recipe in Whole Grain Breads. In my opinion, they’re just about right: crispy; not too sweet, not too salty; plenty of flavor on their own but still go well with cheeses and dips.
Whole Wheat Crackers with Poppy Seed and Thyme
printable recipe
printable recipe
Makes 14 servings (about 14oz of baked crackers).
2 cups whole wheat flower
¾ cups water
¾ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil
1 ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir until ingredients come together and begin to form a cohesive mass. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 3 minutes until smooth.
Cover with plastic wrap or a damp, lint-free towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
On a clean work surface, drizzle a few drops of oil and spread in a thin layer.
Roll out dough with a rolling pin until about 1/16 inch thick. If the dough shrinks back, allow it to rest for 5 minutes, then roll again.
Cut the dough into strips using a pizza cutter. Carefully lift each strip of dough and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place strips about 1/4-inch apart. When the pan is full, cut the strips cross-ways to create squares.
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the crackers begin to turn golden. (Cooking time will vary depending on dough thickness and they can go from just underdone to burned quite quickly, so check early and often.)
Place pan on a cooling rack. Crackers will crisp as they cool.
Enjoy plain, with cheese, hummus, or however you like!
2 comments:
Mmmm, crackers! These look great! If I ever get the time, I'll have to make some!
Yum, these look awesome. I sometimes buy Back to Nature brand Poppy Thyme crackers and I love them, but boxes of crackers are not something I buy very often - I will definitely try these soon though!
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