sprinklefingers

a few posts ago i told you all about my attempts at home cracker baking.

well, i know you probably wake up every single day and wonder if i tried to improve upon my last cracker making experience - and guess what? i have! in fact, i just finished washing up the dishes!

my last cracker experience was definitely a learning one. first off, i burned a few sheet trays of crackers because i put them into a very hot oven - mostly because i thought they’d get browned and crunchy really quickly. instead, they just got brown (or, ahem, black,) very quickly.

that last experience also saw me rolling out so much dough that my tennis elbow started acting up. ee-ouch.

so, tonight, guess what? i used my pasta sheeter to roll the dough! a few swipes through that thing - and tah-dah! the dough’s ready for cutting. so easy. and SUCH a time saver, let me tell you. honestly, i think i heard my elbow sigh and say ‘thank you.’

also tonight, i put the crackers in a very low oven and baked them for a minimum of 18 minutes. no over browning, perfectly crunchy. crackers!

now that we’ve come this far with the cracker making, i feel i can share the recipe with you. keep in mind, these are plain old crackers because i’m baking snack food for the lowest common denominator of our family - a two year old. you can spice yours up with dried herbs, freshly cracked pepper, garlic powder or even old bay seasoning (not too much!)

remember, you CAN make these without a pasta roller - just be prepared to give that rolling pin and your forearms a real workout.

whole wheat crackers. from scratch!

you need:

• 6.5 oz ap flour
• 4 oz whole wheat flour
• 1 t sea salt
• 8 fl oz water
• 3 fl oz best olive oil

make the crackers:

1. preheat oven to 300.
2. mix both flours and salt together. slowly pour in water and olive oil. mix until dough comes together, then knead for a few minutes until you have a solid mass.
3. break off manageable pieces of dough and roll them, sprinkling with flour to avoid sticking, until almost see-thru thin. cut into desired size shape with a sharp knife or bench scraper.
4. peel crackers up off rolling surface and place on ungreased sheet tray. bake for 15-ish minutes, checking on crackers every now and then so they reach your desired color and crunch.

note: you can also just use half of the dough you just made to make today’s crackers, then you can seal up the remaining dough and freeze it for future crackers! it thaws in no time! once thawed, proceed like you would if you had just made the dough.

another note: this project is really fun with a kid around. beats the heck out of an afternoon with play doh.

one more note: your crackers don’t necessarily have to salty. you could always dust them with cinnamon and sugar. oooh!