sprinklefingers

graham crackers are so good. homemade graham crackers are crazy good.

not too long ago i told you that i was on a no-packaged-foods rampage. and, guess what? it’s working. at least 2 of the 3 humans who live in our house have been avoiding packaged foods. with the small exception of organic pretzel twists, which the kid enjoys in his preschool lunch. oh, and twice i have brought home a single bag of these for my boys. but, for the most part, we’ve been doing just fine with no packaged stuff. [at least 2 of us have.]

one thing i was really missing? graham crackers. ESPECIALLY when the craving for my own ‘kitchen s’mores’ hits. yes, there is a post coming soon about kitchen s’mores. but for now, come on, let’s focus on the crackers…

homemade graham crackers can be mindblowing. even more so if you’ve never had a homemade one. while a tad time consuming to make, the dough comes together rather quickly and the softness of it makes it extremely easy to roll - in fact, it’s so easy a 2 year old can do it.

once you find a basic dough you like, it’s fairly easy to then change a few components of that dough to alter the flavor of the cracker. cinnamon. honey. cocoa powder. brown sugar. browned butter (that’s been refrigerated.)

perhaps the best thing about homemade graham crackers is that the main ingredient is whole wheat flour. which makes me feel extra good when my kid is begging for his 14th graham cracker of the day and i (again) give in and let him have another. god, i am so sad.

speaking of ingredients, i only make my graham crackers (and any other pastry dough, actually) with european butter. it contains less water than regular butter - which means it has a higher fat content. that higher fat content is noticeable right from the start of dough making - cutting european butter into flour (by hand) is one of the greatest kitchen pleasures, ever. [we have already established that i need to get out more, and this last sentence only serves as more evidence of that fact.] and eating a pastry that’s been made with european butter? if you don’t notice a difference in both flavor and texture, you shouldn’t be reading this entry. it’s that good.

promise me you’ll try making your own graham crackers. at least once.

homemade graham crackers

basic recipe from King Arthur Flour with my substitutions

you need:
parchment paper
baking sheets/sheet trays

• 2 oz AP flour
• 7 7/8 oz whole wheat flour
• 3 oz confectioners’ sugar
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2-3/4 t kosher salt, depending upon your dislike/like of salt
• 1 t cinnamon (optional)
• 4 oz UNSALTED european butter, cut into 8-10 pieces
• 1.5 oz honey
• 1 oz cold milk

1. preheat oven to 325. tear out parchment sheets to fit your sheet trays.
2. whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and optional cinnamon. using your hands, plop the pieces of butter into the dry ingredients and smear the butter into the flour. pick pieces up, add some flour to your hands and continually smear the butter in. keep going until your dough is evenly crumbly. you should not be able to tell that there are any chunks of butter - it should all be quite uniform.
3. in a separate bowl, mix the honey and milk together, stirring until the honey dissolves. add this mixture into the flour/butter mixture and stir with a fork until it comes together. if the dough seems too dry, add a few additional drops of milk.
4. plop the dough out onto your clean countertop or board and knead 10-12 times until the dough is a solid, smooth mass. divide dough in half. cover the half you’re not working with in plastic.
5. take the dough you are working with and place it on your parchment paper. you will roll the dough on the parchment, then lift the parchment and place it on the baking sheet - if you don’t do it this way, it will be IMPOSSIBLE for you to pry the cut dough up off your rolling surface. do not substitute waxed paper for parchment paper. they are not the same thing. no, they’re not. stop it!
6. anyways, using a rolling pin or a wine bottle, roll the dough out until it’s around 1/8” thick and an approximate 10”x14” rectangle. trim up the sides to make the rectangle if need be. save the scraps for your next batch.
7. next, using a pizza wheel, cut the crackers into your desired size. once cut, dock all over with a fork or a dough docker. you don’t have to move the crackers once cut. upon baking, they will bake together, but the line you previously cut will still be there so you can break them apart. magic!
8. bake for 15 minutes, or until medium gold. watch that your edges don’t overbake. remove from oven and cool on a rack for 8 minutes, then break the crackers on the lines you previously scored. return to rack to cool completely. or eat them all right then, whichever you prefer.

note: it may take several rounds of baking for you to use up all of your dough. since the dough is rolled and cut on parchment, then that parchment is lifted off the counter and placed on your baking sheet, it’s difficult to add more crackers to a single sheet. instead, just prepare your next round of crackers while your previous round is baking up.

some substitutions:

• instead of 1.5 oz of honey with the milk, try light brown sugar. or molasses if you like a deeper, richer sweetness. or take it a step further and try maple syrup.

• the cinnamon can be left out, or you can use a different spice or blend of spices. nutmeg and a touch of clove? experiment! it’s fun!

• you could add a drop or two of vanilla extract. that’s not going to hurt anyone.

• for chocolate grahams, add 1.5 oz of cocoa powder to your dry ingredients. also, increase your confectioners’ sugar to 5 oz.
  
  
• what about adding a bit of lemon or orange zest to the original recipe? especially if you are planning to turn the crackers into a graham cracker crust for a pie…oh lord!

i have a rather extensive graham cracker freezing project going on as i type. you will know about it. oh yes, you will.

and i honestly promisedly do promise to tell you about s’mores. post coming soon!