Herbed Whole Wheat Crackers

I adore cheese and crackers.  It's long been a favourite snack of mine, and when paired with a sliced apple or some grapes, it can often replace a proper lunch when I'm in a pinch.  I also like to serve it as an after-school snack for my boys and I especially like it when paired with a glass of wine after a long day.

So this love of cheese and crackers had me searching for some easy make-your-own-cracker-recipes late last fall.  And to my surprise, there were many and they were easy.  If you haven't tried it before, making homemade crackers is far easier than one would think - I promise.  I began making them several months ago, using spelt flour, honey, olive oil and water.  Such a very simple recipe and quite tasty as well. These crackers are similar in taste and texture to that first recipe I made, only these use milk in place of water and whole wheat flour instead of spelt.

My boys are quite fond of these.  I do the rolling of the dough (it needs to be quite thin) and they cut using a pizza wheel or a variety of cookies cutters.  I find the dough is best if it's left to rest overnight, so I like to make the mixture late in the evening (it only takes a few minutes) and then in the morning we can pull it out and get to work.  Baked for a few minutes, we're all happily munching away (with some cheese of course) in no time at all.  And if you're in need of something to add to a quick and easy lunch, these will do just fine.

Herbed Whole Wheat Crackers, adapted from Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Bread

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp milk, buttermilk, yogurt, soy milk or rice milk

2 tbsp honey 

4 tbsp olive oil

Spice blend of your choosing

~ Combine the flour, salt, milk, honey and oil and mix until well combined.  Add extra flour or milk as needed to make the dough tacky but not too sticky.

~ Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for three minutes.

~ For the dough into a ball, place in a lightly oiled ball and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow to rest at room temperature overnight.  You can bake immediately and if you decide to do so, allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

~ Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.  Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and roll out with a rolling pin as thinly as it will go.

~ Using a pizza cutter or cookie cutters, cut the dough into any shape you desire.  Transfer the dough to the baking pan, and using a pastry brush, top the crackers with a small amount of water.  Sprinkle with seasoning and bake for 10 minutes.  Rotate the pans and bake for another 10 minutes, until the crackers are a rich brown colour.

~ Allow the crackers to cool before serving.  They will crisp while cooling.

~ Enjoy!

Comments

[Federica]

I just found you and I'm glad I did!
Great blog!

Take Care
Federica

[allison]

We love cheese and "savoury biscuits" as we call Crackers. I will be sure to try this recipe.

Thanks
Al

[mamaloves]

I can't wait to try these. I have always wanted to make my own crackers. I actually know others that would love this recipe too. I will be sure to direct them to your blog:)

[Maureen]

Random question - what's the longest these could/should sit out before being rolled out and baked? I was wodering if I'd be pushing things to make the night before but not do anything with them until the next evening? Thanks, Maureen