Homemade Saltine Crackers

HOMEMADE SALTINE CRACKERS

Makes about 60 2”x2” crackers but may vary based on how thinly rolled and size cut

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

¼ cup water

½ teaspoon kosher salt

water for brushing

kosher or sea salt for sprinkling

1. In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour and salt to combine.
2. Add the melted butter and process until a coarse meal – less than a minute.
3. Add the water and process until a dough is formed – about 1-2 minutes. It may not come together and look sort of crumbly. Turn out on the work surface and knead until it forms a moist dough.
4. Let rest 30-60 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.
5. Preheat oven to 400°F and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
6. Divide the dough into quarters and roll thin. You have two ways to do this, I much prefer the pasta machine method but you can do it by hand.
7. By hand – lightly flour the work surface and the top of the dough and using a heavy rolling pin, roll as thinly as possible.
8. With a pasta machine – Roll ¼ of dough through twice on settings 1-6 then once on setting 7. You’ll have a long very thin sheet. Cut in half if it’s too long to handle easily.
9. Cut into squares – I like about 2”x2” – brush lightly with water, sprinkle with salt.
10. Bake 400°F for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden. Keep and eye on them as they brown quickly and rotate the pans halfway through baking.
11. These will crisp up as they sit out of the oven and will keep, tightly wrapped, for a few days. Though if you live in a humid climate they may soften. If so, recrisp in a 350°F oven for a few minutes.

Chinese Five Spice Honey Snaps

Chinese Five Spice Honey Snaps

Adapted from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich

57 grams (4 Tbs) unsalted butter

96 grams (3 Tbs) honey

55 grams (¼ cup) sugar

¼ tsp Chinese five spice powder

57 grams (½ cup) all purpose flour, sifted before measuring

2 pinches of salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter four baking sheets if you’ve got that many. If not you just won’t be able to drop all the batter before baking, which is okay, you’ll just have to work a little quicker to switch out baking sheets.

In a small saucepan, heat the butter, honey, sugar and spice powder over low heat, until the butter is melted. Remove the pan from heat and stir in flour and salt. Mix well.

Drop 6 teaspoons of batter onto each baking sheet, allowing planty of room for spreading. Place one sheet at a time in the oven and bake until they are golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. While they are baking, butter the handle of a wooden spoon.

When the first batch is done, take it out and immediately replace it with the next batch. Allow to cool for about 15-20 seconds, then lift one with a metal spatula onto the wooden spoon handle (or on a cooling rack if you don’t want to curl them). Lay the hot snap on the spoon handle and let it hang down. Fit as many as you can on the handle and let them stay there until they firm up, about a minute. Repeat for all 6 snaps of the first batch. If they harden before you can roll them, return the baking sheet to the oven for a few seconds to allow them to soften up. Do not bake more than 6 at a time or you won’t be able to keep up. Cool completely.

Note: Even a little too much flour may result in a thick and tough, rather than thin and crisp snap. Use a scale if you can.

Parmesan Poppy Seed Crackers

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour

4 teaspoons poppy seeds

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup grapeseed/vegetable oil

3 teaspoons soy sauce

3 teaspoons ice water (or more as needed)

1. In bowl, add flours, poppy seeds and cheese. Mix dry ingredients thoroughly together.

2. In separate bowl, whisk together oil and soy sauce and add to dry mixture.

3. Continue adding ice water a little at a time as needed until the dry mixture becomes a moist dough ball.

4. Wrap dough ball in plastic wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.

5. Oil cookie sheet and preheat oven to 325° F.

6. Break off piece of dough and lay between two plastic wraps. Roll out dough flat or until desired cracker thin-ness . Using plastic wrap will keep the dough from sticking to your rolling pin and your work surface. Occasionally, the plastic wrap will wrinkle in the dough. Remove one of the plastic wrap sheets from the dough and straighten it out again to remove wrinkles.

7. Once dough is rolled out, remove top layer of plastic wrap and cut dough to desired size with a sharp knife or pasta cutter.

8. Grab the plastic wrap on the bottom of the dough and flip it over on to cookie sheet. Remove last plastic wrap. Carefully separate the cut pieces of dough so that the crackers can have a crispy edge when baked.

9. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown. DO NOT OVER BAKE because the Parmesan cheese will burn and become bitter.

10. Serve with cheese or your favorite dip!

Wheat Crackers

Wheat Crackers

3 c. Wheat Roll Mix
5 T. oil
1 c. water
salt

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl combine roll mix, oil, and water. Stir with a fork until
blended. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough only until smooth (about 3 min). Divide into
4 pieces. Roll dough into a 16x12 rectangle, 1/6 inch thick. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Shake w/ salt to taste. Using a pastry wheel (or knife) mark cutting lines in dough about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-20 min or til golden. Cool on rack. Makes about 200.

Taste exactly like Wheat Thins! SO GOOD!

See: Wheat Roll Mix