Sunday, May 1, 2011

Wanted: Cheese Delivery Facilitators

Homemade Crackers
Homemade crackers are almost always tasty but they're not always crispy. In fact, lots of the homemade cracker recipes I have found are really just savory cookies, often with the cheese baked right in. Let's say that together: "cheese baked right in". Mmm. They are self-contained. They don't need anyone else. They bring their party with them.

What I've been looking for though are crisp crackers I could make at home, crackers that would taste good alone but would be even better if they met up with a fabulous piece of cheese. They have a bit of snap to them, they're friendly, and they get along well with others.

Everything's Better On Homemade Crackers
I found two recipes for the latter variety of cracker and truly couldn't be happier. They are both easy to make, crispy, tasty, and looking for some good cheeses to pal around with.
For shaping the crackers, I tried a pizza wheel, a pastry cutter, and some cookie cutters. Cute shapes are great if you've got a theme going, but they take a lot longer to do. Slicing the rolled out dough with a knife or cutting wheel goes super fast and leaves little to no waste.

Notes: The poppy-seed cracker recipe went together the fastest but they weren't as crispy as I liked, so I intentionally over-baked them until I was happy. It doesn't make very many, so if you want them for a party, be sure to double or triple the recipe. The oatmeal cracker recipe takes just a bit longer to put together but it makes a ton of crackers and they have a great texture. My local store didn't have dark rye flour so I used regular rye flour, and instead of the crushed anise seed, I added a couple tablespoons of toasted un-hulled sesame seeds. Roll the dough out as thin as humanly possible for best results. Flipping them is a bit of a pain but I think it's necessary. Next time I'll not use the Silpat so I can flip with a spatula instead of my fingers (ouch). 
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4 comments:

  1. I've been looking for just the same thing! Thanks for reviewing the recipes for us.

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  2. @mayaluna: I hope you'll try either (or both) then! We absolutely love them. And both will keep for a week in an airtight container just fine. (The oatmeal dough freezes great too.)

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  3. I've had similar issues with crackers so it's nice to find your post so I know two great recipes that won't let me down. Thanks! By the way, do the crackers lose any of their crispness after they've been put into the airtight containers?

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  4. @Sheila: Neither of them lost their crispness at all! We snacked on them all week and it was only the last day that I noticed a slight change. If they were to become less than crisp at any point, I bet a few minutes in the oven would bring them round again.

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