I made these crackers very quickly today from start to finish, due to using sprouted spelt flour from JoshEWEa's Garden. No soaking needed, super easy! But I included directions for both below in case you need to soak your flour.
Not sure why I've been putting this recipe off. I think it was the ‘rolling the dough' thing. But that was easy too, and I just cut them into rough rectangles and squares and threw them on the dehydrator trays. You can also use your oven. If your oven doesn't go down to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, open the door. After awhile, you can turn off the oven and leave the light on, it will keep the heat in and will save energy.
I also made one mistake during this recipe. I was making them so fast, I threw all 8 tablespoons of butter in and didn't save any to brush on the tops. But the dough turned out fine and the crackers taste good, and it's easier, too!
Tips for making homemade whole grain crackers:
- If you're short on time, just throw all of the butter in the recipe in the dough instead of brushing the tops. The dough will be a bit stickier, but just use a bit more flour on the board
- If you want very crispy crackers, try to roll out the dough as thin as you can, even less than 1/8 of one inch.
- Cut the dough in half and roll it out twice. Try not to get too anal with how your crackers look. Even if they're slightly different thicknesses, they'll be fine. Rustic crackers are cool!
- These crackers, depending on the thickness of the dough of course, will dry from 12-15 hours at 145 degrees in a dehydrator. They may take a bit longer in the oven.
Whole Grain ‘Raw' Crackers
Rating: (key) 4 forks
Difficulty:
Easy
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups freshly ground spelt, kamut, whole wheat or rye flour, or a mixture [TNC: or same amount of sprouted flour – good resource is JoshEWEa's Garden]
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1 /2 teaspoons baking powder (non-aluminum)
- 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted in the oven [TNC: I left this out for simplicity]
- 8 Tablespoons butter, melted
- unbleached white flour
Preparation:
For sprouted flour: Place sprouted flour, yogurt, salt, baking powder and 4 T butter in food processor and process until well blended. Add sesame seeds and pulse once or twice to blend. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch on a pastry cloth, using unbleached white flour to prevent sticking. Cut into squares with a knife or rounds with a glass. Place on a buttered cookie sheet, brush with remaining melted butter and bake in a 150 degree oven (or a dehydrator) until the crackers are completely dry and crisp. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
For non-sprouted flour: Mix flour with yogurt and leave in a warm place for 12 to 24 hours. Place soaked flour, salt, baking powder and 4 T butter in food processor and process until well blended. Add sesame seeds and pulse once or twice to blend. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch on a pastry cloth, using unbleached white flour to prevent sticking. Cut into squares with a knife or rounds with a glass. Place on a buttered cookie sheet, brush with remaining melted butter and bake in a 150 degree oven (or a dehydrator) until the crackers are completely dry and crisp. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Variations: there are many things that could be done with this recipe. I think next time I will add some sprouted poppy or onion seeds, and possibly some herbs, depending on what is in my garden. Dried herbs would work well too!
This post was part of Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday for March 10, 2010.
Photo courtesy of frippy on Flickr
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
The mere mention of a rolling pin in a recipe is enough to turn me off to it. But, you say it’s easy and I’m going to take your word for it. We quit buying crackers when we went “real food” so I know the family would be very happy to test it!
Any estimates on how long it would take in the oven?
these take about 12-14 hours at 145 degrees, depending on how thin you roll your dough…
Do you think doing NT foods is worth buying a dehydrator? Does Fallon recommend drying fruits and veggies, or what else could you use the dehydrator for?
Also, did you use stainless cookie sheets? Where did you find them?
Stephanie… thanks for the comment! I’ve found many uses for a dehydrator. Any of the crispy nuts such as almond, peanut, pecans, hazelnuts, etc can be dried in the dehydrator. I’ve dried a lot of apples and cherry tomatoes, and asian pear slices (we have them here local and they’re cheap in the fall). Fruit leathers are good too, haven’t tried that yet though. And beef jerky is something I’ve been meaning to make for years. I have the Nesco American gardenmaster dehydrator, it’s not bad, but I’m thinking of selling it and trading it in for an Excalibur. The square design is easier to work with and takes up almost the same space anyway (I have mine in the garage). Also if you have a grain mill too, you could make your own sprouted flours (this is the next thing on my list!).
Even though I have a dehydrator I have also used my oven set at 150 and had good results. But the crispy almonds that I’ve had from a dehydrator seem to turn out better, and it uses less energy.
oh sorry Stephanie, forgot to answer your stainless cookie sheets question. I got mine from Amazon, and I put them in my aStore because I really like them. I have also seen them at CostCo but not often, unfortunately.
I love my dehydrator! I went for the excaliber, and it’s worked out great. I make all my crispy nuts with it, and also crackers (though not as often). I have some fruit trees, and all of my extra apples and plums get dehydrated. Delicious, but addictive 🙂 And I use it to dry art projects 🙂
I also got a Vita-Mix blender for smoothies, and got the dry canister for milling flour. It’s definitely an investment, but I use it every day. Saved me from getting an expensive grain mill with only one use. I have a really small kitchen, so multi-tasking appliances are great…
I want to try these! I think I will try my pasta machine to roll out the dough. It would make the rolling easy.
Vera… very cool idea! Let us know how it goes. I think I have a pasta roller attachment for some appliance I own, I think I will dig it out and give it a try too…
What if your oven will only go down to 175 degrees? Is that too hot or will that work?
I use my dehydrator ALL the time. I bought it for tomatoes, but since discovering NT, I use it for fruit and nuts, too. I recently started sprouting and just made these crackers with my first dried sprouted wheat! Hindsight being 20/20, I’d have gotten a Vitamix years ago, but the price was, and is, too steep. I just got a grain mill. I’m pretty lame with a rolling pin, but was able to roll these guys really thin! I’ve made them before, but didn’t roll them thin enough. They’re drying right now. I love the buttery taste and the sourness of the yogurt!
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