crackers

I tried to include a picture, but I'm not adept enough with my photo editor and the online host.  Maybe another time.  But, trust me, they look and taste good.

They're the Four-Seed Snack Crackers on page 122 of Brother Juniper's Bread Book by Peter Reinhart.

Grind 1 cup each sunflower and pumpkin seeds into a flour in the blender.  Also grind 1/2 cup flax seeds in the coffee grinder.  He has you grinding all three seeds together, but the flax seeds did not break down properly.  Mix with 3-1/2 cups ww flour (or ap if you must), 1 cup sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon salt, 5 tablespoons honey, and 1/2 cup oil; add 6-8 ounces of water as needed to make a ball of dough. Knead about 10 minutes "until smooth, firm, but elastic, satiny rather than tacky" about 10 minutes.  Then place in an oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap for at least 10 minutes (I left it overnight).**

Divide into six pieces.  I rolled each piece into a ball and flattened it.  Then I placed five of the flattened balls on a cookie sheet in the freezer for a few hours before placing them in a freezer bag.  They'll keep up to three months.  Roll today's dough out to about 1/8 inch thick.  (It was still stiff from the refrigerator, so I nuked it for a few seconds before rolling.)  I found that my Sil-Pat (little brother to the Roul-Pat) was adequate because the dough was oily enough, but he warns that you should re-flour as needed.  Then he has you use a biscuit cutter or a pizza roller knife to cut out round or diamond shapes, but I used a plastic dough scraper - gently - on my Sil-Pat and cut out random shapes.  I just wanted crackers and wasn't trying to impress the bridge club.

Finally, you can mist the top of the crackers with water and sprinkle with more sesame seeds or other toppings, but I didn't.  I just baked in a 340-degree F oven for 20-25 minutes until they're light golden brown.  You're warned to let them cool for at least 20 minutes so that they'll crisp up.

My first batch is now almost gone.  When I'm ready, I'll pull out another piece of dough, defrost it, and repeat.  I can keep the crackers coming with just a little effort.

Rosalie

**EDIT:  PLACE IN REFRIGERATOR - Details! Details!

This past summer, one of my sisters-in-law brought most wonderful crackers as part of her offering for a family dinner. My sister-in-law's crackers were fabulous and she claimed they weren't all that difficult to make.

It turns out she's right. Even though they require double baking, they're dead easy. And they're delicious!

I made a few changes to the recipe my sister-in-law copied out for me. One of the changes was to add the left over sludge from building up my wild yeast to the batter. I'm positive that this is not a necessary addition. It's a great way to use up the discards though!

The crackers are made by baking quickbread batter in a loaf pan, allowing the loaf to cool completely and then slicing and baking the slices on a cookie sheet til crisp.

Next time, to get our crackers to look even more like Lesley Stowes' crisps, I'm going to put a fold of parchment paper lengthwise down the middle of the loaf pan to create square slices.

• Faux Stowe Crackers recipe

(Faux Stowe Crackers are based on Lesley Stowe's Raincoast Crisps, available throughout Canada and the USA.)

The other day when I made grissini, I used part of the dough to make Susan's (Wild Yeast) Tortas de Aceite (Olive Oil Wafers). They may not look quite as nice as Susan's but I have a feeling that we like them as much as she does. I made ours with fennel seeds (didn't have anise seeds) and Pernod, which I'm guessing amounts to the same thing as "anise liqueur". Wow! These discs are fantastic! They are easy to burn though... But if they aren't burned, they are light and crisp, with a lovely hint of licorice flavour. (And I don't even LIKE licorice....) They're wonderful on their own or with cheese. They are the perfect thing to serve after dinner! They're also good with soup for lunch or great with coffee for elevenses. Frankly, even the darker ones were delicious. Thank you once again, Susan! We'll be making these often!

• Susan's recipe for Tortas de Aceite (Olive Oil Wafers)
• My take on the recipe for Tortas de Aceite