i’m on a rampage to get rid of all processed food in our house. to tell you the truth, we eat very little to start with.
but the few things that we do eat, i want to replace with a homemade version. i just hate the fact that there is food out there that is made with artificial who-knows-what and lasts for a year without going stale. that is so unappealing to me. i’ve already replaced bagels from the grocery store with homemade bagels, which i usually make a dozen of and freeze the dough until we run out, so they’re always fresh. i’m also a big fan of the homemade pop tart, not that we were buying pop tarts from the grocery store that needed replacing, but i just thought it’d be a fun throwback to the breakfast of the 90s. next on my list was crackers. we almost always have a box of wheat thins in the house, and in terms of processed food, wheat thins are probably on the less evil side. but still, there is so much sodium and so many additional ingredients that i thought it was time to replace. these are sea salt and fennel crackers, made from 5 things you likely have in your house right now. they’re easy, they’re tasty, and they are homemade. isn’t there some satisfaction in that?
as a side note, this is my second attempt at crackers. i first tried making horseradish and dill crackers which were a complete disaster. first of all, do not bake horseradish. opening the oven was like getting a face full of mace. terrible. secondly, the recipe i used contained a lot of butter, and the crackers (besides making my eyes water) were not crispy at all…they were kind of mush. eye-burning, fiery mush. they went in the trash immediately.
this version, which uses olive oil instead of butter, is almost the right crispiness. when i make these again, i think i’ll sub in a tablespoon of butter for a tablespoon of olive oil, just to make them a little flakier. update: i made these again with this slight change and the crackers were better than the original. i’ve updated the recipe below.
- 1½ cup all purpose flour
- 1½ cup whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons sea salt, plus additional for topping
- 1 tablespoon butter, chopped into small pieces
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup water
- fennel seeds, for topping
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Mix together flours, sugar, and sea salt. Slowly add in butter, olive oil, and water, mixing well, until dough forms. Dough should be slightly sticky.
- Divide dough in two, and roll out each ½ on a slightly floured surface. Lightly wet the dough and sprinkle with sea salt and fennel (or other toppings of your choosing).
- Cut the crackers into squares (I used my middle three fingers as a width guide).
- Transfer the crackers onto lightly floured baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes, watching carefully at the 10 minute mark so they do not burn.
- Transfer to a cooling rack for 10 minutes before serving. You can store these in an air-tight container for a week or so, if they get a little stale, put them back in the oven at 350 for a couple of minutes.
recipe adapted from the kitchn.
[…] can accept that. i promise there is no loss in taste. to accompany my new bowl of hummus i made my sea salt and fennel crackers, and the rest is just about dipping and eating. no dinner tonight, just hummus and […]
writes plain ol' hummus | Things I Made TodayThings I Made Today2abandons
writes 3pell-mellI live at altitude, about 4500 ft up, so that may be why baking at 475 worked better.
writes Annie RamsayUsed all unbleached white flour because that is what I had.
Will definitely make again. Thank you
how thick do you roll the dough?
writes pat krueger