Parmesan, oregano and chia crackers

I can't quite get over the fact that you can make crackers at home. I don't know why this is so surprising to me, but I lived for about 36 years not knowing it was possible. So it's taking me a while to catch up.











I had some friends over to my place on a recent Friday night. It was a lovely treat. We had a glass of wine and we, ahem... talked a lot about food. I think we all secretly knew this was a large part of the reason why we wanted to get together. As well as talking about it, we ate it, of course. One of my friends brought some lavosh she had made, but it was a thicker version and with her own flavour ideas. While I love the thin, papery, eat-as-many-pieces-as-you-like lavosh, it was nice to have a change. I've been thinking a more standard type of homemade cracker would be a good thing to have around, and starting with a familiar recipe seemed like a good idea.

My friend told me she simply didn't roll the dough out as much as you do for the original lavosh - you may recall that you have to roll it out twice. However I found my end result a bit doughy on the inside, so the second time I tried them I turned the oven up a bit hotter (lavosh cooks at 160 degrees, I do these crackers at 180). The crackers around the edges cooked a little darker and crispier than the ones in the middle, which is not a problem I have with any of my other baking, but it did give me range of options for eating! See how these instructions go for you, and vary it a little if you want them more or less crispy.

You're extra lucky today, I've made these during the daytime and when the children were out, so I was able to photograph each step - not so easy when it's after hours or the kids keep poking their fingers in the dough. I was extra lucky too, I had some parmesan in the fridge and have really wanted to make some cheesy crackers. But you could add whatever flavours you want to.

 

Once the dough is mixed I find it easiest to divide it in to two, and roll one half in to an oblong shape (repeat with the other half when you've finished with the first). Put it on a floured surface, and dust a little more on top of the dough.

Rolling the dough out in to that same long oblong shape makes it easy for cutting in to squares. You can see what I'm doing here - cutting the oblong in half down the centre and then I cut across ways to make squares. I have also trimmed the edges to make them tidy, but you don't have to do this if you're just filling the family biscuit tins again. Looks might matter when you're taking photos for a blog, but the rest of the time taste is all that matters (and saving time isn't a bad thing).

You probably don't need a photo to figure out this step, but here they are - lined up on the tray, brushed with oil and scattered with salt. When Reuben does this step they tend to be drowning in oil, but we manage to save them.

The recipe is below. If you're familiar with my lavosh recipe, be aware that this one is half the quantity. Thanks to Annabel Langbein for providing the original recipe, which I have changed around quite significantly. And remember you can use whatever flavours you like.

Parmesan, oregano and chia crackers

1/2 C white flour

1/6 C wholemeal flour

2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan

generous half teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 C water

1/8 C oil (flavourless such as grapeseed or rice bran is best)

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (or same as above)

To finish: olive oil and flaky sea salt

Stir together flours, parmesan, oregano, seeds and salt. Mix the oils and water together and add to the dry ingredients. Stir to form a soft, pliable dough.

Divide the dough in to two pieces and roll each one out on a floured board in to rectangles - make them quite thin. Cut each rectangle in to squares, or whatever size and shape you wish.

Transfer the pieces to a tray, brush lightly with oil and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.

Bake at 180 degrees until crisp and pale golden for approx 15 minutes.