Crackers & Dips (5 page)

In a small bowl, whisk together the barley malt syrup, vegetable oil, and ½ cup/120 ml of the water, stirring to dissolve the malt extract. Gradually add the water mixture to the food processor or bowl, pulsing or mixing with a wooden spoon to combine. Gather up the dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, cover in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/gas 6. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is
in/2 mm thick, picking up the dough occasionally and rotating it to make sure it’s not sticking to the work surface. Using a round scalloped cookie cutter, cut the dough into 2½-in/6-cm rounds; reserve the scraps.

Fill one baking sheet with crackers, spacing them about ½ in/12 mm apart. Brush the crackers lightly with the beaten egg and then prick the crackers several times with a fork (a spoke pattern adds visual appeal). Sprinkle the crackers sparingly with some of the kosher salt and bake for 4 minutes; rotate the pan from back to front. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F/190°C/gas 5 and continue to bake until the crackers are light golden brown and firm to the touch, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Return the oven temperature to 400°F/200°C/gas 6 and repeat the process with the remaining dough and scraps, baking the crackers one baking sheet at a time.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Place the peanut butter, butter, and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl or the food processor used to make the crackers. Beat with a handheld mixer or process until the mixture is fluffy. Chill the filling for 30 minutes.

Spread the bottom side of half of the crackers with 1½ tsp of the peanut butter filling. Top each of the peanut butter crackers with another cracker, salt-side up, to create a sandwich. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

“EVERYTHING” FLATBREAD CRACKERS

My favorite morning treat is an “everything” bagel festooned with onion, garlic, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and caraway; I’m hooked on their intriguing mix of flavors and textures. These elegant little crackers are an homage to those bagels, with all the delicious bagel decorations parked on top of flaky, tangy crackers made with crème fraîche.

“Everything” Flatbread Crackers are great smeared with any creamy dip: the Cervelle de Canut (
page 119
) and the Smoked Salmon Crème Fraîche Dip (
page 118
) come immediately to mind.

MAKES 24 CRACKERS

2 tbsp fried shallots or dried onion flakes

2 tsp dried minced garlic

2 tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp poppy seeds

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 tsp sel gris or other granular sea salt

2 cups/255 g unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

1 tsp light brown sugar

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp fine sea salt

¼ cup/60 ml crème fraîche (see Dip Tip,
page 118
), or sour cream

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

6 tbsp/90 ml water

1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the shallots, garlic, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, caraway seeds, and sel gris; set aside.

In a food processor or large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and fine sea salt and pulse or whisk to combine. In a small bowl, whisk together the crème fraîche, olive oil, and water. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and pulse or stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. Knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about 10 strokes.

Divide the dough into two balls, cover with plastic wrap, and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Pat one ball into a small rectangle and roll it out on a lightly floured surface until the dough is
in/2 mm thick, picking up the dough occasionally and rotating it to make sure it’s not sticking to the work surface. Alternatively, use a pasta maker following the method on
page 13
until the dough is
in/2 mm thick, the number 5 setting on most machines.

Using a pastry wheel or pizza cutter, trim any irregular edges (save the scraps). Cut the dough into rectangles measuring 2 by 4 in/5 by 10 cm and transfer them to the baking sheet, spacing them very close together. Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the remaining ball of dough and scraps, using a second baking sheet.

Brush the crackers lightly with the beaten egg and sprinkle them with the shallot mixture. Using a flat-bottomed measuring cup, gently tamp down the toppings into the dough to adhere. Prick each cracker 4 or 5 times with a fork or comb.

Bake until the crackers are golden brown and crisp, 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets once from top to bottom and from back to front while baking. Cool on racks and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

GARDEN OF EDEN VEGETABLE CRACKERS

My all-time favorite cracker growing up was the tangy, salty crackers studded with dehydrated vegetables, cut out into vegetable-like shapes. I’ve sorted out how to re-create the veggie-flecked crackers at home, with lots less sodium, sugar, and fat but all the savory flavor I remember. They may not be health food, but they are addictively delicious!

For the dehydrated vegetables in the recipe, I use the chunky bits lurking at the top of Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix pouches. You can also buy dried vegetable blends in bulk at natural foods stores (sometimes labeled “soup vegetables”), or make your own blend with dehydrated bell peppers, dried onion flakes, and sun-dried tomatoes.

MAKES ABOUT 80 CRACKERS

2 tbsp dehydrated vegetables (see headnote)

1 cup/130 g whole-wheat flour

1 cup plus 2 tbsp/145 g unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

1 tbsp sugar

1½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp fine sea salt

½ tsp sweet paprika

2 tsp granulated onion powder

1 tsp granulated garlic powder

¼ cup/60 ml extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup plus 1 tbsp/135 ml water

1 tbsp tomato paste

Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/gas 6. Using a clean spice grinder or a mortar and pestle, grind the dehydrated vegetables until they are fairly fine; pieces should not exceed
in/2 mm wide, or the crackers will be difficult to roll and cut.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dehydrated vegetables, whole-wheat flour, all-purpose
flour, sugar, baking powder, sea salt, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Add the olive oil and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingers until it is completely incorporated and the mixture is crumbly. In a small bowl, whisk together the water and tomato paste. Add the water mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and slightly elastic, about 20 strokes. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. (The dough can be made ahead up to this point. Refrigerate the wrapped dough for up to 24 hours.)

Lightly dust a clean work surface and a rolling pin with all-purpose flour. Divide the dough into two equal-size balls. Roll out one ball of dough until it is
in/2 mm thick, picking up the dough occasionally and rotating it to make sure it’s not sticking to the work surface and adding more flour as necessary. If the dough springs back as you are rolling, set it aside and start rolling out the second ball; this will allow the gluten in the first ball of dough to relax, thus making it easier to roll out.