Crackers & Dips (7 page)

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/gas 6. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats
or parchment paper. Divide the dough into six equal-size balls. Dust one ball of dough with all-purpose flour and flatten it into a disk about ½ in/12 mm thick. Run the dough through a pasta maker following the instructions on
page 13
until the dough is about
in/2 mm thick, the 5 setting on most pasta makers, or roll it out with a rolling pin.
*
You will have a long, thin sheet of dough about 2 ft/61 cm long. Cut the dough crosswise into two equal lengths and transfer them to one of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with another ball of dough and the second baking sheet.

Sprinkle the crackers with the fleur de sel and use a flat-bottomed measuring cup to lightly tamp it down into the cracker dough. Bake the crackers until they are golden brown and crisp, about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets once from top to bottom and from back to front while baking. Watch carefully: they go from ghostly pale to burned in seconds. Repeat with the remaining dough to make ten more cracker sheets.

CRACKER TIP:
The sky is the limit with toppings for these crackers; here are just a few ideas.

ROSEMARY SALT:
1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves chopped with ¾ tsp coarse finishing salt, such as fleur de sel

SPANISH SMOKE:
½ tsp Spanish smoked paprika plus ½ tsp kosher salt

TRUFFLE SALT AND PEPPER:
½ tsp truffle salt plus ½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper

GOUDA AND THYME:
¼ cup/25 g finely grated aged Gouda cheese, 2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme

*
If rolling by hand, prepare the dough for rolling by picking up a ball in both hands and pulling on either end of the dough, stretching and wiggling it until it is about 5 in/12 cm long. Allow the dough to rest briefly while stretching the other dough balls. Roll out each stretched piece of dough as thinly as possible (about
in/2 mm thick) with a rolling pin, lifting the dough frequently and rotating it to make sure it isn’t sticking, and adding a little flour if necessary
.

CAESAR’S SABLÉS

Everyone loves Caesar salad. So what if you could fit all the savory, salty flavor of that brilliant salad into a little crumbly cracker? Caesar lovers everywhere, rejoice: here is your cracker!

These rich crackers are similar to the French pastry/cookies called
sablés
[sah-BLAY], which means “sandy,” and as the name advertises, these crackers have a sandy, crumbly texture and they’re very rich, thanks to an ample dose of lemon olive oil.

The dough can be made up to three days in advance, so they’re perfect for entertaining; just slice and bake when needed. Try them with a dab of Warm Olive Tapenade with Preserved Lemon (
page 130
), eat them by the handful, or use them as a garnish for Caesar salads as a sort of overgrown crouton. Whatever the application, they’re
très délicieux
.

MAKES 50 TO 60 CRACKERS

2 cups/255 g unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup/115 g grated Parmesan cheese (firmly packed)

½ cup/120 ml lemon-infused olive oil, or extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp finely grated organic lemon zest

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tsp fine sea salt

1 tbsp chopped anchovies (about 6 small fillets) or 1 tbsp anchovy paste (optional)

¼ cup/60 ml water

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

In a food processor or large bowl, pulse or mix the flour, cheese, olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, and salt until well combined and crumbly. Add the anchovies (if using) and water. Pulse or stir until the mixture becomes crumbly and begins to stick together, 15 pulses (do not overmix), stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl.

Turn half of the dough out onto a 16-in-/40.5-cm-long piece of plastic wrap and squeeze and gently knead the dough to form it into an 8- to 9-in-/20- to
23-cm-long log that is about 1¼ in/3.5 cm in diameter. Roll up the log in the plastic wrap and roll on the work surface under your palms to make a uniform cylinder. Repeat with the other half of the dough and another piece of plastic wrap. Chill the logs in the refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Unwrap the logs and use a sharp, thin-bladed knife to cut the logs crosswise into ⅛-in-/3-mm-thick slices using a gentle sawing motion. If any crumbly bits break off while slicing, press them into the cracker and shape with your fingers into a round. Arrange the slices 1 in/2.5 cm apart on the baking sheets and sprinkle them with the pepper. If any of the crackers were sliced too thickly, use your fingers to press them out until they are of the same thickness as the others.

Bake until the crackers are golden brown around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Rotate the pans once from top to bottom and from back to front while baking. Transfer the crackers to a cooling rack. Once cool, store the crackers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

NORWEGIAN HAVRE KJEKS

(SWEET-SALTY OATMEAL ROUNDS)

A few years ago, my husband, Gregor, did some sleuthing to find the Norwegian branch of his family tree. With old black-and-white photos and the help of Face-book, he found his fourth cousins on a remote island in the western part of Norway. After days of air travel, a long car ride, and two ferry trips, we finally arrived on the picturesque fishing isle of Espevaer (population 162), to learn that nearly everyone we met on the island was somehow related to him.

The loveliest and most hospitable relative was Bitten Garvik Dalva, a silver-haired septuagenarian with an amazing proclivity for baking. She served us tea with no less than three homemade cakes, three kinds of cookies, and two kinds of homemade crackers. Upon much urging, she graciously transcribed this recipe from her yellowed notebook of recipes. Both sweet and salty with a comforting oat flavor, these gems are as delicious topped with smoked salmon as they are dunked in a glass of milk.

MAKES 60 CRACKERS

1¼ cups/110 g instant rolled oats

1½ cups/170 g unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

¼ cup/50 g sugar

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp fine sea salt

½ cup/115 g salted butter, melted

¾ cup/180 ml plain Greek yogurt

Fleur de sel for topping

In a large bowl, mix the oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, and fine sea salt until thoroughly combined. In a small bowl, whisk together the butter and yogurt; add it to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. Knead gently in the bowl until the dough is smooth. Divide the dough in half, form into two 1-in-/2.5-cm-thick disks, cover them in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C/gas 5 and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the disks out until it is ⅛ in/4 mm thick, picking up the dough and rotating it to make sure it isn’t sticking to the work surface. Use a 2½-in-/6-cm-diameter biscuit cutter or juice glass to cut out rounds of dough. Place the rounds on one of the prepared baking sheets and sprinkle sparingly with the fleur de sel. Bake the crackers immediately, rotating the baking sheets once from front to back while baking, until the crackers are golden brown around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the remaining disk of dough and scraps (scraps can be chilled and re-rolled once).

Transfer the crackers on a cooling rack and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

BLACK PEPPER TARALLI

I first came across these little snack loops—not quite a cracker, not quite a breadstick—in Puglia in southern Italy; they were great “pack food” for nibbling on endless train rides and meanderings through dark cobblestone streets. Taralli come in both sweet and savory flavors; my particular favorites are the slightly hot black pepper–flecked ones. They are often served with wine, into which the taralli are dipped. Because they are so sturdy, they’re great dunked into gooey dips like the Sconnie Beer and Cheese Fondue (
page 120
) or the Trieste-Style Crab Gratin (
page 136
).

MAKES 56 LOOPS

2 tsp active dry yeast

¾ cup/180 ml warm (120°F/50°C) water

1 tsp sugar

½ cup/120 ml white wine

¼ cup/60 ml extra-virgin olive oil

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

1¾ cups/290 g semolina flour

2 tsp fine sea salt

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast, warm water, and sugar and set aside for 10 minutes. Add the wine and olive oil to the bowl and stir to combine. In another bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, semolina flour, salt, and pepper. Add the dry mixture to the yeast and water mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. Attach the dough hook and knead on medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, 3 minutes. Alternatively, knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured work surface for 6 minutes. Coat a large bowl lightly with cooking spray; add the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside until the dough has doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours.