Crackers & Dips (8 page)

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Divide the dough into two balls. Keep one ball covered with plastic wrap, and divide the other ball into 28 smaller portions. Roll each portion into a 6-in-/15-cm-long rope. Join the ends of each rope and pinch the ends together to create a small doughnut-shaped ring. Lay the rounds on the baking sheets 1 in/2.5 cm apart. Repeat with the remaining ball of dough.

Lightly brush each ring with the beaten egg and bake until the rounds are deep golden brown and crisp all the way through, 45 to 50 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets once from top to bottom and from back to front while baking. Transfer the taralli to a rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

CRACKER TIP:
The dough can be made up to 1 day in advance. Refrigerate the unrisen dough in a large bowl tightly covered in plastic wrap until ready to use. Add an additional 40 minutes to the rising time, if necessary, to make sure the dough has doubled in size.

IRISH BLUE CHEESE AND WALNUT SHORTBREAD

These rich crackers combine creamy Irish blue cheese, slightly tannic toasted walnuts, and just a little swish of whiskey.

MAKES 80 CRACKERS

1 cup/225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 oz/115 g soft blue cheese, such as Cashel, rind discarded

⅓ cup/65 g sugar

¾ tsp fine sea salt

1 tbsp Irish whiskey

2¼ cups/285 g unbleached all-purpose flour

½ cup/125 g walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, blue cheese, sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the whiskey, and beat to combine. Add the flour and stir on low speed until the flour is just absorbed and the dough comes together in clumps, 20 seconds. Add the nuts and stir into the dough by hand.

Divide the dough equally between two pieces of plastic wrap and form each portion into a 9-in-/23-cm-long log about 1½ in/4 cm in diameter. Cover up the logs tightly in plastic wrap and roll them briefly under your palms to make smooth cylinders. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Unwrap the logs and, using a sharp, thin-bladed knife, cut the logs into ⅛-in-/3-mm-thick rounds. Transfer to the baking sheets, spacing them ½ in/12 mm apart, and bake until golden brown around the edges, 18 to 20 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets once from top to bottom and from back to front while baking.

Transfer the crackers to a rack and cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

MIDDLE EASTERN FALAFEL CRISPS

These crackers have nearly the same ingredients as falafel, right down to the chickpeas. In this case, I use chickpea flour (also called garbanzo bean flour, gram flour, or besan), a dense, pale yellow flour ground from dried chickpeas. Chick-pea flour is available at well-stocked natural foods stores or online. Great by the handful, Falafel Crisps pair well with Spicy Red Lentil Dip (
page 109
) or Tzatziki (
page 123
).

MAKES ABOUT 50 CRACKERS

1 cup/105 g chickpea flour (see headnote)

¾ cup/90 g unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

1 tbsp dried parsley

1½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp onion powder

¾ tsp fine sea salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper

6 tbsp/80 ml extra-virgin olive oil

⅓ cup/80 ml water

1 tsp light corn syrup

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tsp coarse salt

In a food processor or a medium bowl, pulse or whisk together the chickpea flour, all-purpose flour, parsley, cumin, garlic powder, baking powder, coriander, onion powder, sea salt, black pepper, and cayenne.

Add 5 tbsp/75 ml of the olive oil to the flour mixture and pulse or stir with a fork until the mixture forms crumbs. In a small measuring cup, combine the water and corn syrup and stir until the syrup dissolves. Add the water
mixture to the flour mixture and pulse or stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together into a slightly sticky dough. Knead gently on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about 5 strokes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow the dough to relax for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C/gas 5. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Divide the dough into two balls and roll each ball out on a lightly floured surface until it is ⅛ in/4 mm thick, picking up the dough and rotating it a quarter turn frequently to make sure it is not sticking. Add more flour to the work surface, if necessary. Alternatively, use a pasta maker and the method outlined on
page 13
to roll the dough until it is ⅛ in/4 mm thick, the 4 setting on most pasta makers.

Using a pastry wheel or pizza cutter, cut the dough into rectangles measuring 2 by 1 in/5 by 2.5 cm and use a lightly floured spatula or bench scraper to transfer the crackers to the prepared baking sheets. Repeat the rolling and cutting with the scraps.

Sprinkle the crackers with the sesame seeds and coarse salt, and tamp down the toppings with the bottom of a measuring cup to adhere them to the crackers. Brush the crackers with the remaining 1 tbsp oil and bake until the crackers are golden brown and crisp to the touch, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the pan once from back to front while baking. If some of the crackers are done before others, transfer them to a cooling rack and return the undone crackers to the oven for a few more moments. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

CRACKER TIP:
What’s the corn syrup doing in a savory cracker recipe? The small amount of invert sugar gives the crackers an attractive caramelized brown hue once baked.

3

HEALTHFUL SNACKS AND WHEAT-FREE CRACKERS

SPELT PRETZEL ROUNDS

Spelt is an ancient grain related to wheat that has enjoyed a resurgence lately as bakers and consumers have become interested in whole grains. Nutty and slightly sweet, spelt flour gives these little pretzel-flavored crackers a healthy dose of fiber and protein, plus a depth of flavor you just can’t get from white flour. Look for spelt flour in the baking aisle or bulk section of whole foods stores, or order it online.

Proper pretzels are boiled in a lye solution that gives them their characteristic sour flavor and dark color. Instead of boiling the crackers in this recipe, I brush them with a baking soda solution; this step gives these crackers a great snappy exterior and characteristic pretzel flavor that makes them perfect for dipping into the Sconnie Beer and Cheese Fondue (
page 120
).

MAKES 32 CRACKERS

½ cup/120 ml warm water

1½ tsp barley malt syrup

1 cup/135 g spelt flour, plus more for rolling

1 tbsp sugar

¼ tsp fine sea salt

2 tsp baking soda

1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water

½ tsp large-grain flaky salt

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 ¼ cup/60 ml of the warm water with the malt syrup and stir to dissolve.

In a large bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, sugar, and sea salt. Add the water mixture and stir until the mixture comes together into a ball. Knead with a dough hook in a stand mixer for 30 seconds on medium-low speed, or on a lightly floured surface until the dough is smooth and slightly elastic, 30 strokes. Set aside, cover with plastic wrap, and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining ¼ cup/60 ml water with the baking soda and stir to dissolve. Divide the dough
into two balls. Roll each ball of dough into a 14-in-/35.5-cm-long rope and cut each rope into 16 equal pieces. Lightly dust a work surface and rolling pin (a small rolling pin with a tapered end works best here) with flour and roll out each piece of dough into a 2½-in-/6-cm-diameter round. Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheets and brush each round with the baking soda solution.

Brush the rounds lightly with the beaten egg, sprinkle with the flaky salt, and bake until deep golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets once from top to bottom and from back to front while baking. Cool the crackers on a rack and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

SMOKED ALMOND THINS

These high-protein, gluten-free crackers are my favorite go-to when I’ve got the afternoon hungries. The smoked almonds add a subtle, sweet-smoky flavor, and the crackers’ lightness gives them an air of elegance that makes them right at home at a dinner party or cocktail soirée. Serve them with Fresh Artichoke Dip (
page 112
) or Warm Olive Tapenade with Preserved Lemon (
page 130
).

MAKES 45 TO 50 CRACKERS

5 tbsp/55 g potato starch (not potato flour)

½ cup/80 g sweet rice flour

⅔ cup/100 g smoked almonds

¾ tsp fine sea salt

⅓ cup/75 ml water

1 tbsp sesame butter (tahini) or sugar-free almond butter

1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/gas 6. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Split the sides of a small sandwich bag, keeping the seam at the bottom of the bag intact. Set aside. Place the potato starch, rice flour, almonds, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the almonds are finely ground, 30 one-second pulses. The mixture will begin to look crumbly. Add the water and sesame butter and process until the mixture begins to clump, 20 seconds.

Measure a level 1 tsp dough and place it between the sheets of the plastic bag. Using a tortilla press or a glass with a flat bottom, press the dough into a thin, 2¼- to 2½-in/5.5- to 6-cm round. Carefully peel the round from the plastic and transfer it to one of the baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the rounds about ½ in/12 mm apart. Brush the crackers with the beaten egg.

Bake the crackers until they are light golden brown around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets once from top to bottom and from back to front. Transfer the crackers to a cooling rack and let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

BROWN BUTTER–HAZELNUT CRACKERS

These rich crackers were a great favorite with my chief recipe tester, Rebecca Gagnon; she liked them so much that she continued to “test” them even after we were both happy with the recipe!

The secret to their ultra-nutty, rich flavor is in the browned butter. Cooking butter until the milk solids turn brown transforms butter into a sweet, nutty-tasting liquid fat, a perfect accompaniment to the hazelnuts in these gluten-free hazelnut crackers. Try them topped with crumbles of salty blue cheese such as Spanish Valdeón and a whisper-thin slice of ripe pear or a dab of Figgy Bourbon Conserve (
page 127
).

MAKES 75 SQUARES

2¼ cups/295 g hazelnuts

3 tbsp unsalted butter

2 eggs

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp fine sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Cut two pieces of parchment paper to fit your baking sheets. Place the nuts on an unlined baking sheet and bake until they are light brown, their skins have cracked, and they smell nutty, 10 to 15 minutes. Set the nuts aside to cool and maintain the oven temperature.

In a small sauté pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once the foaming subsides, the butter will begin to brown. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan frequently, until the butter is light brown (the color of light brown sugar), about 45 seconds. Do not overcook the butter or it will give the crackers a burned flavor. Pour the butter into a small glass bowl and chill it for 10 minutes. Collect enough of the clear liquid fat to measure 2 tbsp and discard the dark solids. Whisk together the brown butter and the eggs in a small bowl and set aside.