3-Seed Crackers

3-Seed Crackers

We have a favorite cracker that I buy at the local natural grocer.  They are amazingly good and quite expensive, as most organic whole grain foods are.  Today I decided to develop a recipe for these crackers using the ingredient list from the side of the box.  I love natural foods because the list of ingredients can all be found in my cupboard.  Using the fact that ingredients are listed (by weight) from greatest amount to least amount, I came up with a pretty close approximation to the "real" thing.  A box of 8 crackers runs about $3.60.  This recipe makes about 48 crackers=6 boxes, which is a savings of around $20 since I used about $1.60 worth of ingredients from my pantry.  Not bad!

3-Seed Crackers

Makes about 48 large crackers

2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
5 Tbs. sesame seeds
4 Tbs. flax meal
2 Tbs. malted barley flour (Bob's Red Mill available at most larger grocery stores)
1 1/2 tsp. instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp lemon peel1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cup hot water

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.  Add the oil and the hot water and stir to combine.  Let rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Get ready to role out the crackers by placing four sheets of parchment paper on the counter along with a rolling pin and some extra flour.

Turn out dough onto a sheet of parchment paper.

Divide dough into four pieces.

Place one dough ball on a sheet of parchment paper. Lightly dust dough with flour.

Using your fingers, press dough into a flat circle.

Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until it is very thin . . .

. . . like this

Use a pizza roller to cut the dough into rectangles (you can make the crackers any size you'd like, but we like to make rather large crackers that we can use instead of bread)

Beat an egg white with 1 Tbs. water

Brush egg mixture over dough

Sprinkle extra sesame seeds or sunflower seeds (or a mix of both) over the top of the dough.  Place the dough and parchment paper on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350º for 15 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 300º and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until crackers are very crisp.

Cool crackers completely before storing in an airtight container.