Crackers & Dips (3 page)

Though most crackers in this book are all about thinness, there are a few recipes that rely on a chill-and-slice strategy, much like refrigerator cookies, for a crisp, crumbly texture. The secret to the crispness of Caesar’s Sablés (
page 48
) and Irish Walnut and Blue Cheese Shortbread (
page 55
) is the shortness of their dough. They both contain a lot of fat; the fat coats the molecules of flour that in turn keeps long strands of gluten from forming, which makes for a crumbly, crunchy cracker similar to shortbread.

The best way to form these short dough crackers is to chill the dough in tight log shapes until the dough is firm. Once the dough is well chilled, it’s easy to cut the dough into puck-shaped crackers using a sharp chef’s knife and a sawing motion. Once baked, these crackers aren’t thin, but they are melt-in-your-mouth crumbly with a nice crispness. An added bonus: short dough crackers can be made a few days ahead and sliced and baked whenever you’re ready for hot, homemade crackers; always an impressive trick to pull out of your hat when you have guests.

Trimming, Cutting & Transferring

Once your dough is rolled out thinly, it’s time to cut the crackers and get them on baking sheets. I use a dual-wheel pastry cutter that has both a flat wheel and a beveled one to give the edge of my crackers that appealing zigzag look (think saltines). A pizza wheel will work, too, but they tend to be larger than the little pasta/pastry cutting wheels you can pick up at any kitchen store. You do not want to use a sharp knife like a paring knife to trim your edges and cut your crackers because the blade will damage your work surface, silicon baking mats, and baking sheets.

Start by trimming the irregular edges of the rolled-out dough so that you can wind up with attractive, evenly cut crackers; they will look more professional, and it will make it easier for you to fit more crackers on the sheet pans. In most cases, the trimmed edges can
be re-rolled to make more crackers. On the other hand, if the rough-hewn edges don’t bother you, and you’d like to embrace the rustic, homemade look, by all means leave those ragged edges in place.

Pick up the whole sheet of dough and transfer it to the baking sheet and you run the risk of stretching and deforming the dough, plus the crackers won’t bake evenly if they’re crowded on the baking sheet. On the flip side, cutting the crackers first and transferring them one-by-one to the baking sheet can be tedious, and it can disfigure the crackers. I found a happy medium for many recipes in this book: cut the rolled out dough into strips, transfer the strips to the baking sheet, and cut the strips crosswise into the desired cracker shapes. It makes making dozens of crackers much quicker, and the method allows for efficient use of baking-sheet space, with enough room around each cracker for them to brown evenly.

Topping & Docking

A well-topped cracker is a delicious cracker, but it makes no sense to sprinkle your crackers with gourmet finishing salt, seeds, or another topping only to have them tumble off the crackers once they’re baked. That’s why I’ll remind you in the instructions to gently tamp down toppings with the bottom of a measuring cup or your fingers to adhere them to the cracker dough. When heavier toppings like the seed mixture on the “Everything” Flatbread Crackers (
page 33
) come into play, I use an egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 tbsp water) to help adhere the seeds to the dough. Egg wash also lends crackers a dressy sheen once they are baked; so whenever you want an elegant cracker, don’t forget your friend egg wash. Once you’ve made egg wash, you can keep it in an airtight container for a few days for future cracker batches.

As the crackers bake, steam trapped inside the dough will form, causing puffy spots in the crackers. To remedy this, you can use a baking technique called docking. By docking, or pricking each cracker with a fork or a wide tooth comb (that you use only for docking), you’re allowing steam to escape from the little holes, so you’ll have evenly baked crackers that have a level surface to slather with dips and spreads.

Baking

Since crackers are thin, they bake in minutes, not hours. This means that you need heavy duty baking sheets, a watchful eye, and a well-calibrated oven, or at least an oven whose quirks you are accustomed
to. I use an oven thermometer placed in the center of the oven to check my oven temperature and make sure it’s running true to the digital readout. That said, even the newest, most costly ovens have hot spots. That’s why I instruct you to rotate baking sheets not just from back to front, but also switching the bottom sheet of crackers with the top sheet so that your crackers are evenly baked.

Even if you are a dough-rolling ace and your oven is dead-on in the temperature department, some crackers may be done before others on the same baking sheet. This especially happens in the corners and edges where the air circulation and temperature are higher. In each recipe, I provide both a baking time range and doneness cues like “brown around the edges” or “firm when poked.” It’s best to keep an eye on crackers as you’re baking them to assess their progress, removing any that seem done, and letting others go longer in the oven if they need it. Use your senses, and your crackers will be wonderful.

Cooling & Storing

No one likes a limp cracker, so moisture is the most important thing to safeguard against in the realm of cracker making. When the crackers are done baking, transfer them immediately to a cooling rack that will allow air to circulate around the crackers. This important step prevents condensation from forming on the crackers, which might rob them of crunchiness.

Once the crackers are completely cool, store them in airtight, sealable containers in a cool, dry spot in your kitchen. As an extra insurance policy in humid climes and during rainy days, you may want to toss a food-safe desiccant packet (the kind you find in bottles of vitamins, jerky, and nori seaweed packets) in the container. The harmless Silica gel in these tiny packets will absorb excess moisture and keep your crackers crisp, but as the packets warn, the desiccant is not edible, so be sure to keep away from kids, and discard it after use.

Many of the crackers in this book keep well for days. I’ve indicated a “best by” time at the end of each recipe, but your mileage may vary depending on your atmospheric conditions. I’ve found that drier crackers, such as the Swedish Caraway Rye Crisps (
page 43
), and crackers that have a lot of sugar in them, like Rosemary Graham Crackers (
page 98
), can be kept for as long as three weeks, possibly longer if they are stored correctly.

THE CRACKER PANTRY

About 80 percent of good cooking is in the shopping. This mantra is especially true in cracker and dip making where the recipes are so simple. Please read through the following points about a few of the frequently used ingredients before you get started.

ALL-PURPOSE UNBLEACHED FLOUR

All-purpose wheat flour is a highly processed grain product that goes through several chemical processes including bleaching and bromating to make the flour lily-white. I opt for less-processed unbleached flour. It works exactly as well as bleached flour, without added chemical processes.

BARLEY MALT SYRUP

A common ingredient in baking and beer making, barley malt syrup, sometimes called barley malt extract, is used in cracker recipes to add a touch of sweetness (it’s half as sweet as sugar) and a rich, malt flavor. Made from barley that has been sprouted and roasted, barley malt syrup has the consistency of molasses and the flavor of a toasty, buttery grain. Eden makes my favorite barley malt syrup; find it with alternative sweeteners in natural grocery stores, or buy it online. Dark corn syrup can be used in a pinch, but it won’t provide the same butter flavor.

BUTTER

I use unsalted butter. I’d rather add my own measure of salt to recipes, rather than have the dairyman decide how much salt goes into my cooking. I buy organic butter because the flavor is noticeably better.

CRÈME FRAÎCHE

Crème fraîche [krehm FRESH] is a thick, velvety fermented dairy product that’s common in Europe, where it’s used in everything from pastries to dips and sauces (it can be boiled without curdling). Though it’s similar to sour cream, it’s generally thicker, higher in butterfat, and has a tangier, more complex flavor. You can find it at most grocery stores, but it tends to be costly. I recommend you make it yourself; see instructions on
page 118
.

NONHYDROGENATED SHORTENING

Many packaged crackers are made with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats; these solid-at-room-temperature fats are cheaper than butter and give crackers a light, flakier texture. Because these chemically altered fats have been linked to elevated risk of coronary heart disease, they have become a pariah in the food world, and justly so. Spectrum Organics and Earth Balance have recently introduced nonhydrogenated shortening products made from organic palm oil. These products contribute the same texture to crackers as hydrogenated shortenings, but without the trans fats. Look for nonhydrogenated shortening in natural food stores.

OLIVE OIL

I use extra-virgin olive oil. Nothing fancy is necessary for the oil added to cracker doughs, but when it comes to dips and spreads, investing in better-quality extra-virgin olive oil can make a big difference.

PARMESAN CHEESE

I’m talking about real, imported Italian Parmigiano Reggiano when I say “Parmesan cheese.” For some recipes, I recommend freshly grated cheese, while in others where “freshly grated” is not specified, it’s fine to use the finely pre-grated cheese from the grocery store, provided that it’s true Parmigiano Reggiano.

SALT

I use two kinds of salt frequently in this book: Fine sea salt is ideal for mixing into dough; flaky kosher salt sticks to cracker dough splendidly as a topping. The two have very different volumes and they cannot be used interchangeably.

WHOLE-WHEAT FLOUR

Whole-wheat flour, unlike white flour, still contains the germ when it is milled. That means it has some natural oils in it, and those oils can go off. Give your bag of whole-wheat flour a whiff; if it gives off a pronounced sour note, discard it. I recommend buying whole-wheat flour in small quantities in bulk and storing it in your freezer.

XANTHAN GUM

Xantha-what? It sounds more like a sci-fi villain than a baking ingredient, but xanthan (ZAN-thuhn) gum is a crucial ingredient in gluten-free recipes for the springy quality it can lend to dough. Xanthan gum is an all-natural ingredient made from fermented corn sugar. It keeps indefinitely in a cool, dry place. Find it at most grocery stores in the natural-food or gluten-free section, or buy it online.

1

LIGHT AND CRUNCHY CLASSIC CRACKERS

TANGY CHEDDAR CHEESE CRACKERS

These crackers are very similar to those neon-orange boxed “cheese” crackers we all grew up with, but without the heaps of sodium. The tangy flavor comes from aged Cheddar cheese, chicken bouillon powder, and annatto paste (also called achiote paste), a soft, crumbly seasoning blend made from achiote seeds. Annatto can be found at Latino grocery stores and conventional supermarkets in the Mexican foods section, or buy it online. If you can’t find annatto, add 1½ tsp mustard powder to the flour; the crackers won’t have the same orange hue, but the savory-sharp flavor will be similar.

MAKES ABOUT 120 CRACKERS

1 tsp annatto, crumbled

7 tbsp/105 ml room-temperature (75°F/25°C) water

1 tsp active dry yeast

1½ cups/185 g unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

½ tsp fine sea salt

½ tsp baking soda

2 tsp chicken bouillon powder or crumbled bouillon cubes

1 cup/55 g finely grated loosely packed sharp Cheddar cheese

¼ cup/50 g chilled vegetable shortening, preferably nonhydrogenated

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Combine the annatto and water in a glass measuring cup and stir to combine; the annatto will turn the water a deep crimson color. Stir in the yeast and set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor or a large bowl, pulse or whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and bouillon powder until combined. Add the cheese and shortening and pulse or cut the fat into the flour using a pastry blender until it is in tiny pieces and the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal, 15 one-second pulses with a food processor. Gradually add the water mixture, pulsing or stirring with a fork until the dough just comes together.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, 15 strokes.

Divide the dough into two balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball of dough into a rough rectangle that is about
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 crimped pastry wheel, trim any irregular edges away. (Scraps can be reserved and re-rolled once.) Cut the dough into 1½-in-/4-cm-wide strips and lay them ½ in/12 mm apart on the prepared baking sheets. Cut the strips crosswise into 1½-in/4-cm squares and prick all over with a fork or comb.