Rye Crackers - Recipe
Rye crackers are a thing with me right now. Rye is a major grain seen in Nordic baking, plus I love Scandinavian flavors and flatbreads. I wanted a Nordic crispbread/vehicle on which to dollop my herring spread and cheeses. So instead of just buying some bland tasting old crackers from the store, I embarked upon the journey of making my own rye cracker/crispbread. To create one with texture and character, I am overjoyed to report that I found traditional stone ground rye flour by Hodgson Mill. This is a coarser texture than I have ever used before for rye. At first glance I could tell it was ground more coarsely, but after seeing it in the dough I was very pleased to see just how much coarser it was compared to a fine ground flour. I think it would be awesome in breads too, but that is for another post. I seasoned these crackers with some caraway seeds roughed up in a mortar and pestle, but feel free to experiment with other kinds.
Rye Crackers
(50 crackers)
1 c. Course Stone Ground Rye Flour
1 c. Whole Wheat Flour
1 T. Caraway Seeds (lightly crushed)
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
2 T. Butter
1/2 c. plus 2 T. Water
Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cut small pieces of butter into the bowl and then use your fingers to work into the flour. There should be small gravel sized pieces when finished. Add the water, and mix with your hands to form a ball of dough. It should be sticky enough to easily hold together. Add a tiny bit more water if necessary. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest for ten minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place parchment onto two cookie sheets. Separate dough into four balls, keeping the unused dough in plastic wrap. With a hand roller, roll out two balls of dough to 1/16th of an inch onto floured parchment for each sheet, adding flour as needed to the top of the dough. I use wheat flour for sprinkling. To start out the rolling, I hold onto one side and roll away from my hand. With a pizza roller or bench knife, score the dough into 2-inch crackers. Poke randomly with a fork and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Swap the location of the pans halfway through the baking time. The edges should be crisp when done. Slide off the pans or lift with a spatula onto a rack to cool completely. Break into rough pieces. If some of the crackers are not as crisp as you would like, place them back onto a cookie sheet into a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven at five minute intervals until crisp.
Rye Crackers
(50 crackers)
1 c. Course Stone Ground Rye Flour
1 c. Whole Wheat Flour
1 T. Caraway Seeds (lightly crushed)
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
2 T. Butter
1/2 c. plus 2 T. Water
Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cut small pieces of butter into the bowl and then use your fingers to work into the flour. There should be small gravel sized pieces when finished. Add the water, and mix with your hands to form a ball of dough. It should be sticky enough to easily hold together. Add a tiny bit more water if necessary. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest for ten minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place parchment onto two cookie sheets. Separate dough into four balls, keeping the unused dough in plastic wrap. With a hand roller, roll out two balls of dough to 1/16th of an inch onto floured parchment for each sheet, adding flour as needed to the top of the dough. I use wheat flour for sprinkling. To start out the rolling, I hold onto one side and roll away from my hand. With a pizza roller or bench knife, score the dough into 2-inch crackers. Poke randomly with a fork and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Swap the location of the pans halfway through the baking time. The edges should be crisp when done. Slide off the pans or lift with a spatula onto a rack to cool completely. Break into rough pieces. If some of the crackers are not as crisp as you would like, place them back onto a cookie sheet into a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven at five minute intervals until crisp.
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| Rolling out cracker dough. |
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