Welcome welcome! Thanks for meeting me here for newsletter No. 16.
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This week I’m musing on crunchy crackers and why they make such great snacks. I’ll share recipes for two variations on my favourite fruit and seed cracker of late, one that is as satisfying on its own as it is alongside cheese. Plus, it is the kind of portable energy source required for the oncoming days of better weather hikes.
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Crackers are the archetypal crisp, crunchy foodstuff; the clue is in the name; they should be dry and thin enough to crack. At its simplest, crackers are made from flour and water and have been made that way for time immemorial.
Their appeal is enduring, partly, I suspect, because you eat them with your hands, which delivers immediate sensory stimulation differently from eating with a knife and fork. Crackers are a utensil in and of themselves, and their appeal grows exponentially with all the possibilities of what you could scoop with them, dip them into or layer onto them.
Finger-friendly food is inherently snack-friendly food, and crackers sit high on my list of perfect snacks. They deliver snappy sonic flavour with every bite, satisfying the senses on many levels.
Firstly we are programmed to positively associate crisp and crunchy textures with freshness, whereas soft and mushy textures can indicate food spoilage and decay. Think crisp apple versus soft and pulpy apple, firm but ripe banana versus soft and somewhat shrivelled mushy banana.
It’s not that these foods are beyond edible, just that they indicate they’ve seen better days and are unlikely to deliver the satisfaction you crave right now or the nutrition an evolving human species needs. So if you come across a soft, limp cracker, assume it’s been there a while or someone has failed to follow the correct Tupperware protocol.
Secondly, and perhaps a little more psychoanalytical, is the notion that crisp, crunchy snack foods are a temporary stress salve. The sensation of shattering something between your teeth, the force of a tense jaw put to work as your molars chomp down on something, is an outlet for anxiety or stress.
Sound and texture draw your attention away from whatever stressful situation you’re in, and you are alert to the distraction of noise and texture coming from what you’re eating. This is a moment of bliss while it lasts, and even though I think food can solve many problems, if you find yourself applying molar force to things beyond food, it’s time to call your therapist.
Choose your own adventure cracker.
Obviously, you can do exactly what the title of this recipe implies and choose your own adventure but consider the following ingredients and ratios a map of sorts so your route reaches the most satiating place in Snackdom.
Remember that texture is also a function of flavour, so varying the textures within the cracker makes them much more flavourful and satisfying. In the example recipes below, I’ve used different dried fruits for chew and sweetness and paired them with a mix of different seeds for soft crunch, hard crunch and crackle. Consider how a hemp seed pops whilst a pumpkin seed snaps. Dates bring fudge chew, whilst figs become jammy and sticky and offer their own seedy texture.
The crackers are bound with flour and water, but the action of the chia is important in holding the mixture together; I have not tested substituting this with flax, but I’d likely use ground flax if I did. Have fun playing around with the binding flour to alter the flavour profile of the crackers. For example, sprouted einkorn flour added a malty note, whilst buckwheat flour made for something much more earthy. Note that the amount of water needed to bring the mixture together will vary depending on the type of flour you use.
Honey, maple syrup, apple molasses, blackstrap molasses, or treacle would all work and can dictate the level of sweetness and depth of flavour in the crackers, so choose one to fit the flavour profile you’re aiming for
Seeded Sprouted Einkorn & Fig Crackers
100g dried figs (chopped into pieces approx 5mm x 5mm)
70g whole grain sprouted einkorn flour
30g sunflower seeds
30g pumpkin seeds
20g white sesame seeds
20g black sesame seeds
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp apple molasses
1/4tsp fine sea salt
65ml water
Buckwheat, Black Sesame & Pear Crackers
100g dried pears (chopped into pieces approx 5mm x 5mm)
70g wholegrain buckwheat flour
30g sunflower seeds
30g pumpkin seeds
40g black sesame seeds
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp buckwheat honey
1/4 tsp flaky sea salt
80ml water
Method
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, and mix well to distribute all the fruit, seeds and flour evenly. Next, add the water and stir with a spatula to bring the mixture together.
Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment and press down; cover with another piece of parchment and roll to 1/4 inch thick; this is my preferred thickness for good crunch, snap and chew.
You can use a bench scraper to guide the dough into a rough rectangle if you want to portion the crackers evenly.
Slide the dough (still between the parchment) onto a baking sheet. Remove the top sheet of parchment and bake in the oven at 150 degrees C for 10 minutes; remove from the oven and score the giant cracker into pieces, 3cm x 3cm. Return the tray to the oven and reduce the temperature to 130 degrees; bake for a further 30-35 minutes. The outer edges should feel crisp, and the entire surface should look toasted. The centre pieces will still feel soft but should crisp once completely cool.
It can be hard to judge ‘doneness’, but if after cooling there are pieces that are not as crisp as you like, return them to a low oven (130 degrees) for another 5-10 minutes longer.
The crackers keep well stored in an airtight box for at least one week and maybe more.