Adventures with Rye Part 7: Crispy Rye Crackers

I'm not really sure why I never thought to make crackers before. They are as easy as pie (dough) and awesome. Awesomely addictive, that is. In addition to the spelt pitas that I made for Shabbat last weekend, I made these, figuring I'd need something to much on Shabbat morning. Well, they didn't make it that long. I know I only made half a recipe, but still. This recipe comes from Whole Grain Baking (another duh!). It was hard to pick a cracker recipe but knowing that I still had rye flour sitting in the fridge, I opted for these Crispy Rye Crackers. Just like pie crust, you mix some dry ingredients together, in this case, rye flour, regular flour, and a bit of cocoa powder. Stir in some caraway seeds (YUM!), rub in some fat, drizzle in some water and molasses. Chill, roll, bake. Done. I topped half of the batch with fleur de sel, but I think I preferred them without. I would say these would be great for tuna fish or whatever else you got laying around, but they are also so good by themselves. They are so munchable, you can't stop at just a few. Definitely going to try more crackers in the future. Sesame? Can't hardly wait.

Crispy Rye Crackers

from Whole Grain Baking

1 cup whole rye flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

4 tbsp butter or margarine

3 tbsp caraway seeds

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp molasses

Preheat your oven to 325. Line baking sheets with parchment. 

Place the flours, cocoa and salt in a bowl. 

Whisk to blend. 

Add the margarine and cut in as you would for pie dough.

Sprinkle in the caraway,

and toss to combine.

Add the liquids,

and stir to make a cohesive dough. At this point I refrigerated the dough to let it relax and firm up the fat.

Lightly flour a work surface and working with half the dough at a time, roll it out very thinly. Using a bench scraper or a knife, or even a pizza cutter, cut smallish squares.

Place on your baking sheets.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until they begin to get brown and smell toasty. They will harden further upon cooling. Cool completely and if they make it, store in air tight containers.