Once a month I let my competitive streak loose at the Women’s Institute board game night. It used to be fuelled by wine and pretzels, but we seem to have upped the ante and are now having cheeseboards too. Mr Sloan has turned green with envy, as his favourite food is cheese – apparently he would gnaw at huge blocks straight from the fridge as a child… oh, wait a second… he still does that.
So, to keep him sweet I treated him to a couple of nice cheeses from our local cheese monger. I made a range of crackers to go with our cheese board, but the wholemeal ones were a new experiment for me. I was pretty happy with how they turned out and thought I would make a blog log, so that I can make them again! Maybe they’ll serve as a good distraction for the others at board games night while I plot how to beat them….
CRACKER INGREDIENTS
225g wholemeal flour
3 tsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp salt
25g brown linseed
25g toasted black sesame seeds
1 tbsp date syrup (maple syrup or honey would do too)
150ml warm water
coarse sea salt and ground black pepper to season
CRACKER METHOD
Add the date syrup to the water and mix well.
In a separate bowl, rub the coconut oil into the flour with your fingertips, until there are no visible lumps. Stir in the salt, linseed and sesame seeds.
Make a well in the centre and add most of the water. Using a metal spoon, mix in the liquid, adding more if necessary, until a dough is formed. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
Knead the dough for a few minutes and set aside while you preheat the oven to 180c, and cut grease proof paper big enough to line two large baking trays.
Rub a small amount of coconut oil into the work surface with your hands. Roll out the cracker dough thinly to about 3mm thick, lifting the dough regularly to stop it from sticking. Divide the dough sheet into two and transfer into the sheets of grease proof paper.
Cut the dough with a pastry cutter or a knife. Remove any excess and keep to one side – you can re-roll and make more with these.
Lightly dampen the tops of the crackers and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Carefully place the liners onto the baking sheets and bake in the oven for approximately 15minutes. Open the oven door and leave the crackers for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
The crackers should keep for up to a couple of weeks in an airtight tub.
VARIATION
I have also tried rolling these crackers out slightly thicker, with sunflower seeds and dried chilli flakes pressed into the top. They do take slightly longer in the oven, and would be nice served with dips, soup or as the base to an open sandwich.
Mrs Sloan Queen of Scones 