2B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020
HOME & LIVING
CRACKERS
Continued from Page 1A
And there is another dis-
tinction as well, one that goes
a long way toward increasing
their level of sophistication. A
small amount of cayenne pep-
per, just 1/8 teaspoon, makes
a big difference. You sense the
heat, but just a little, and it
amplifi es the smooth bite of
the Cheddar.
The Onion Crackers were
also utterly delightful. A full
cup of chopped onion (for up
to 60 very small crackers)
makes them pungent yet
rounded in fl avor, and poppy
seeds add just the hint of an
unexpected edge.
Of all the crackers I made,
the Onion Crackers make
the best accompaniment to
cheese — nothing too asser-
tive, please. Which is to say
they are the crackers that
best live up to their potential
and even their duty as crack-
ers.
A cracker without cheese
is like a kiss without the
Homemade onion crackers.
squeeze.
CRISPY SESAME
CRACKERS
remaining 1 teaspoon cold
water, and brush the crackers
with this egg wash. Sprinkle
Yield: 12 servings
with the sesame seeds, then
1½ teaspoons active dry yeast score the strips of dough to
make triangular shapes; they
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
will break apart into individual
1/3 cup warm water
crackers when they bake.
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon
6. Turning the crackers as
cold water, divided
necessary,
bake for 7 to 10
2 cups all-purpose fl our,
minutes
until
they are a deep
or more as needed
gold.
Remove
to a rack to
1 tablespoon butter, cut up
cool,
then
store
in an airtight
2 teaspoons salt
container
for
up
to 1 week —
1 egg
or
less,
if
humidity
is high.
2 tablespoons sesame
seeds, preferably a mix
of black and white
Per serving: 102 calories; 3 g
fat; 1 g saturated fat; 18 mg
1. Combine the yeast, sugar cholesterol; 3 g protein; 17 g
and warm water together in
carbohydrate; 1 g sugar; 1 g
the bowl of an electric mixer
fi ber; 395 mg sodium; 21 mg
or a large bowl. Let rest 8 to
calcium
10 minutes, until it becomes
foamy. Add 1/3 cup of the cold
— Recipe from “Mustards
water, then add the fl our, but-
Grill Napa Valley Cookbook”
ter and salt. Mix to combine
by Cindy Pawlcyn with Brigid
with the dough hook or a
Callinan
wooden spoon.
2. If using a mixer, mix the
dough on medium speed until
Yield: 8 servings
smooth and elastic, pulling
the dough down off the hook
if it climbs it. If mixing by
2 cups all-purpose fl our,
hand, turn the shaggy dough
approximately 1 teaspoon
out onto cutting board and
baking powder
knead for 5 to 8 minutes,
1 tablespoon
until the dough is smooth
granulated sugar
and elastic. If the dough is
2 teaspoons salt
sticky, add a little more fl our.
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Gather into a ball, place the
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
dough in an oiled bowl, turn
1 egg, room temperature
to coat lightly, cover, and set it 1/3 cup vegetable oil
aside in a warm place to rise
1 cup fi nely chopped onions
until doubled in size, 1 to 1 ½ 2 tablespoons water,
hours.
if needed
3. Preheat oven to 350
degrees.
1. Lightly grease 2 baking
4. The goal is to make the
sheets or line with parchment
crackers paper-thin. The easi-
paper.
est way to do this is to use a
2. In a mixing bowl, add
pasta machine. If you don’t
the fl our, baking powder,
have one, take manageable-
sugar, salt, pepper and poppy
sized pieces of dough and, on seeds. In a separate bowl,
a lightly fl oured surface, roll
stir together the egg, oil and
them out as thinly as pos-
sible into strips that are 3 to 4
inches wide and 6 inches long.
It helps to roll out the pieces
of dough, let them rest for 5
or 6 minutes, and then roll
them out again, repeating if
necessary.
5. Lay the strips of dough
on a nonstick baking sheet
or a baking sheet lined
with parchment paper. Beat
together the egg with the
ONION CRACKERS
Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
Homemade cream crackers.
Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
chopped onions. Slowly pour
the onion mixture into the
fl our, stirring vigorously with
a wooden spoon to blend
well. The dough should
be fi rm. Add more fl our if
needed.
3. Turn the dough onto a
fl oured work surface and
knead briefl y — only enough
to make a smooth dough. Add
sprinkles of fl our if the dough
is sticky. Place the dough in
a buttered bowl, cover with
plastic wrap and allow to
relax in refrigerator for 30
minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 375
degrees. Divide the dough
into 2 pieces. Cover 1 piece
with plastic wrap while shap-
ing the fi rst batch of crackers.
Press and roll the dough into
a rectangle about the length
of the baking sheet. Roll the
dough as thin as possible
without tearing it apart. With
the help of the rolling pin, lift
and transfer the thin sheet of
dough to the baking sheet.
5. With a rolling pizza cutter
or jagger, cut the dough into
as many crackers as you de-
sire. Prick (dock) each cracker
with the tines of a fork.
Repeat for the second piece
of dough.
6. Bake in the middle or
lower shelf of the oven until
a light golden brown, from 10
to 20 minutes, depending on
the thickness of the dough.
After 8 minutes, check the
crackers to be certain they
are baking as you want them.
Cool on a metal rack.
Per serving: 227 calories; 11
g fat; 8 g saturated fat; 23 mg
cholesterol; 5 g protein; 29 g
carbohydrate; 3 g sugar; 2 g
fi ber; 594 mg sodium; 98 mg
calcium
Market swings making you uneasy? Let’s talk.
— Recipe from “Bernard translucent.
Clayton’s New Complete Book
5. Using a pastry brush, lightly
of Breads” by Bernard Clayton coat the dough with cold water.
Jr. Sprinkle some of the seeds into
the dough with your fi ngertips.
Repeat with the remaining
pieces of dough.
6. Bake each batch on the
inverted
pan until crisp and
Yield: 16 servings
golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Let cool
on the pan. Break each piece
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons
into half or thirds. Store in an
warm water (110 degrees)
airtight container for several
1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
weeks; recrisp in a warm oven, if
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
necessary.
1½ teaspoons curry powder
CURRIED POPPY
SEED CRACKERS
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
1½ cups all-purpose fl our,
plus more as needed
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1. Pour the warm water into a
large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the
yeast on top of the water and
stir until it dissolves. Stir in the
sugar, curry powder and salt.
Whisk in the yolk. Add 1 cup of
the fl our and mix with a wooden
spoon until smooth. Gradually
add the remaining ½ cup of the
fl our until the dough becomes
too diffi cult to stir.
2. Turn out the dough onto
a fl oured surface and knead in
enough additional fl our, if neces-
sary, to form a cohesive dough.
Continue kneading and adding
small amounts of fl our until the
dough is fi rm, resilient and no
longer sticks to the work surface.
Transfer to a greased bowl and
cover with plastic wrap. Set
aside in a draft-free place to rise
until doubled in bulk, about 1
hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 425
degrees.
4. Invert a jelly-roll pan and
generously oil what is now
the top. When the dough has
doubled in bulk, punch it down
and divide it into 8 equal por-
tions. Place 1 portion at a time
on the oiled, upside-down
baking sheet. Use a rolling pin
to roll out the dough as thinly as
possible. Wet your hands in cold
water and use your fi ngertips
to spread the dough out farther,
until it is stretched to the point
where it has holes and is almost
2 inches in diameter. Evenly
space 15 balls on each of the
prepared sheet pans. Flour the
bottom of a 3-inch-diameter
drinking glass and use it to fl at-
ten each cracker so it is ¹/8-inch
thick. The crackers will not be
perfectly round. If there is a lot of
fl our on the crackers, turn them
over with a spatula.
5. Sprinkle with the fl eur de
sel and bake for 18 to 20 minutes
until golden brown on the
edges. Serve warm or at room
temperature.
Per serving: 52 calories; 1 g fat; 1
g saturated fat; 12 mg choles-
terol; 2 g protein; 10 g carbohy-
drate; 1 g sugar; 1 g fi ber; 78 mg
sodium; 12 mg calcium
Per serving: 227 calories; 12 g fat;
8 g saturated fat; 33 mg choles-
terol; 3 g protein; 25 g carbohy-
drate; 7 g sugar; 2 g fi ber; 377
mg sodium; 19 mg calcium
— Recipe from “White Dog Cafe
Cookbook” by Judy Wicks and
Kevin Von Klause
— Adapted from “Cooking for
Jeffrey” by Ina Garten
ENGLISH OAT
CRACKERS
CHEDDAR CHEESE
CRACKERS
Yield: 6 servings
Yield: About 15 servings
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup all-purpose fl our
½ cup light brown sugar,
lightly packed
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted
butter, ½-inch diced
¼ cup lukewarm water
Fleur de sel or other crunchy salt
1. Preheat oven to 375 de-
grees. Line 2 baking sheets with
parchment paper.
2. Place the oats, fl our, brown
sugar and salt in a food proces-
sor fi tted with the steel blade
and pulse for 45 to 60 seconds
until the oats are coarsely
ground. Add the butter and
pulse 15 to 20 times until the but-
ter is the size of peas.
3. Dissolve the baking soda in
the lukewarm water and drizzle it
over the crumbs in the food pro-
cessor. Pulse until the mixture
is evenly moistened and can be
pressed into balls that will hold
together.
4. Roll dough into balls about
1½ ounces cheddar
cheese, shredded
1 cup all-purpose fl our,
plus more if needed
¼ teaspoon salt, plus
more for sprinkling
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons
tepid water
½ teaspoon malt syrup
2 tablespoons solid vegetable
shortening, room temperature
Butter, melted
1. Grease 2 baking sheets or
line with parchment paper. In a
mixing bowl, add the cheese, 1
cup of the fl our, salt, cream of
tartar, baking soda and cayenne
pepper. Stir to mix well. In a
separate bowl, dissolve the malt
syrup in the water and add the
shortening. Form a well in the
center of the fl our; pour in the
liquid with the shortening.
Blend with a wooden spoon;
the mixture will be quite heavy.
See Crackers/Page 3B
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