Seaweed Crackers

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I have become slightly obsessed with homemade crackers. Who wouldn’t? They’re dense, nutty, textured and salty in a way that store bought ones simply aren’t. The satiety from a cracker made with wakame and freshly ground almonds just can’t compare to the heavy processing of many commercial varieties.

I have many homemade cracker recipes. It’s something I have always gravitated to but never actually made. I’ve always put it off thinking it would be too time consuming or I’d need to be monitoring all night cooks in the dehydrator. It took the Seaweed Sesame Cracker recipe in the gorgeous Kenko Kitchen written by the insanely talented Kate Bradley to get me started.

So sit up, take note and if you’ve ever wanted to make your own crackers, this post is for you. It is ridiculously easy, phew! Yay! Crackers for all!!

I have adapted this slightly from the Kate’s original version and in the coming months I will provide you with inspiration for cracker variations and you’ll be set on the cracker super highway. Once you get the hang of it, it’s very easy to tweak, add, spice and create based on the texture and taste you’re after and what’s in your pantry.

But before I get started, I would like to summarize the process for you so you get how simple it really is. Here goes: put most ingredients in the food processor except nuts/seeds/spice that you want to give texture. Mix to fine. Add said seeds/spice with a little water. Let sit for a bit. Roll out, score and bake for 30mins. Voila.

Seaweed_Crackers_1Ball

Seaweed_Crackers_2Paper

Seaweed_Crackers_3Rolling

Seaweed_Crackers_4Scored

Seaweed Crackers

100g spelt flour

55g ground almonds (or raw if your food processor is strong enough to grind)

8g dried wakame (approx x 1 strip)

1 sheet nori, roughly torn

40g sesame seeds

10g sunflower seeds

80-100g water

2 pinches good quality salt

 

Set oven at 180°C

In a food processor or Thermomix combine almonds, spelt flour, 1 pinch salt and seaweeds. Combine until fine. In a bowl, (or on reverse in the Thermo) add seeds and water and gently combine to make a dough. The dough should be firm and hold together but it’s ok if it’s slightly sticky. If you are concerned just pat with a little flour. Roll to form a ball and let rest for 10 minutes.

Lay out a piece of baking paper approx 40cm in length. Pat ball of dough gently to flatten a little and place on baking paper. Cover with another sheet of baking paper the same size. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough between baking sheets until flat and thin. Remove top baking sheet and with a small sharp knife score flat dough into squares or rectangles. Sprinkle with remaining salt, making sure each piece has a little sprinkle. You need to do the salt at this stage otherwise it won’t stick.

Place your baking paper with scored dough on an oven tray approx 40cm. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Checking at 20mins. Sometimes, depending on how even I’ve rolled the dough or how thin it is at the edges, that it will begin to brown and cook on the outside much quicker. If this happens you can just remove the tray and break off the perfectly cooked pieces and put the rest back into the oven for the remaining time.

Remove from oven, let cool and break on scored edges. Serve with your favourite dip and store in a sealed container. Will last about 2 weeks, if you can stop yourself eating them for that long!

 

Variations

  • Use black sesame seeds or a mixture of both.
  • Substitute spelt flour for buckwheat to make them gluten free.

 

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