Anatomy of a Cracker

I’ve made a little discovery.  I can make crackers in infinite flavors and with a myriad of ingredients.  They can be high or low carb, gluten free or include lots o’ gluten. They can be savory when I add cheese and olives, or sweet like graham crackers when I use a touch of cinnamon and maple syrup. And since I realized how easy they are to make, I’ve been making crackers nearly every night for the last few weeks.

I think it’s my new hobby.

Now, when someone asks me “So other than being a homeopath, what do you do for fun?  I say “I’m a cracker-head.”

Familiarizing myself with the components of a cracker was the first step.   I learned that crackers are forgiving.  You can add just about any nut, bean or grain flour with some flavoring, add a liquid, roll out and bake and you’ve got something on which to serve cheese or to spread almond butter.   Last week I added Pecorino cheese, cracked pepper and chopped garlic.

They were Italian crackers.

Then one night, I added rosemary from my garden, melted coconut oil as part of the liquid and tons of shredded coconut.

These were herb crackers.

When I included cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and chopped almonds they tasted like Dutch Windmill Cookies (Speculaas).

Heavenly.

‘Don’t have tapioca flour?  No problem, just use more almond flour.  ‘No gelatin?  Don’t worry, skip it.  ‘Don’t like poppy seeds?  It’s ok.  Just add sesame seeds instead.

The only caution I found to be noteworthy, is that you don’t want to use too much liquid or they’ll stick to your rolling pin.   It’s hard to say exactly how much is just the right amount without knowing if you’ll be using coconut, almond flour or such. Each has its own idiosyncrasies and they require adjusting for more liquid or less.  So, I learned to eye ball it.  A mealy type consistency is the best so that the dough can roll out easily.

But again, crackers are forgiving.

So, if you add too much liquid, just toss more dry into the bowl until it feels as though it will roll out nicely.

Yummy Gluten Free, Low-Carb Crackers

Preheat oven to 250°

• 1 cup coconut flour
• ½ cup tapioca flour
• 1 cup almond flour or meal
• 1 cup flax meal
• 2 cups coconut flakes
• ½ cup poppy seeds
• ¼ cup gelatin
• Celtic Salt, to taste
• About 2 ½ -3 ½ cups liquid ( water, lemon juice or  yogurt whey)

In a mixer, or a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.  Add the liquid and mix until mealy.

Roll out the mixture between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Until it’s 1/8” thick or less.

Peel off the top layer of parchment paper and place the batter layer still on the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet.  You want the parchment to be underneath the dough directly on the cookie sheet.  Score the dough into the shape of crackers.

Bake until slightly golden, then flip, allowing the paper to release, so that the crackers are now directly on the cookie sheet.

Bake until crisp. Depending on the amount of liquid and type of flour, it may take up to an hour or so until they’re crunchy.

I keep mine in a glass container with a tight plastic lid in the pantry.  So far they’ve stayed fresh, but I think that’s because my family eats them so quickly that they haven’t a chance to get old.