Cracker Making

This afternoon was cracker making practice for my upcoming class. Luckily the heat dome lifted so using the oven was fine. 

I used olive oil and dark rye whole wheat starter and poppy seeds and sesame seeds added using tablespoon each. I adapted this recipe (link below).

I use a rubber spatula and then my fingers were ultimately the best tool to spread the batter thin over two 2 silicone mats. When I experimented I found that parchment wrinkled and was not as easy to separate to flip.  The baking mats are the ticket. When the crackers bake you can lift them off in one giant sheet and turn them over. Then, when crisp you can break them up. There are so many ways to do this it is best to experiment to find what method suits you.

For one batch I skipped the oil and used oily seeds with my dark rye whole wheat sourdough starter. I used raw sunflower seeds and some flax seeds (I used the coffee grinder to grind them) then I added sesame and poppy seeds keeping them whole. This batter was a bit more like a paste but I was able to make it thin adding more starter and using my fingers to spread it on the mat. The addition of salt is crucial and the baking brings out the toasted grain and seed taste. They were delicious. 

UPDATE 6/27/24 I made them again yesterday spontaneously adding cornmeal and almond flour I had on hand along with all of the ingredients mentioned above. I ended up with a lot of dough so I refrigerated half the batch in a pint sized glass canning jar. This morning I was ready to bake 2 more trays and I noticed the plastic lid of the mason jar had swelled from the sourdough. Be careful with sourdough, it can explode a tight lidded jar! I am just grateful I caught it in time.

https://littlespoonfarm.com/sourdough-discard-crackers/