Seeded Crackers

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds or 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, more for rolling
• 2 ounces whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Recipe

• 1 position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 450°f.
• 2 make the topping:.
• 3 in a small bowl, stir the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and fennel or caraway seeds. fill another small bowl with water and set it aside along with a pastry brush and the kosher salt.
• 4 make the dough:.
• 5 in a large bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, and table salt. add the olive oil and 1/2 cup water to the flour; stir with a rubber spatula until it collects into a soft, crumbly ball of dough. use the spatula or your hands to press the dough against the sides of the bowl to gather all the stray flour.
• 6 set the dough on a lightly floured work surface and portion it into thirds. pat each portion into a square. set two squares aside and cover with a clean towel. roll the remaining dough into a rectangle about 1/16 inch thick and 7 or 8 inches wide by 14 or 15 inches long. whenever you feel resistance, lift up one edge of the dough and sprinkle more flour underneath before you continue rolling.
• 7 with a pastry brush, brush the dough lightly with water and sprinkle about a third of the seed mix evenly over the surface. sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoons of the kosher salt. with a dough scraper, pizza cutter, ravioli cutter, or sharp knife, cut the dough in half lengthwise and then cut across to make rectangles roughly 2 by 4 inches. don’t bother trimming the edges; rustic edges add character.
• 8 transfer to an unlined baking sheet. bake until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. let cool on a wire rack.
• 9 while each batch is baking, clean your work surface as needed and repeat the rolling and cutting with the remaining portions of dough. store the cooled crackers in a zip-top plastic bag. they’ll keep for up to a week.
• 10 variations.
• 11 rosemary & sea salt crackers: add 2 tbs. chopped fresh rosemary to the dry ingredients in the dough. skip the seed topping and instead sprinkle each batch of crackers with 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt.