I was not really allowed to snack as a child. If I was hungry before bed, my dad would let me have a spoonful of honey or a cracker. If I was really good, sometimes both. I do understand now - eating a ton before laying your head down to sleep is not the best thing for your body. Instead of getting the rest it needs, it spends the night digesting and creating crazy dreams with crazy plotlines.
But I'm not here to tell you about eating before bed (or my crazy dreams). I'm here to talk about a cracker. The kind you eat with soup and dips, of course.
Sometimes I get these wild ideas in the kitchen when I don't feel quite up to the task at hand - namely the dishes. This particular time, it was to see if I could make a cracker. I'm a tad tired of bread and spread (but not really). I like crunchy foods, and what is crunchier than a wafer of flour and olive oil? Really.
But of course, me being me, I couldn't just make a plain cracker. Oh, no. I had to make an Italian cracker. I happened upon some flavoured olive oil in my cupboard and decided to use that to infuse some Italian deliciousness into my little snacks. It worked perfectly. Of course, if you do not have herb-infused oil, feel free to add the herbs directly to your dough!
The yeast flakes were to add a little "cheesy" flavour and colour. I love nutritional yeast flakes and add them to pretty much everything I eat, so it was a natural choice, really.
I wonder who invented crackers. Was it a mistake? Was it some attempt to make bread last longer? I'm going to have to look that up some time.
I am not sure why it took me so long to attempt making a cracker. After finding out how easy they are to whip up, I can't wait to experiement with more flavours and ingredients!
I'm going to break these over some lentil soup! These would be great with a tomato and roasted almond dip too!
Related: Vegan Corn Chowder
EZ Cheez-E Garlic Crackers (vegan)
what you need:
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon ground flax seed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 TBSP nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 cup olive oil* (I used an infused one)
1/2 cup water
3 cloves garlic**
what to do:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
2) Pour olive oil in slowly, mixing it together. Some clumps will be created, but don't worry about it - it will help make a flakier cracker.
3) If you are adding garlic and herbs, mix in now
4) Slowly add water, mixing well. The dough will be rough, but that is okay. Do not overwork it. Add a tablespoon or two if the dough is still dry.
5) Divide the dough into half and form them into a ball.
6) Press the dough into a rectangle shape and place it in-between two pieces of parchment paper.
7) Roll the dough until about a quarter of an inch thick and the size of about half a baking sheet.
8) Brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle garlic on top if so desired. You can cut the dough now, or wait until after cooling to break it apart as you desire.
9) Bake for 20-25 minutes, until edges are brown. Break apart once cooled if you chose not to cut them.
Notes:
* I used Italian-flavoured olive oil. If you would like that flavour, just add 1 teaspoon or so of Italian seasoning.
** You can mix the garlic into the dough, or brush the tops of the crackers before baking and sprinkle it on top.
