As bread recipes go, this was quite easy. First of all, it did not require a sponge or a soaker, so that meant that we could eat the crackers the same day I started making them. Of course, the crackers in the picture below look exactly perfect. Now that I’m a cracker veteran, I’m thinking that the cookbook photographer gave an extra spray of water–or shellac–to make them look so shiny.
the ideal basket of crackers [picture from the book]
The hardest part was rolling the dough out to approximately 12×15 inches so that it would fit in my sheet pan. I had to trim some of the dough off because it hung over the edges of the pan.
my 12 x 15 inches of dough–exactly!
One disappointing thing–other than the lack of shininess–was that the crackers didn’t brown evenly. The edges browned more quickly and in the center, the crackers were just not as crisp. Next time I will roll the dough out even thinner and then bake it in two shifts. That should make for crisp crackers!
fresh from the oven
Here’s the finished product. The topping is a combination of sesame and poppy seeds and kosher salt. Since I didn’t have a wire basket, I put them in my kauri wood bowl that I brought back from New Zealand.
bowl of crackers
Thoose look wonderful even if they aren’t shiny. How did they taste?
Mommie Dear
Isabel has noticed that you have spelled kauri incorrectly…but you are forgiven because the photos are wonderful, and it is, actually, a rather striking bowl.