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I first had these last year and have been dreaming of them ever since. I looked for a recipe for a long time, and check out Middle Eastern bakeries whenever I could. They are beyond addictive, so the recipe serves 6-8 as a bar snack, or 1 if you have no self-control, which pretty much describes me. Try these -- you'll LOVE THEM! Start the day before you intend to eat them -- there is a lot of chilling time.
So, there are two recipes here -- one is more of a conventional cracker (but more delicious), and the other is a flourless crunchy bite. Both are killuh! Decide on how quickly you want to eat!
Crick Crack, the flour-based cracker:
For the Dough:
1 1/2 cups AP flour, plus extra for when you roll out the crackers
1/2 c. yellow cornmeal (not coarse)
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. kosher salt
1 1/4 stick of cold butter, cut into 1/4" cubes (use unsalted if you're a salt controller)
3/4 c. cold butter milk
For the Topping (most important part)
Approximately 2 T. toasted sesame seeds (I always add a pinch more)
Approximately 2 T. nigella seeds (you know the drill -- I always add a bit more)
A small amount of water, for brushing (this helps the seeds to stick to the crackers)
Directions: then sprinkle the top of the dough with flour. Roll out into a flat rectangle (8" x 4") -- about 1" thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Divide the dough into quarters. Working with one piece at a time (keeping the rest of the dough in the fridge), roll it out into a 12" x 14" rectangle, about 1/16" thick. I don't measure -- I know I want it to be a thin cracker! Keep dusting the dough on both sides as needed to keep it from sticking.
Continue with the other dough quarters, layering each one on a cornmeal sprinkled parchment sheet and stacking them one on top of the other on a sheet pan. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. If you have room in your freezer (which I never do), keep the sheets in there.
Put a rack in the center of your oven, and preheat to 350F.
To Make the Topping:
Combine the sesame and nigella seeds. Transfer one sheet of the dough onto a baking sheet, leaving the other sheets in the freezer or fridge. Using a dough docker or a fork, prick holes all over the surface to prevent the dough from bubbling up once it's in the oven. Brush the dough lightly with water and sprinkle with 1/4 t. kosher sat and about 1/4 of the seed mixture. Using a ruler and a knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 3" squares. Don't worry about separating the squares, the oven will take care of that.
When this batch of crackers goes into the oven, pull out the second sheet of dough.
Bake 15-17 minutes, rotation the pan halfway though until crackers are lightly browned. Cool the sheet pan on a rack, letting the crackers cool on the sheet.
Continue the process with the remaining sheets of dough. Scarf 'em up!
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