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Crackers are much easier to make than bread; if you bake cookies, you can make crackers. Pictured, red chili and cheddar diamonds, in two sizes, and seedy crisps. (Bill Hogan/Chicago Tribune) |
The crunch of a cracker is a happy thing, whether it lifts up a gooey blue cheese or floats atop tomato soup or is eaten right out of the box.
With the endless varieties competing on store shelves, from your favorite well-known brands to small-batch artisan flatbreads, there's no need even to consider making crackers yourself, right? Except that when you serve up a batch of crisp crackers you've made, the reward will be in your guests' faces and in watching them disappear.
Chef Chester Hastings, author of "The Cheesemonger's Kitchen" (Chronicle Books, $35), compares the satisfaction of cracker making to that of its flour-based cousin.
"It's like bread — why make bread at home?" says Hastings, cheesemonger of Joan's on Third in LA. "There's something about making it at home, and controlling the flavor and texture and saltiness of things, that is so rewarding."
"It's also about the smell of baked things in the oven," he says.
But crackers are much easier to make than bread; if you bake cookies, you can make crackers.
Hastings includes three cracker recipes in his book, all tempting, but we fell in love with red chili and cheddar diamonds — fiery, addicting little bites.
"The cheddar diamond thing came about from a bar snack perspective," says Hastings. "When I started playing with it, I couldn't stop making them. Good quality cheddar when it cooks is mesmerizing."
And that's a key tip in making crackers. Because the ingredients are so few and the technique simple, you'll want to use the best quality.
A cracker of a different strip, a seed-studded flatbread from Alton Brown of "Good Eats," provides a nutty flavor that will stand on its own or cozy up to cheeses or soups or dips.
Red chili and cheddar diamonds
Prep: 25 minutesChill: 1 hour
Bake: 12 minutes
Makes: About 180 small crackers
Note: In "The Cheesemonger's Kitchen," Chester Hastings calls for rolling the dough 1/8-inch thick and cutting the crackers just 1/2-inch wide. The bitty bites were devoured by tasters, but we also found success with a slightly larger version, 1-inch wide and 1/4-inch thick. It's very important to keep the dough cold, Hastings says. We found that chilling the rolled out dough 15 minutes in the freezer helped them puff up when baked. Using a quality aged cheddar is key. Store crackers in an airtight container up to 1 week. Serve with wine, beer or cocktails.
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed red chilies
With the endless varieties competing on store shelves, from your favorite well-known brands to small-batch artisan flatbreads, there's no need even to consider making crackers yourself, right? Except that when you serve up a batch of crisp crackers you've made, the reward will be in your guests' faces and in watching them disappear.
Chef Chester Hastings, author of "The Cheesemonger's Kitchen" (Chronicle Books, $35), compares the satisfaction of cracker making to that of its flour-based cousin.
"It's like bread — why make bread at home?" says Hastings, cheesemonger of Joan's on Third in LA. "There's something about making it at home, and controlling the flavor and texture and saltiness of things, that is so rewarding."
"It's also about the smell of baked things in the oven," he says.
But crackers are much easier to make than bread; if you bake cookies, you can make crackers.
Hastings includes three cracker recipes in his book, all tempting, but we fell in love with red chili and cheddar diamonds — fiery, addicting little bites.
"The cheddar diamond thing came about from a bar snack perspective," says Hastings. "When I started playing with it, I couldn't stop making them. Good quality cheddar when it cooks is mesmerizing."
And that's a key tip in making crackers. Because the ingredients are so few and the technique simple, you'll want to use the best quality.
A cracker of a different strip, a seed-studded flatbread from Alton Brown of "Good Eats," provides a nutty flavor that will stand on its own or cozy up to cheeses or soups or dips.
Red chili and cheddar diamonds
Prep: 25 minutesChill: 1 hour
Bake: 12 minutes
Makes: About 180 small crackers
Note: In "The Cheesemonger's Kitchen," Chester Hastings calls for rolling the dough 1/8-inch thick and cutting the crackers just 1/2-inch wide. The bitty bites were devoured by tasters, but we also found success with a slightly larger version, 1-inch wide and 1/4-inch thick. It's very important to keep the dough cold, Hastings says. We found that chilling the rolled out dough 15 minutes in the freezer helped them puff up when baked. Using a quality aged cheddar is key. Store crackers in an airtight container up to 1 week. Serve with wine, beer or cocktails.
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed red chilies
