There are certain things my husband loves to eat with crackers… and I wanted to get him some the other day. I carefully read label after label, trying to find something that didn’t have any scary ingredients like soy oil and other things that he doesn’t eat anymore. There was NOTHING except some little round “melba toast” garlic-herb thingies and they were made with white flour. I did get those for him. And I got to thinking I might be able to come up with my own version. Here it is and we like it. They are very crunchy, but nicely tasty with some liver pate or broken into soup.
Combine the sourdough starter, water, garlic, herbs and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Begin adding whole wheat flour, a little at a time and stir in thoroughly.
Add and stir in flour until the dough is stiff enough to knead.
Using a little more flour to prevent sticking, knead vigorously for 10 minutes.
Wash and dry bowl.
Put a little olive oil in the bowl and rub it around.
Put the dough in and turn it over to oil the top.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap.
Let rise for 12 hours.
Moisten your work surface with water and place the dough on it.
Divide it into two, and form into two long skinny loaves that will fit in your French bread pans that have been buttered well.
Alternately, you can put them on a buttered baking pan, but they will be less “round.”
Allow to rise in pans until when you touch it lightly with your finger, the dough springs back slowly.
Bake in pre-heated oven at 400 degrees F. for 30 min.
Cool completely on wire rack.
Slice into 1/4 inch slices.
Place slices on baking sheets and into a 200 degree F. oven.
After 2 hours, turn slices over and put the baking sheets back into the oven for 1 more hour.
Remove from oven and check to make sure they are dry and crisp.
Do not let them cool before putting into containers if you live in a humid climate.
Store in air-tight containers at room temperature.
These crackers are a pretty good substitute for their wheat cousins. More dense and more filling, they would make a nice lunch paired with some apple slices and nut butter with a tall glass of raw milk. Of course, you can totally feel free to squish some dark chocolate and homemade marshmallows between them, or even use them as a base for an ice cream sandwich!
The toughest part of this recipe is rolling the dough out thin enough. Thicker crackers will be more on the soft side, like a graham cookie. I’ve adapted this recipe from The Joyful Abode.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.
In a stand mixer, cream together butter, sucanat, honey and molasses. Add vanilla and eggs. Beat until well combined.
Sift together dry ingredients. With the mixer on low, slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet and beat until a dough forms. Allow to site for five minutes to allow the coconut flour to soak up moisture and become more manageable.
Divide dough into two balls. Place each ball onto one of the parchment lined cookie sheets. Pat down into a rectangularish shape and then place another piece of parchment on top of the dough. Use a rolling pin on top of the parchment to roll the dough into 1/8″ thickness. Remove the parchment paper and repeat with the other dough ball.
Score the rolled out dough with a pizza cutter into 3″ square pieces. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Repeat with remaining dough.
Place both sheets in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the sheets halfway through for more even baking.
Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheets. Break into squares. Crackers will be kinda soft at first. I found that leaving them out, uncovered for a day crisped them up (though this may not work in a humid environment). Store at room temperature in a cookie jar to maintain crunch.
* The arrowroot starch may be omitted completely in this recipe. I added it because I think it helps to get a better crunchy cookie. Next time I make these, I will probably decrease the coconut flour to 1 1/2 cups and increase the arrowroot starch to 1/3 cup to get an even better texture.