Actually, I haven’t totally gone crackers, but I did make home baked crackers from scratch the other day. It makes me realize how convenient our food supply has become and how the amount of food we consume might change if we were forced to make everything from scratch. I’d also like to think that my crackers were a bit healthier than the ones we buy in the box because there were only a few ingredients – and certainly no preservatives (other than salt). I had to experiment a bit, but by the last batch that came out of the oven was thin, crispy, and lightly golden brown.
I ate them plain, and with cheese, almond butter, and other typical cracker toppers. They were fabulous! I’m delighted to share my recipe; some of the ingredients can be substituted to fit your LEAP program (you’ll have to experiment):
1/2 cup sourdough
2 TBSP butter
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sesame seeds
Allow the starter to stand at room temperature for several hours until it is frothy and active. Melt and cool the butter, and add it to the starter, along with the salt and as much of the flour as you can work in. When you have a very stiff dough, turn it onto a floured board and knead in the sesame seeds and, if needed, flour.
When the seeds are worked in, roll the dough to 1/16 inch thickness. Don’t worry if the dough doesn’t hold all the sesame seeds. Cut the crackers with a sharp, round cutter, and arrange them on an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving a small space between each cracker. Stick them full of holes with a fork and bake in a preheated 400* oven for about 7 minutes or until they are light brown.
Cool the crackers on wire racks. Store them in an airtight container – if you can get them there before everyone eats them!
Happy baking.
For additional tips and tricks to eating healthy, contact Kari Collett, RDN, LDN, CLT.