Monday, June 1, 2015

Thyme Herb Crackers for June SRC

I'm not too sure just where the month went.   Last time I looked it was the beginning of May and now here it is, June?

Really, I don't think I'm ready.

In my small corner of the world the late spring/early summer scourge has come out in full force.   I'm talking Yellow Flies here.   You never know just when they'll strike and leave you itching for hours, if not days.
It's also pretty hot here now and wouldn't you know it, the air conditioning decided to conk out on us.
sigh.
And what does all of this have to do with the Secret Recipe Club you ask?

Well, because the air conditioning in our house is out, I'm not baking, the last thing I need is to heat up the house, more than it already is.

And the yummy blog I was assigned this month is just full of stuff you can bake.  Cookies and cakes and biscuits and all kinds of good things.  I forgot to mention the blog name, whoops.    Helen's blog is called Casa Costello..    I know where I'm going for more cake ideas.

And the other challenge, well Helen is also in the UK and the recipes are all in grams and the oven temps are in Celsius.   But I'm up for that, after all a lot of the Danish recipes I use are also weighed out.

I did bookmark a few recipes to try later on, her Bailey's Chococcino  recipe is on my list to make.
But as I said before, I'm not baking at home, at the moment.  However, since we moved Tapas to a different location this month (no air conditioning, remember), and since it's a kitchen I'm very familiar with, I decided to make some crackers.  To be specific Helen's Thyme Mini Crackers
I mixed up the dough at home and transported it and used the ovens there to bake it off.

Here's the recipe.  In grams and by measure
Also Helen used part plain flour and part whole meal (whole wheat) flour, but I choose to go with plain old bread flour.

190 grams bread flour -                        1 1/4 cups flour plus 1 tablespoon      
120 ml warm water                                scant 1/2 cup warm water
40 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil                    2 1/2 tablespoons EVOO
Dried Herbs -Thyme 1-3 tsp.
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder (this was not in the original recipe, but I like the lightness it gives the cracker)

Mix all the flour, salt and baking powder together in a stand mixer, using the dough hook.   Add the water and oil gradually, letting the dough hook knead the dough.  Continue to mix/knead for about another 7-8 minutes until it comes together in a smooth ball.  (you may need a touch more or less flour, depending on the humidity and the kind of flour you're using, I ended up adding another 50 grams of flour).
Take out of bowl, cover with a piece of plastic wrap and let it rest for about an hour or so.
Divide the dough into thirds and add a teaspoon of dried thyme to each one, or add a different flavour of herb to each ball.  Knead the dried herb into the ball, just til combined.

Roll out on a floured surface to a 5 mm thickness, then using either a small round cutter or if you're like me and a little lazy, cut them into rounds or squares.  Place on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake at 170C for about 15 minutes, then increase the temp to 190 deg.C for another 2-3 minutes to brown them a little.
Keep a close eye on them though, cause they can go from browned a little to way too brown quite quickly.

Because of circumstances beyond my control, I mixed up the dough, and it ended up sitting more than 3 hours before I could bake them.   The flavour was good, and I tried some Rosemary along with the Thyme but I think I could have used a little more of each herb.
I did end up serving them along with a nice piece of Brie at Tapas.   They also tasted good with the Red Pepper Hummus I'd made.  Nothing like a multi purpose cracker. 


And really I'm not totally obsessed with crackers, I know I made them last month too, but after reading the ingredient lists on most cracker boxes, I really like making my own now. 


Sidsel Munkholm - Author
Sidsel Munkholm - Author

Sid loves to cook, feed people and have fun in the kitchen. She shares her successes and the involuntary offerings she sometimes gives the kitchen goddess as well. And she's still looking for the mythical fairy to help her clean the kitchen after a marathon cooking session. Currently working on a cookbook showcasing the recipes from her Danish heritage.

12 comments:

  1. I have no idea what Yellow Flies are, but they don't sound good at all. So sorry about your air conditioning too. I hate that. The thought of baking when the house is hot is horrible. Crackers are the perfect thing =o)

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    1. Between the yellow flies and the no see ums, this is not a good time of the year to be outside here. Finally got the A/C fixed yesterday thanks to an awesome neighbor, and now I want to bake, everything. The crackers were great, and yes, I'm on a cracker kick at the moment, but that's a good thing.

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  2. I might give these a try this week. I've been thinking about making some crackers, and these look great!!

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    1. They were tasty, although I think I would just add the dried herbs at the beginning, and then just have one flavour. I've been having so much fun making different kinds of crackers lately, the only problem with that is, I eat them. Actually, it's not a problem at all, when I think of it.

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  3. I've never made crackers. Those look delicious. I so enjoyed your blog this month, making both the chicken salad and Butter Tarts for the #HotSummerEats blog event. Thanks for the inspiration!

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    1. So glad you liked the blog. I've been on a cracker kick lately, and now that my A/C is fixed I am going to be working on a gluten free cracker. But your mention of Butter Tarts makes me want some now. You've welcome for the inspiration.

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  4. These crackers looks delicious. I've never tried making them. Wonderful SRC pick!

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    1. Thank you. They are good, I love making my own crackers, so many different ways you can play with them.

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  5. I have never made crackers but these look inspiring!

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    1. They're sorta like potato chips, once you start making them, it's hard to stop trying all kinds of recipes. I'm working on a gluten free cracker idea right now, or I will be as soon as we get our A/C unit replaced.

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  6. I rarely make homemade crackers but these sound delicious. Many thanks for your "extra" directions - I always appreciate knowing how someone else would approach a recipe and what worked, but maybe differently from what one might have expected from the original recipe. Hpe your ac is back on by now:)

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    1. I've gotten to the point that if I'm going to eat crackers, I'll make them myself. I like detailing what I did and how it worked, for the blog, especially since I'm too lazy to make notes for myself.
      And since we got a new A/C unit, I'm back to cooking again. I'm working on a gluten free cracker at the moment.

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