I’ve made crackers a number of times and while they don’t take extraordinarily long to make (about an hour), they do involve rolling and cutting so they have to be pretty good for me to feel inclined to take the time to make them.
The Whole Wheat Sourdough Crackers I make is a good example: crispy, tasting a bit like wheat-thins, but with a whole level of flavor delivered by the sourdough. Plus it’s a quick way (in the sourdough world, an hour is lightening-fast!) to use up extra starter.
This Sriracha-Cheese cracker will be another that I will take the time to make. Oh my goodness, are these tasty! They also make an easy appetizer when spread with a bit of cream cheese and Spicy Rhubarb Chutney. So far my whole family has raved about them, eating the whole batch in a few days and asking for more.
Trust me, these are that good. If you’ve never tried your hand at crackers before, you’ll want to start now.
Like, right now. I hope you have some Sriracha and cheddar in the house!
Whole Wheat Sriracha Cheese Crackers
Adapted from leitesculinaria.com
- 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
- 3/4 tsp. sea salt
- 4 Tb. cold butter, cut into pieces
- 1 c. grated cheddar cheese (though I think Parmesan would be tasty, too)
- 1 to 1-1/2 tsp. Sriracha (aka, “rooster sauce”) (start with 1 and if you’d like more spice, increase with the next batch)
- 3 Tb. cold water
- coarse salt and oil for topping (optional)
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, salt, and butter pieces. Pulse until the butter is incorporated and no large bits remain. Add the cheese and process a to combine.
- Add the Sriracha and water and pulse until the mixture forms a ball. Remove dough to a piece of wax paper, flatten a bit and wrap with the paper. Refrigerate for about an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour a cutting board and roll half the dough out to an even 1/8-inch thickness (keeping the other half covered in the wax paper). Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into squares, triangles, or rectangles – I never worry too much about uniform shape.
- Spray the tops with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with pinches of coarse salt (I used kosher) before transferring the crackers to a parchment or silicone-lined cookie sheet. Leave just a bit of space between each – they don’t spread, but shouldn’t touch. Adding oil and salt to the tops is optional – but they taste better if you do.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes (mine only took 10), rotating halfway for more even cooking if needed. The crackers should be mostly golden brown, but there will be variety – some more brown than others. If you cared, you could remove the darkest ones and continue cooking the others, but I don’t bother – just another sign that they are homemade and imperfect! The lighter ones will still be crunchy, though they might have some chew to them as well.
- Repeat with the other half of dough, rolling and cutting while the first batch is baking. Cool the crackers completely on a wire rack and store in an airtight container. I’m sure they’d last a week somewhere and still be crunchy, but not in our house!
Makes 70-90 crackers, depending on size
I believe a cottage can be anywhere or anything (condo, ranch, farmhouse) as long as you have a "cottage mentality" which puts people above things, celebrates imperfections, embraces simplicity, and finds joy in everyday life. Thanks for joining me!
Wow, this sounds very good, i will give it my attention very soon…have a vacation to go to.
Thank you for sharing Jami. C.N.
P.S. where do you find such recipes???
I wonder if you could us a pasta machine – hand cranked – to roll out the dough? I am awful at rolling with a rolling pin!
I don’t know, Kellie. I think this dough might be too delicate, but that’s just my impression. You can always try.