CRISPY CRUNCHY CRACKERS

Pasta machine!









Painting olive oil on crackers.









Doesn't this look like South America?








Voila... yumminess








And oh so good crackers!


I have always wanted to make crackers. I did try once and it was a complete failure. I found this recipe on www.wildyeastblog.com. Sesame-Semolina Flatbreads. I just recently bought some semolina for pasta. But hey crackers are a great idea. I added some Lori touches... 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder and I omitted 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds and added nigella seeds (a small seed from a flowering plant that grows in Asia. See wikipedia for a more detailed definition.) I have them in my house due to my recent interest in Indian cuisine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigella_sativa

The thing that really caught my attention about the recipe is that it uses a pasta roller to thin the dough. (You can use a rolling pin too). I have one and I have only used it once. I was so excited because I thought these might actually be successful. And, here's the bonus, my husband would see that the pasta machine really was a worthwhile investment. Triumphant!

SESAME - SEMOLINA FLATBREADS
from wildyeastblog.com which was adapted from Savory Baking from the Mediterranean by Anissa Helou. See wildyeastblog for original recipe.

150 grams all purpose flour
150 grams semolina
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon nigella seeds
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
170 grams lukewarm water
olive oil for brushing
kosher salt or pretzel salt for topping

Mix flour, semolina, sesame seeds,a nd salt in a mdeium bowl. Add water and mix. Knead on lightly floured surface for three minutes. Cover and let dough rest for about 15 minutes. Knead for another two minutes and let it rest for twenty.

Preheat oven to 450 F with a baking stone at the bottom of your oven.

You can go over the time limits and still get good results. Cut into 12 balls. Roll through pasta machine at about a setting of five. Cut into pieces if you want smaller crackers or leave whole and run through a setting of three. You can do a level of two but I found the best results at three. Place dough on parchment and brush with oil, then salt them. I used a peel to transfer the sheet of crackers to the stone.

It was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed them, dipping them into white bean hummus with pesto. More on that later.

Okay here it is.

WHITE BEAN PESTO PUREE

2 cups cooked white beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup pesto (you can use storebought. I freeze mine in the summer)
salt to taste

Process all ingredients in processor. If dry add water a tablespoon at a time.