I developed this recipe in the mid 2000’s and for a brief second I thought I would take it to market, but I blinked and lost my window of opportunity when I noticed other gourmet flatbread/crackers selling for $9.00 a box! Damn. Anyway, I’m going to share it with you again because I’ve modified it over the years. It’s really so easy to make and takes such little time and effort that I basically throw it together on the day that I need it. You can leave them flat and break the crisp flatbread by hand to give it more of an artisan look; for this photo I cut them with a pizza cutter, just eye-balling and cutting directly on my cookie sheets before baking (don’t cut on non-stick cookie sheets, you don’t want to damage the surface).
Whole Wheat Oat Crackers with Flax
Makes enough for 4 people for cocktails
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup oatmeal
- 1/4 cup ground and whole flax seeds (a mix 2/3-1/3 is nice)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup black and white sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup warm water (plus)
Flavourings: add as desired (not all of them)(pictured recipe has no flavourings other than sesame seeds)
- 2 tbsp paprika (smoked is good), or
- 2 tbsp cumin, or
- 2 tbsp curry, or
- 1/4 cup dehydrated onion flakes ground finely (not onion salt), or
- 1/4 cup dehydrated garlic flakes ground finely (not garlic powder or garlic salt).
Directions:
- Pre heat oven to 177° C or 350° F.
- Sift all dry ingredients (including flavorings of your choice) together into heavy duty mixer with a dough hook.
- Add the oatmeal and mix. Slowly add the water with the mixer on low and mix until the result is a nice smooth ball of dough
- Generously dust your rolling surface with flour. Cut about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick chunks of dough and roll out with a wooden rolling pin until the dough is thin enough to go through the largest gap in your pasta maker. Run this dough through gently until your desired thickness is achieved (I go to #4, it makes a very nice thin but not too delicate cracker).
- Cut into triangles (like I did on this batch) or simply bake in the sheets that come out of the pasta maker and roughly break into smaller pieces when done.
- Bake for about 10 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Cool and enjoy!
Notes:
- I use my Kitchenaid Pasta roller attachment because it makes all the crackers the same even thickness and I am able to whip up a batch in less than 30 minutes baking included!
- Make sure you run the dough through a couple of times on each thickness so that the larger seeds get gently flattened so they don’t clog the machine and tear the dough.
They look fantastic Eva – I think I’ve spotted them in some of your pictures before. So lovely to finally see the recipe. Thank you so much for sharing them. You can bet that I’ll be making these. I don’t have a pasta machine alas (threw it out in a rage) but I’ll be sure to roll them damn fine!
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You threw out your pasta maker in a rage? Now that would have been something! It really does make life so much easier but I’m sure with your strength you would roll it thin enough.
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Well, to be fair, it was a bit busted… one of the rollers was at an angle to the other, where they should be perfectly aligned. Wasn’t easy to fix so that was the final straw. Stupid thing…
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These crackers look really great Eva — I really like how the seeds are so visible and distinct and how thin they are (like a true cracker). The flavouring possibilities are endless too… love that! Might try this sometime with a mix of ground almond/coconut flour. Fun to experiment. What a great idea to use a pizza cutter!
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Hi Kelly, thank you for your kind words, I’d love to hear the results if you do indeed give it a go. I suspect the almond flour will make it very crispy because of all the oil in ground almonds, you’d have to watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn. I have another recipe that uses almond flour with sesame seeds here https://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/gluten-free-almond-sesame-crackers/.
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These look amazing, Eva! I love the sesame seeds’ addition too. A great idea for my weekend wine snacks but also for my light breakfast instead of crisp bread I eat 🙂 (Though I’d have to replace wholemeal flour with white one… I don’t digest well wholemeal flour especially combined with different seeds. Not healthy for everyone 😦 Maybe I could use rye flour here for a stronger taste… Thank you for inspiration!
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Thank you for your lovely words, Sissi. Of course you can substitute white flour but you will lose a bit of the nuttiness and texture; if you can handle it, why not try a rye flour or spelt flour.
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Your crackers look great and who could resist them with that good dip.
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Thanks so much Karen, I’m baking another batch tomorrow, I’m just waiting until the weather cools down a bit (not that I’m complaining!)
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These look great and I will probably be trying them soon. I don’t have the onion or garlic flakes, so I’ll improvise on the flavorings as you suggest. I’m trying to make more of my own crackers. The cost of the nice ones is through the roof.
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Thanks Greg, it is crazy how expensive some things can be.
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I have never tried making homemade crackers before, but this looks divine! I would love to try to make this some time!
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Thanks so much.
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Hehe I’ve done recipes like that and then done nothing with them! And thanks for sharing it Eva, it must be a good one if you were going to go to market with it! 🙂
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Hi Lorraine, I really should have!
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We love artisan crackers, Eva and your version looks absolutely perfect! Thin and crisp just the way we like them. Have to try them soon 🙂
J+C
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Thanks so much Judit and Corina.
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These look great Eva! Mr. N loves when I make homemade crackers and I haven’t done that in a long while. I know he would like these – especially if I made a dip to go with them. He can’t resist crackers and dip. 😉 Who can really!
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Thanks Kristy, in these parts the artisan crackers are outrageously priced and for no good reason…well, maybe because they all have beautiful packaging!
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I wondered how you were able to get all the crackers to be of the same thickness. These are beautiful looking crackers! I’ve never made crackers but I’d love to try to make these. I have a pasta maker so I’ll try to get them to look as thin as yours xx
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Thank you for your lovely compliment Charlie, these artisan crackers are prohibitively expensive here, it’s worth the little effort it takes to make them,
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I’ve never made crackers but the ones you’ve posted now and in the past have always looked delicious. (Psst … can you send a box or two my way?) 🙂
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Hi Maria, next time I’ll bake an extra batch!
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Now these crackers look really thin and crisp! And I love all the healthy ingredients you used here.
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Thank you kindly Angie, the sesame seeds add a wonderful nutty flavour.
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Pasta roller!!! What a great idea!
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Thanks Zsuzsa, I use the pasta roller to roll out the dough for szamár fule too!
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These are the first homemade crackers that really look like crackers. I love how you made them and they look delicious.
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Thanks Maureen, they have the perfect consistency being stiff enough to hold dip but not break your teeth!
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