Friday, March 28, 2014

Cheese 'n' crackers...

Before the cheese and crackers, a story!
A couple of weeks ago, there was a lamb that was bummed by it's mother.  It was looking very thin and ill so we decided to catch it and take it to the goat herders in town.  They were glad to receive her into the fold,  and in return Mrs. Goatherder  gave us a gallon of fresh goat milk to take home.  I was thrilled.  I decided to make goat cheese with it.  It was so easy to make.  I followed the directions at Henry Milker, and it turned out just perfect.  I added dill, garlic, and salt to mine, and I let it cure in the fridge for a couple days before eating it.  It's a soft cheese, similar to cream cheese but maybe a little bit firmer.

After making the delicious goat cheese, I decided I needed some crackers to go with it.  I didn't have a cracker in the house so I decided to make my favorite cracker recipe,  Rustic Crackers.  I found the recipe in the MaryJanes Farm magazine years ago.  I've made a few cracker recipes since, but nothing could even come close to this one.  So I'll share it with you here.  You can mix and match the kinds of flour you like and also change up the seeds to your preference.

Rustic Crackers

1 1/2 c. flour (I like to use half whole wheat or rye)
1 1/2 t. cream of tartar
3/4 t. salt
3/4 t. baking soda
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. water

Wash:
1 egg
2 t. sugar
1 t. balsamic vinegar (you could use apple cider)

1/4 c. sesame seeds
course salt for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350* and lightly grease two cookie sheets.
In a medium bowl, combine first four ingredients and mix well.  Add oil and stir until mixture resembles course meal.  Add water and stir until dough sticks together.  (you may need to add a little extra)

In a small bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, and vinegar.  Set aside.

Split dough into two equal pieces.  Turn one lump out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out very thin. (think pie crust)  Place on a greased cookie sheet and brush generously with half of the wash mixture.  Sprinkle with salt and sesame seeds.  Repeat with the other lump of dough.  Score with pizza cutter into desired shapes/sizes.  Bake time will vary with thickness of the crackers.  Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes at 350*.  I find that the crackers on the outside edges bake faster so I remove them when they are dark golden brown and allow the rest of the crackers to finish baking.  Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

I use ALL of the wash on the crackers.  It helps them to brown and gives them a very tasty flavor.

This batch I incorporated ground flax seed into the flour and also sprinkled whole flax seeds into the dough instead of sprinkling on top. This is a very versatile recipe.  Experiment with your favorite add-ins and enjoy.  You can't beat healthy crackers that are easy to make and inexpensive.  Have you priced good crackers lately?  Four bucks a box at my grocery store!

We've had some beautiful days here lately, and tomorrow the temperatures are supposed to climb into the 60s, but guess what!  We're expecting a big spring snowstorm the very next day -- 12-18" of snow!  The good news is that it'll melt off fast!  That's spring on the northern prairies for ya.

16 comments:

  1. What a great trade-and great crackers! I agree- Crackers are crazy expensive and not difficult to make-but a good recipe is a must. Yours looks yummy. The cheese, too!.
    I like to use my hand-crank pasta machine to roll out cracker dough. I never seem to do it evenly by hand but with the pasta maker it's perfect. Happy Spring!

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  2. For some reason it doesn't look like my comment took...
    Anyhoo...this looks delicious!

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  3. I am making these tomorrow! Thanks for the great recipe :).

    ~Julia

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  4. This is amazing Jodi. I have never made crackers....or cheese. This is amazing.

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  5. Oooh, I've never made crackers -- that sounds like fun. Do they keep well? We're supposed to get snow today too -- and then 50 degrees tomorrow and 60 on Monday. Definitely Spring!!!

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  6. I think I would get milk goats just for the cheese. What beautiful cheese. I think the crackers sound wonderful. I haven't bought crackers in a long time as they have to much not good for you things in them. I love your recipe. I will be making these. Now if I just had some goats milk...
    Have a wonderful day, I hope you have lots of warm weather before the storm.

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  7. I like rye crackers with sesame seeds almost as much as bread. Your recipe is very versatile and I like the idea of using the balsamic vinegar in the egg wash so I shall try making these. The goat cheese you made also sounds delicious.

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  8. Well that looks VERY tasty and especially with a glass of wine. You had me very curious as how you were going to get from a bum lamb to cheese and crackers! :)

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  9. That cheese looks so good! I've wanted to make goat's cheese, but can't find a source for the milk. Maybe I'll just have to start keeping goats myself ...

    xofrances

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  10. Wow! Your cheese and crackers sound wonderful (they LOOK wonderful, too!)
    More snow? Drat!

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  11. Jody, I love home made crackers but have only made cheese with... hmmm...can't remember now...yogurt! That's it, yogurt and it was wonderful. You've nudged me, think I'll buy some plain yogurt and make some "cheese"...it's not really cheese but it's really good.

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  12. I really want to try these. And I think I have all the ingredients. We're having spring snowstorms too - getting a wee bit tired of all this snow!

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  13. So inspiring - I've made a lot of crackers in the distant past, but never any real cheese. I've become very hungry, reading your yummy post before breakfast! Lacking goat's milk, I could still try making the crackers.

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  14. I've wanted to try making crackers but wondered if it was worth the bother. I plan to make these since you've recommended them. I can use mini cookie cutters to make shapes.

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  15. That looks so yummy. I'm pinning that cracker recipe.

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  16. Made these a couple days ago with a gluten free flour mix (Pamela's). Family loved them. Said they tasted like Wheat Thins. Thanks for the recipe!

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