sourdough spelt crackers, sea salt, peppercorns
Easy, healthy whole grain crackers made with sourdough starter and spelt flour. They roll out incredibly thinly and are great for scooping dips or piling with cheese.
Easy, healthy whole grain crackers made with sourdough starter and spelt flour. They roll out incredibly thinly and are great for scooping dips or piling with cheese.
These crackers are seasoned with all kinds of peppercorns – try wild peppercorns, white peppercorns, black peppercorns, Szechuan peppercorns, pink peppercorns, long pepper or Tasmanian mountain pepper.
recipe
Serves 8-10 (snack)
Prep/cook time: 30 minutes, plus 1 hour resting time
ingredients
- 100g spelt flour
- 100g sourdough starter
- 1 tsp mixed peppercorns, roughly crushed
instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. Add the flour to a food processor with a good pinch of flaky salt. With the machine running, add enough sourdough to form a supple dough that isn't sticky (about 200g, but this depends on your flour). Knead in the machine for 5 minutes until smooth, soft and a little shiny. Cover and rest for an hour.
- Roll out the dough as thinly as possible. I think the best tool for this is a pasta machine, but you can use a rolling pin.
Technique: Pasta machines are great for rolling dough very thinly, not just for making pasta. I use mine to make crackers, filo pastry and other wafer thin doughs.
- Either bake the sheets whole and break them up after cooling or cut the dough sheets into circles with a pastry cutter. Brush with a little water (don't go overboard) and sprinkle with the crushed peppercorns. Bake for about 5 minutes, until completely dried out, very crunchy and lightly browned. Cool to room temperature (this should only take about 10 minutes).
Technique: You can cut the cracker dough into delicate little rounds as I have in the pictures, or just bake the sheets whole, then break up after cooking – much easier and nice for sharing.
recipe notes
serving ideas
- Use as crackers on a cheese board.
- Serve with dips or pico de gallo for scooping.
storage
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Do not refrigerate.
Technique: All bread and dough-based foods keep freshest in the freezer. The fridge actually accelerates the staling process and room temperature is only good for a day or two.
substitutions
- Vegan
- You can flavour these crackers with any type of dry seasoning. If you don't have sourdough starter, use 100g more spelt flour and enough water to make a supple dough that isn't sticky.
food styling tips
The final look and effect relies on how you shape the crackers and the attractiveness of the topping. Cut with a pastry cutter for a refined look or bake whole sheets to look more rustic and textured. Pink peppercorns add a lovely touch of colour and you can't go far wrong with flaky sea salt.