Flavour nugget #7: The BEST seeded crackers for your festive season
Snap, snackle and flop
You’ll have cheese, won’t you? Please tell me you’ll have lots of cheese. What about dips? You love dips - so easy to throw together and always fun to eat. And what about a ‘picky bits’ buffet? Surely you’ll be having one of those.
All of which is to say… you’ll need these crackers.
But wait! Before I get into the details, I should let you know I’m running a special offer on paid subscriptions for Christmas, with 25% off for the whole year!
Right then. I developed this recipe as a rip-off of Gail’s seeded crackers, which are genuinely good, considering much of what is sold at Gail’s is… well. Fair dos on the crackers though. I’ve made a similar buttermilk cracker, flavouring with onion granules for another savoury note and showering with my preferred mixture of seeds and spices. ‘Moreish’ doesn’t do them justice. The mixture of salt, seeds and onion is just *chef’s kiss*.
They’re just as good plunged into a creamy dip as they are a bed for cheese. I’ve also tried them snapped into pieces and used in place of croutons (fattoush vibes), and, it goes without saying, they’ll be 10/10 with smoked salmon and cream cheese.
In fact, I’d argue that they’re an essential piece in your Christmas Eve and/or Boxing Day buffet puzzles and will be just the thing when you’re in that ‘I couldn’t eat another bite… OK, maybe just a nibble’ phase of the holidays. And gifts! They’d make a fabulous edible gift.
The key to success is rolling the dough super thin; if you don’t, they’ll be more akin to a thin flatbread than a cracker. They won’t snap, and a cracker with no snap is like a pizza crust with no dip: pointless. That said, the buttermilk does bring a tenderness; dw you won’t lose a filling.
Oh, you want to talk about cheese again? Well, I’m loading the buffet table with Brillat-Savarin, Stilton and Comté this year. Probably something goaty, too. Plus, Boursin, because it’s brilliant and I will not hear otherwise. I love how they make it so aerated it’s almost MOUSSEY. I’ve included recipes using Boursin in both my cookbooks yet a brand deal has STILL not presented itself?! Who is in charge!
Ideas for using the crackers beyond cheese, cheese and more cheese:
Load them up like smørrebrød with smoked fish, pickled herring, cress, pickled radishes, beetroot and/or cucumber and mayonnaise. The Scandinavians make a lightly curried mayonnaise (remoulade) for this purpose, which is excellent.
Toss through a pleasantly prickly, lemon-dressed salad of little gem, cucumber and celery for the aforementioned fattoush-inspired plateful.
They are ELITE dip scoopers. Try them with taramasalata, garlic and herb, guacamole, baba ganoush, cream cheese and sweet chilli, spinach and artichoke (yes basically any dip!)
Crumble them up and use to top a gratin. Tis the szn!
Seeded Christmas Crackers
Makes 2 average-sized baking sheets
I will say that the pumpkin seeds do tend to tear the dough slightly, so if you want your crackers to look *perfect* (e.g. you’re making them as a gift) and you’re not bothered about omitting them, do so.
250g plain flour
10g caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion granules
60g cold butter, diced
150g buttermilk
2 teaspoons pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon each flaky sea salt, Aleppo pepper (or other mild chilli); sesame seeds fennel seeds, poppy seeds, nigella seeds, and flaxseeds mixed
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 200°C (fan).
Combine the flour, caster sugar, fine sea salt, baking powder, onion granules and ground black pepper in a mixing bowl.
Add the cold butter and rub it in using your fingertips until you have a crumb-like consistency (or pulse it in a food processor).
Whisk in the buttermilk then combine into a ball of dough. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Resting overnight is optimal but an hour will work fine.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a rectangle around 1mm thick. You need to roll it very thin, otherwise the crackers won’t be crisp. Keep any trim and re-roll, but don’t be tempted to make it thicker.
Sprinkle over the seed mixture then roll the pin across the surface again to press the seeds gently into the dough.
Transfer to the baking tray and bake at the centre of the oven for 15 minutes, then allow to cool before snapping into pieces.
Why you should make these crackers rather than line the pockets of Gail’s.
Did you know that Christmas crackers (as in, the paper kind) were invented by a baker? Huh.
Not familiar with Aleppo pepper? Here’s a good article on Serious Eats.
Cream cheese nostalgia.
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Until next time, Flavour Fans x
Will be making these...