Seeded Buttermilk Crackers
These rustic, hand-rolled crackers work well with chef Cortney Burns’s English Pea and Goat Cheese Spread or any other hearty topping. If you made Burns’s Kefir Butter, use the leftover buttermilk-whey; otherwise, storebought buttermilk is fine. Find kamut or rye flour at natural food stores, or substitute whole-grain pastry flour. Also, be sure to use ground white rice flour instead of the glutinous sweet rice flour used for treats like Japanese mochi. These crackers will keep in a covered container for five days, and may be re-toasted to crisp.
Ingredients
- ½ cup kamut flour
- ¼ cup rice flour
- ½ cup whole-wheat flour
- ¼ cup rye flour plus ¼ cup for rolling
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup plus 1½ tablespoons cultured butter melted
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 4 tablespoons mixed seeds such as poppy or caraway
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, baking powder, and salt.
- In a small saucepan on medium heat, melt ¼ cup butter. Remove from heat, add honey, and stir to combine.
- Make a well in center of dry ingredients. Add melted butter mixture and buttermilk to the well. Starting from the center, slowly mix dry ingredients into wet to form a cohesive dough. If very sticky, add more rice flour. If crumbly, add a bit more buttermilk.
- Knead dough on a clean surface for about 1 minute. Once ingredients are incorporated, wrap in plastic and press flat. Refrigerate for 1 hour to overnight.
- When ready to bake crackers, heat oven to 350°F and melt reserved 1½ tablespoons butter. Have a rolling pin and parchment paper ready. Divide dough into three equal pieces. Flour a dry work surface, and roll one piece of dough until it is 1/16-inch thick. Brush with a third of the melted butter and top with seeds. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste. Top with parchment paper and press seeds, salt, and pepper into dough. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake 15 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and fully crisped. Cool, then break into shards for serving.
Kirstin Jackson
Kirstin Jackson is an Oakland, Calif.-based cheese and wine educator and the author of the book it's Not You, It's Brie: Unwrapping American Cheese Culture
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