18.3.14

Gourmet Soda Crackers # Baking Partner's Challenge

Wish you all happy Holi and happy St Patrick's Day. Oh ! the day is almost over.... nevertheless... Hope you all celebrated the holidays with family, friends and great food. As for us we celebrated both the holidays in our sweet way. We attended a St Patrick's Parade yesterday..


and played Holi today....


 We also had soda bread for breakfast, green strata for dinner and finished the day with Gujiya, a sweet that North Indians often synonymize with Holi. So yes.. we celebrated both the holidays and our little one was beyond thrilled....  More on that soon.. right now let me tell you about the Gourmet Soda Crackers that I baked for Baking Partner's Challenge this month..



This month Arthy of Cook with Arthy Shama challenged the Baking Partner's with the following recipes:
  • Gourmet Soda Crackers from Flourish
  • Graham Crackers from the Smitten Kitchen
Until challenged I had no idea about yeast-risen crackers. I used to think that all crackers followed the same basic flour-fat-baking powder formula for the dough and differed only in their seasonings. Well I was clearly wrong. Another fact that I learnt from this challenge is that the tiny holes that characteristically dot all crackers aren't "designs." They are called docking holes and they serve a purpose. While baking, these tiny holes help release the air from the crackers thereby keeping them from getting all puffed up. (Forget to punch a few holes in your dough squares and you'll know what exactly I am talking about. )  

I had initially planned on trying both the crackers... but then life got on the way. Nevertheless I am happy that I tried the Soda Crackers first for they were really great. Accompanied by hummus, the first batch of crackers vanished within minutes of being baked. The second and final batch met the same destiny.. however I was a bit more careful the second time and snapped the crackers before offering them away for loot ;) 

Gourmet Soda Crackers

Recipe adapted from Flourish
Cook time: 25 minutes
Yield: 30-35

Ingredients
For the dough
  • 3 tbsps water
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ¾ cup + 2tbsps all purpose flour
  • 1½tsp instant yeast
  • ⅛tsp salt
  • ⅛tsp baking soda
  • 2-3 drops vinegar
  • ½tsp sugar
  • ¼ cup lukewarm water
For sprinkling on top
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tbsp dried coriander leaves
Cooking Directions
  1. Put 3 tablespoons of water, butter and oil in a bowl and gently heat till the butter melts. Switching off the heat let the mixture cool down slightly such that it feels hotter than lukewarm but isn't uncomfortably hot.
  2. Add the vinegar to the mixture.
  3. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and pour the warm oil-butter solution over it.
  4. Knead the liquid and dry ingredients together, add the remaining ¼ cup of water and mix well to make a soft sticky dough.
  5. Place the dough in a lightly greased bow, cover it and refrigerator overnight or up to 18 hours. The dough does not rise too much so you can use a small container if you like.
  6. When ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
  7. Meanwhile preheat oven to 425° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly grease them with oil. 
  8. Lightly flour a work surface, shape the risen dough into a 3"×5" rectangular block.
  9. Using a rolling pin, roll it out evenly into a 10"×13" rectangle. This will be quite thin.
  10. Starting from the smaller side, fold the rolled out rectangular dough in three, like a business envelope. 
  11. Turn it 90° and roll the folded dough into a 9"×15" rectangle. The dough will shrink a bit after you stop rolling. Do not worry about it.
  12. Mark the dough at 2 inch internals along two adjacent sides. This helps in cutting out straight square crackers. (To be honest I had skipped this step and found it a little difficult to cut uniformly shaped crackers. )
  13. Sprinkle the salt and your choice of herbs over the rolled out dough. Lightly press the toppings it, then using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife cut the dough into 2" squares.
  14. Using a spatula transfer the squares into the prepared baking trays. You can place them closely as they shrink a bit after baking.
  15. Using the tints of a fork, pierce each square thrice and bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until they are light golden brown. Watch carefully towards the end a they tend to darken quickly specially the ones on the edges of the tray. 
  16. Remove them from the oven, allow to cool completely before storing or serving.

Thanks to Arthy and Swathi for the challenge. I really enjoyed it !
These are being yeast-spotted. I shall also be sharing these at the following parties..


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3 comments:

  1. UnknownMarch 18, 2014 at 10:22 PM

    Gourmet soda crackers looks great, with hummus they must have tasted divine... no wonder they got vanished :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Miz HelenMarch 25, 2014 at 2:52 AM

    You all are having so much fun, just a precious photo what wonderful memories! Those cracker look great!
    Thanks so much for sharing your recipe with Full Plate Thursday and hope you have a great week.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

    ReplyDelete
  3. Javelin WarriorMarch 26, 2014 at 1:43 AM

    These look just perfect and love the sprinkling of dried coriander leaves. These would be so tasty with almost drip and perfect for a party...

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by. It was nice having you here. Have a good day.

Take care and come back soon.
Best, Tanusree

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