Flat Bread

# 72 - 2008

Again, I find I’m surprised!

I have a very fine cracker/flat bread that Gorn really loves so I don’t often try new thin bread cracker recipes. I should. I will make this one again.

You will find the recipe(s) at the kitchen table with Görel’s GrainDoe site.

One of the best things about a group where you get recipes from others and you agree to bake (or cook whatever) they put up . . . is you get to or have to try recipes you wouldn’t have ever choosen. We all either were or know kids grown into adults who suddenly have an epipany “Wow, I never liked ____ but I love it now.” It might be cauliflower or broccoli or putting your toes in the sand. Agreeing to do something you wouldn’t ordinarily do really stretches our minds and tastes.

I don’t think there’s anything really far out about this recipe, it’s more I’d have been unlikely to have found it and if I had there’s nothing that would have alerted me to try it. I’m very pleased with this one, thank you Görel.

I found the sourdough starter made with the grated apple, mildly sweet sour smelling, pleasant. See nothing exciting at all.

Mixed with the dough recipe flours - I used the spelt, whole wheat and rye flours - this was very firm and sticky dry.

After over an hour’s rise where nothing much happened, I starting dividing the dough.

Divide an conqure don’t you know. It had a slight airiness to it.

Form each piece into a tight ball.

Flatten each ball very thin with a rolling pin. I started out thinking they should come out round but then decided that the odd shapes where some of the fun and character of this bread. Dock the dough (dock is just a fancy term for poke a lot of holes in it, I used two forks.) I used my finger to poke a hole completly through the cracker.

All I did with this one baking was spray with water and sprinkle with salt.

These crackers stayed crisp for several days, at least until they were all gone. I found them very pleasant - crisp, sweet and sour at the same time and a good but subtle rye flavor.

I want to give these a try with some different flours and most I want to try them with some herbs - rosemary and sage and lemon both seem like they would be standouts. (I know lemon’s not an herb but I like to try a little zest with each herb, it just seems right.)

Cheese, hummus, baba ganoush, salmon were my toppings of choice but I’m sure cream cheese with herbs would have been outstanding as well. I loved the hole in the middle. Next time I’m going to use a cookie/biscuit cutter for a bigger middle hole.