Homemade Multigrain Crackers

20 Sep

Is it odd to admit that, though I will never bat an eye when it comes to baking my own bread, it never really occurs to me to make my own crackers? In our house, at least, there is not much separating a cracker from a slice of bread in terms of utilization. Both crackers and bread get topped with some sort of cheese, or eaten with fruit, or spread with almond butter. Crackers, though more crisp and tiny, are, like bread, a combination of flours, a leavening agent, and some liquid, so why my indifference about making them at home?

To be quite honest, I rarely make crackers at home because, unlike homemade bread, I have a difficult time making homemade crackers taste as good as crackers I buy. Homemade bread is always a treat, even if I end up making a loaf (or two) that ends up sort of squat or misshapen, the bread always tastes phenomenal, and the experience of making bread always makes me feel soothed and comforted. Making crackers just makes me want to get back all the time I just spend laboring over something that tastes underwhelming, with a texture that is never quite cracker-ish enough.

You know where this is going, right? You can all stop the presses, because here, right now, I have for you the very best homemade cracker recipe you’ll ever find. With a magical combination of rye flour, whole wheat flour, and wheat bran, the texture of these crackers is just about perfect. The taste, slightly nutty from the mixture of flours, is pumped up ever-so-slightly with a dose of light brown sugar, a spoonful of tiny seeds, and a nice undertone of butter. The dough is a dream to work with, and it comes together to form the most perfectly crisp, yet sturdy, crackers that make a delightful pairing with cheese, nut butter, or even just a cup of hot tea. As an added bonus, these crackers are a huge hit with kids. Formed into many an animal shape, the crackers are a perfect weekend afternoon project for kids and adults alike, and, though I am not the type to shoo a child away from a cookie, making crackers and eating them is, if you’re looking for some encouragement, a slightly more virtuous endeavor than turning out a few sheets of cookies. Not that it will matter, though. These crackers, I swear, are just about good enough to choose over a cookie, any day of the week.

Last Year: Tomato Tartlets with Rosemary

Homemade Multigrain Crackers Recipe

Inspired by a recipe in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison

¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

½ cup dark rye flour

½ cup wheat bran

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ cup lightly packed light brown sugar

1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg

½ cup buttermilk or soured milk

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flours, wheat bran, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar.

In a small bowl, beat the egg into the buttermilk, then set aside.

Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mix it in using your mixer’s paddle attachment, or by rubbing the butter into the dry ingredients using your fingers. Stir in the egg and buttermilk mixture until evenly distributed. The dough should be quite combined and sticky at this point, but if it appears to be a bit dry and crumbly, add in a few more drops of buttermilk and continue to mix the dough until it clings together. Stir in the sesame seeds and poppy seeds. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the slightly chilled dough until it is about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out the crackers using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, or several cookie cutters. Combine, reroll, and recut any remaining scraps of dough. Prick the tops of each cracker with a fork, then place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake, one sheet at a time, in the center of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until they are lightly browned. If you have cut your crackers into very small shapes, bake them for only 10 minutes at first, then check them for doneness.

Makes about 5 dozen 2-inch round crackers. Makes substantially more crackers if you cut them using tiny cookie cutters.

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Lemon Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

17 Sep

How many pancake recipes does one person really need to have? If I were to nail things down to their very basic elements, maybe my answer would be that a person only needs one single pancake recipe, that recipe being this one, which never fails to produce the most perfect pancakes every single time. Then again, if you’re in the mood for a slightly more health-conscious pancake, a pancake fortified with multiple grains, no refined sugar, and no saturated fat, perhaps you’d prefer to only have on hand a recipe like this one, a multi-grain blueberry pancake that never fails to please. Would that be all? Does anyone really need anything else in the way of pancakes?

Having just made these unbelievably wonderful lemon pancakes, my answer would definitely have to be a resounding yes. Dear lord, yes. Intensely lemony, perfectly light, and punched up with the brightest blueberry sauce you can imagine, these pancakes are giving my previous standbys a run for their money.

Of course, these pancakes satisfy a different element of pancake worthiness. Whereas the pancakes I usually favor are a simple affair that are comprised of standard pantry and refrigerator staples, these pancakes are a slightly fancier endeavor. Loads of lemon zest, a good dose of yogurt, and fluffy egg whites make these pancakes a special treat, something with the taste characteristics of a lemony muffin, but with a heavenly lightness. Their front and center lemon flavor just begs to be paired with a fresh dose of berries, so I complied by topping everything off with a dead-simple berry sauce that brings out all the right notes of what just might be my new Saturday morning breakfast treat. These are pancakes, stepped up, and you definitely don’t want to miss out.

Last Year: Black Pepper Buttermilk Biscuits

Lemon Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce Recipe

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup milk

finely grated zest of 2 lemons

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted then cooled slightly

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg, separated

1 large egg white

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, melted butter,  vanilla, and 1 egg yolk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and gently whisk together until just barely combined.

Now would be a good time to start heating a cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet over low heat.

In a separate bowl, whisk the 2 egg whites together until they form soft peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, mixing until just combined.

In a skillet that has been preheated over low heat (if you have a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, you should not have to oil it prior to cooking the pancakes, but if your skillet tends to allow food to stick, very lightly oil the skillet with a tiny bit of vegetable oil), drop batter ¼-cup at a time, onto the skillet. Cook pancakes on one side until they have risen a bit and appear somewhat dry at the edges, with numerous deflating bubbles on the surface (this can take anywhere from 2-5 minutes for the first batch of pancakes). Flip pancakes over and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove cooked pancakes to individual plates to be covered with berry sauce and eaten immediately, or place pancakes on a wire rack set on a baking sheet, then keep pancakes warm in a 200-degree oven until you are ready to serve them. In any case, eat the pancakes as soon as possible, for maximum deliciousness.

Blueberry Sauce

3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen are both fine

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and place over medium heat.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the fruit just softens, roughly five minutes. Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until about half of the mixture is blended into a liquid and the other half remains slightly chunky.  If you are not a fan of textured sauce, feel free to puree the sauce until it is completely smooth, or until your desired texture has been reached. I wanted a super textured sauce, so I hardly pureed this batch at all.

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Perfect Oven Fries with Truffle Salt

13 Sep

There is a burger place two blocks from our house that makes the most incredible french fries imaginable. Perfectly crisp, these fries are quickly tossed with just a hint of truffle oil when they emerge, piping hot, from a deep fryer, and if there was ever a time that I thought I sounded like a complete loon when discussing a food idea I enjoyed, now would be it: I am raving about fried food that is spritzed with oil. Whatever has happened to me?

As some of you may recall, I am a french fry devotee, by which I mean that when I am looking for a rare treat or a counterbalance to a bad day, my thoughts turn to french fries. (Note: When I say that I am looking for a “rare” treat, I do not mean that I rarely partake in treats, but rather that, when partaking in this particular treat, it is a rare occurrence. French fries and I only come into contact about six times a year, so we’re not nearly as cozy as one might suspect. Cake and I, on the other hand…) One might think that, being a french fry fanatic, I will eat any french fry, without discrimination, and declare it to be wonderful. Not so. Too often, I have eaten french fries that are intensely greasy, sadly soggy, or obviously just fried sticks of previously-frozen potatoes that are lacking in any sort of notable flavor or positive qualities. I don’t love all french fries. I only love really, really good french fries.

This is why, at the risk of sounding ridiculous, it is such a joy for me to announce that, at long last, I think I have perfected the art of making french fries at home. Not just that, I have perfected a recipe for making super crisp and flavorful baked french fries, which is like the Holy Grail of homemade french fry making. No vat of scorching hot oil, my friends. No lingering scent of old grease. Just three ingredients (four, if you count an optional sprinkling of black pepper), a couple of baking sheets, and a hot oven are all that lie between you and the most delicious oven fries—perhaps even the most delicious french fries, period—you’ve ever made. The secret, if one can even call it that, lies in soaking your potato slices in a bowl of warm water before you toss them with oil and salt and then roast them in the oven. That’s it. I know. I know. A few tablespoon of oil, a bit of truffle salt, and you’re in. I’ll stop talking now so we can get right to it.

Last Year: The best wine opener I’ve ever owned

Perfect Oven Fries with Truffle Salt Recipe

It just so happens that two different people have given me truffle salt this year, so I happen to have an abundance of it lying around. If you’re wondering how to find some for yourself, I found a few listings on Amazon that were not too expensive. I also found some listings that were outlandishly expensive, so please do keep in mind that a little bit of this stuff goes a long way, so you certainly don’t need to buy more than an ounce or so of it in order to have a good supply.

About 2 pounds medium-sized russet potatoes

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon truffle salt, divided

optional: freshly ground black pepper

Slice the short ends off of the potatoes, then slice off just a bit of the long sides, creating a somewhat flat surface on either side. Cut the potatoes lengthwise into ¼-inch slices, then cut those long slices into ¼-inch strips.

Place the potato strips in a large bowl of lukewarm water, then gently swish the potatoes around until the water becomes quite cloudy. Drain the water from the bowl, refill with lukewarm water once more, then swish the potatoes around again until the water is again cloudy. Drain the water from the bowl, then fill a third time with lukewarm water, and allow the potatoes to sit in the water for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 hour.

While the potatoes are soaking, preheat your oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. Place an oven rack in the lowest position, and another oven rack in the second-lowest position.

After the potatoes have soaked, thoroughly drain them in a colander. Wipe dry the large bowl in which the potatoes were soaking. In the bowl, combine the vegetable oil with ½ teaspoon of the truffle salt. Whisk the salt into the oil until it has dissolved as much as possible (you will still be able to see many grains of salt after whisking for a minute or so, but that is all right—you just want to thoroughly infuse the oil with the seasoning). Leave the oil and salt together while you finish drying the potatoes by thoroughly blotting them in a large dishtowel.

Place the dry potatoes in the bowl with the oil and salt. Using your hands, toss everything together until all of the potatoes are thoroughly coated in the oil and salt. Divide the potatoes amongst two large, heavy duty baking sheets, making sure the potatoes are arranged in a single layer. Tightly cover the baking sheets with foil, then place one batch of potatoes on the lowest oven rack, and the other batch on the second-lowest rack. Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes, exchanging the positions of the two baking sheets halfway through.

Remove the foil from the baking sheets, then return sheets to the oven, one sheet on the lowest rack, the next sheet on the second-lowest rack. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove baking sheets from oven, carefully flip over the potatoes, again arranging them in a single layer, and return to the oven to finish baking, reversing their positions for the final baking (so the sheet that was just one the lowest level is now on the second-lowest level, and vice versa). Bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the potatoes are a deep golden brown and crisp all over.

Remove potatoes to a plate lined with a layer of paper towels. Sprinkle potatoes with the remaining ½ teaspoon of truffle salt, and, if you desire, a light sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper. Serve piping hot.

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