Garlic Parmesan Chipotle Crackers

I have been "revisiting" recipes recently.  First, I have had company this week when friends from home came to visit for a week.  With visitor's around, better to make a tried a true and limit the experimenting.  But also, I have been pondering how to make a perfectly acceptable recipe better.  And how to make a better recipe a signature dish.

I while back, I made my first batch of crackers... Click HERE.


I got the recipe from"The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread" book.  Partly due to necessity, partly due to being cheap, mostly because they really are delicious and easy, I have made crackers several times since the first batch.


I have gotten better and think I have found my signature recipe for Garlic Parmesan Chipotle Crackers...


First, here's a reprint of the original recipe...

1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon instant Yeast
1 TBS Maple Syrup (actual recipe calls for honey, but I was out)
1 TBS Vegetable Oil
1/2 cup Water

• Mix everything together to form a ball.
• Move to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes
• Lightly oil a bowl and drop the ball into the bowl. Turn to coat all sides.  Cover and allow to rise to double the size ... About 90 minutes, but can be 2 hours if you fall asleep.
• Now it's time to form the crackers... Mist the counter with spray oil.  Take the dough and form into a rectangle with your hands.  Use a rolling pin to get the dough thin.  Paper thin will get a very crisp cracker, 1/8th inch thickness will get a slight center chewiness around the crisp.
• lift the dough and wave a bit.  cover with a towel and let it rest for 5 minutes.
• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

• Time to flavor the crackers... First, take a pizza cutter and make a few wavy cuts.  I didn't want a square cracker, but you can easily cut into squares... I wanted a cracker strip.  Since this was the first time I was making these, I did different spices in rows to test what I liked. and what worked for others...  the first layer is a black and white sesame seed mixture, combined with a little sea salt.  Next was some sweet paprika, next some mustard powder and finally some fresh cracked pepper.
• Bake for 17 minutes, until you get just a bit of brown on the edges...

OK, These were very good.  And the look of the different layers of flavoring still is very pretty to see.  The recipe makes about 2 dozen cracker strips, and I usually make a few like the originals, with a couple of changes...


I do an egg wash (scramble an egg and brush on the top in a thin layer) before adding toppings.  This does two things, it makes the color pop on the crackers.  It also guarantees the toppings stick to the crackers.


And finally, I have a better set of toppings... To me, the ultimate set...

A light (very light) sprinkling of Chipotle powder spice
Garlic Flakes
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese


I have made these using thicker batches of dough.  It makes a softer almost bread stick type cracker.  But, I prefer a thinner cracker.  So, be sure to roll out the dough thin.  I work in batches, dividing the dough in half.  This smaller amount is the perfect size for my pan.

Perfect as is, served as a bread course accent to a meal, or as a snack cracker with some of my Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese DIP!


Be sure to use a good quality Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated (only takes 2 minutes), and NOT the powdery stuff that has almost no taste.
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