Dark Rye Crackers

You know when you go into a supermarket to buy a really nice packet of crackers and you find that you grit your teeth in silent fury as the ones you like the most cost £3.50 for a pack of 16? …Yeah? Anyone else get that..? [*pant, pant*] 

These are the kind of crackers I always opt for. It annoys me greatly that I buy them at all, that I’m playing into the hands of the man by buying them... I love crackers. I eat them a lot. But honestly, crackers are just flour and water. These take all of five minutes to weigh and roll out, then only need a quick spell in a hot oven. Hey presto, artisan crackers. Hipster crackers. Have them with a piece of cheese you bought in London which cost a mere four hundred pounds. Actually, I will. Dark rye gives a great nutty flavour and the addition of poppy seeds, caraway or sesame seeds adds to that- give them a go if you want to stick it to Waitrose.

Makes about 25, or a generous amount of crackers for two  

70g dark rye flour

30g plain flour

Knob of softened butter 

Large pinch salt

1 dessertspoon poppy seeds, or sesame seeds, or 1 heaped teaspoon caraway seeds

Cold water

1)      Preheat the oven to gas mark 7, or 220°C.

2)      Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and roughly mash in the knob of butter, then pour in enough water (a couple of splashes) to mix to a stiff dough; it should all come together without being wet.

3)      On a floured work surface, roll out the dough very thinly. I go for around 1mm as this makes a nice, crisp bake.

4)      Cut the dough into whatever shapes you like; I opt for the lazy and quick ‘wonky squares’ or ‘questionable rectangles’, with a few rough off-cuts thrown in.

5)      Lightly flour a baking tray and space out the biscuits. They don’t spread during baking, so they can be a little crowded.

6)      Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until they reach a light-to-dark brown colour.

7)      To keep them crisp, cool on a wire rack (they’ll soften if you cool them on the baking tray).