Rustic crackers

This may be my favorite cracker recipe yet. It is easy and versatile. I don't have to individually move little crackers onto my cookie sheet because you cut them right there on the cookie sheet! Less cleanup makes me sooooo happy! I used this recipe for the crackers and then made my own additions at the end. 

It is a simple recipe - just combine all the ingredients in a bowl to form a dough. I used part white flour and part whole wheat flour this time, but next time I think I'll just use all whole wheat flour. I don't think it'll effect the texture too much.

Then my favorite part - you just put some of the dough on your cookie sheet, and roll it our right in there! I used a sil pat, but you probably don't need it.

You make an egg wash and brush it over the crackers. I think this is an important step because it'll give the crackers that extra shine and crispiness on top. It also helps any toppings you put on stick!What is fun about these crackers is you can add toppings. I did one batch of plain (with salt - always with salt), one with sesame seeds, and one with dill. You can do all sorts of herbs, garlic, poppy seeds, what-have-you.
 Then with my cookie cutter I made the crackers.

My Mom was visiting this day and was able to take some pictures for me. I thought an action shot would be nice :).
Then you bake the crackers at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. You have to watch them. The original recipe says 10 minutes but that wasn't enough for my crackers. It depends on how thin you roll them, your pan, etc. etc.

Funny story - When I was going to bake up the last bit of dough Alli woke up from her nap and she was looking for some milk, so I went to nurse her and asked my Mom if she could finish up the last bit of dough. So I'm sitting there nursing and my Mom looks out of the kitchen and says "I just realized that I didn't cut the crackers before putting them in the oven!". So, we ended up with one big cracker, teehee. There is no doubt that I am this woman's daughter - because I do stuff like that all the time.

So here is Ma with her big cracker. I know, isn't she beautiful?

So with this I just broke it up into pieces - and to be honest I loved how it turned out! Instead of having perfect little squares I just had chunks of cracker - very rustic indeed!

So here are some of the finished crackers. They are so simple which makes them so wonderful.

Rustic Crackers

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt (plus more for topping)
1 t. baking powder
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil
egg wash (one egg beaten with 2 T water)
toppings

Mix dry ingredients first, and then add the water and olive oil. Make a dough, and divide that dough into 2 or 3 portions, depending on your cookie sheet size. Then take a portion and roll it out right on the cookie sheet as thin as you want. Top with egg wash, toppings, and then cut unto desired shapes. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10-20 minutes, keeping an eye on them.