A week or so ago I shared with you my recipe for sunny sourdough crackers … a simple homemade replacement for all those Goldfish or Bunny Crackers that make it into the snack bag so often.
One of my favorite things about making these crackers at home is that I know that the sourdough is more digestible than the flour in so many store-bought crackers.
But it’s even better than just being tasty and easy on the gut …
These little crackers can be spiced up in so many ways … we add herbs (like rosemary) for wine and cheese gatherings. We add extra pepper for soup crackers. We add cheese and truffle salt for gift bags. The options are seemingly limitless.
So today I’m going to share with you my favorite grown-up version of these little treats.
These are so tasty.
Good enough for parties.
Good enough for gift-giving.
Just plain good (and good for you, to boot).
Now I’m just going to say that Truffle Salt is kind of fancy. But I’m sort of lucky in this regard because my sister-in-law has a mushroom business called Black Boar Truffle and is one of the only folks in the US that has been successful organically growing and processing the mycelium of the uber-exotic-black Perigord truffle! And she’s been kind enough to let me sample some for our kitchen and it’s been aaaaawwwwwwwsome (imagine me sing-songing this … because it’s kind of like the clouds parting and angels singing … okay … imagine someone ELSE sing-songing this because I just don’t have the range).
We’re hoping to offer some truffle salt (or stock concentrate) for a giveaway in the next few weeks as they begin to makes the salts and concentrates available to the public. Wouldn’t that be fun???
So in the meantime, it’s okay to use the truffle salt you have in your cupboard (but know that they likely use a manufactured truffle scented oil to season the salt).
Also … if you don’t have truffle salt in your cupboard (because this is a specialty item and not everyone digs truffles), these are delicious without the added umami of mushroom, so just replace the truffle salt with your favorite sea salt (use about 1/4 tsp. for the dough instead of the 1/2 tsp. of truffle salt in the recipe).
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sourdough starter
1/3 cup melted pasture butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unrefined all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. aluminum free baking powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. truffle salt (plus enough to sprinkle on the crackers before they bake)
DIRECTIONS:
Just like with a plain sourdough cracker, combine the starter and melted butter in a food processor fitted with a pastry blade Add the flour and let it run until it forms a ball of dough.
Knead the ball until it’s smooth (which only takes a few kneads) and put it into a non-reactive (glass, stainless steel or enamel) bowl and cover with a clean cloth.
Set in a warm spot in your kitchen for 8-12 hours. (NOTE: It’s okay to leave it longer, but know that the longer you leave the dough to rest the more “sour” the crackers.)
When you’re ready to make the crackers, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Gently break apart your dough ball and add the baking powder, cheese truffle salt, onion and garlic powder and knead to incorporate the dry ingredients into your dough.
Divide the ball into halves or thirds and on a piece of parchment paper big enough for your cookie sheet roll the dough as thin as you can make it (like … 1/8 of an inch thin … really really thin). The thinner the dough, the crispier the crackers. And don’t worry, they puff up a little when they bake.
At this point, you can either cut the dough into small squares with a sharp knife … or … for a little flare … (every time I hear the word “flare” I think of the movie Office Space and laugh) you can use a very small cookie cutter in whatever shape strikes your fancy. (We have a set of 1-inch to 1.5-inch butterflies, sun and flowers that I use).
Then make sure there’s a little space between your crackers …
…and bake for at least 10 minutes. I start checking them at 10 minutes, but depending on how hot the oven is, and/or, how many times little hands try to open the oven, it can take as many as 14-15 minutes to make sure the crackers are crispy and just starting to brown around the edges.
Love and serve … my motto with crackers (and with life).
xo,
Jeanne
