Rosemary & Thyme Water Crackers {With the Kids}

This is such a great activity to do with your kids - they can knead and roll and cookie-cut, but without the sugar overload that happens when cookies are sampled ... Plus, you have not tasted crackers till you've made your own. You won't even want to corrupt them with fancy cheeses.  

That good.

If you have a breadmaker and/or a pasta machine, here's your chance to put them to good use. I use my breadmaker to mix my doughs for me - but then again, I don't have a Kitchen Aid, so you could use that if you prefer. Or child labor. I then use my pasta machine to roll out super-thin bits of dough, which bake into lovely, crispy crackers. But it's ok if you don't have one ... you can use a rolling pin or an empty wine bottle and your muscles instead. The crackers will be a little thicker, but still just as lovely, I promise. This recipe is pretty resilient to kid-cooking practices, so don't worry too much about precision ... just enjoy!

I used macadamia oil here because I love its flavour, and we use olive oil so often in our household that I thought it'd be a good idea to change up a little. Macadamias are a Queensland native, so we're lucky enough to get local oil - but if it's too expensive or rare for you, just use olive oil instead. A nice fruity one would be ideal.

Simple things make me happy. {So does that girl right there, and her Daddy.}

Have a happy weekend, friends,

Amanda xx

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Rosemary & Thyme Water Crackers

makes a gazillion. depending on how you cut them. 

{I got two jars full}

The ingredients
1 1/2 cups unbleached plain flour
1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup macadamia oil (or olive oil)
1 to 1 1/2 cups warm water

The flavourings
rosemary and/or thyme {leaves only}, to taste
extra flaked sea salt, to taste

*As always, try to use organic when you can

The process

1.Mix all the ingredients but the water {I used my bread machine} then start adding the water 1/2 cup at a time {as you knead} until the dough starts to clump together into a big ball. Then, slow down the water-adding. When it's a nice soft-but-holding-together dough, cover it and leave it alone for 30 minutes or so.

2. Preheat the oven to 180C - with pizza stones in there if you have them. When the pizza stone heats up, it helps cook the crackers from underneath as well - enhancing their crispiness.

3. Take palm-sized bits of dough and roll them out one at a time on a lightly-floured surface as thin as you can get them {or using a pasta machine - start at the highest setting and progressively go down a couple levels ... on mine it's level 5}.

4. Use a cookie cutter to cut out little shapes - if you want. Otherwise you can just do big strips of cracker, or haphazard cutting with your knife. Sprinkle with herbs and sea salt, and use your rolling pin to gently smoosh the toppings into the surface of the crackers {so they don't just slip off}. Use a fork to prick little holes in the surface of each cracker so they don't puff up too much.

5. Transfer the crackers to the preheated baking tray and bake in the oven until golden and crispy, ~5-10 minutes, depending on what kind of tray you're using and how small/thin you cut them. Remove from the oven and tray and cool on a rack.

6. When cool, store in a jar. But they won't retain their beautiful crispiness for toooo long, so enjoy them as soon as you can. I recommend having friends over ... kids will devour these crackers, plain or with butter ... and ask all the grownups to bring a dip and a bottle of wine and you'll be set for a great Saturday afternoon!

The cost

Oh so cheap. This is basically flour, after all! A big batch of organic water crackers will cost you ~ $3. Worth every cent.

{She thinks so too}