inspired by my friend Lone’s Danish Crispbread recipe and my own black pepper oatcakes. They lend themselves to “brown paper packages tied up with string” moments in life.

As some of you know I like all things crunchy (often meaning fried): crisps, those chick pea chips, grissini, crostini, croutons, granola (but not muesli), roast potatoes, roasted nuts and other guilty pleasures.  Unlike other “healthy crackers” which I often find taste like mouthfuls of tasteless tree pulp these deliver. Loads of interesting texture, full on flavour, a tad more healthy and full of Omegas than crisps and a super kerr-runch.  I up the ante by adding different spice blends and you can happily customise yours too.  Here are the ones I made in this batch:

Lime leaf & Chilli, Cumin & Black Pepper & Pink pepper & Nigella

but I often make them with just rough ground black pepper to serve with cheese, use for dips or eat on the run. Yes I eat on the run 🙁 guilty as charged.  Unlike other cookies and delicate biscuits these crackers really need no special skills and are impervious to any over handling.  Tough little cookies indeed.

Ingredients

just keep the ratios the same and you will be fine

•  120 g oat meal (blitz up porridge oats in a blender if you cannot find oatmeal)
•  120 g sesame seeds
•  120 g linseed
•  120 g poppy seed
•  120 g sunflower seeds
•  120 g pumpkin seeds  (as long as you have 600g of various seeds you wont go far wrong)
•  450 g rye flour  (I use wholemeal and organic and I love the deep taste and its kind of a Skandinavian thing)
•  400 ml water
•  220 ml unprocessed sunflower oil
•  2 tsp baking powder
•  4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp of each of your spices, roughly ground

How To

Mix everything up in a bowl together. Yes really that is it.  And you will end up with something that looks like this:

It looks unspeakably revolting but bear with…. you need to roll it out quite thin/ or press it into a shallow tin with your hands.

Here is where there are a few different methods. But what you want is a thin layer of dough evenly spread in the tin and by thin I mean 4-5mm.  Put some baking paper on the bottom of the tin and either:

1. press down with your hands (it wont stick as there is oil in the mix) until its all pressed in

2. Roll out on a sheet of baking paper and lower into your tin and cut away excess

3. the way I do it – place a second sheet over the top and roll out until all even

With a sharp knife cut the dough into squares BEFORE baking.  Ok yes I forgot once too…break up into pieces and declare the result “rustic”.

Bake for 20-30 mins at 180C and then when they come out they will still be soft – This is the time to break them apart and ensure no ruptured crackers!

Let them cool and munch on