Early on in my low-carb journey I came across a pizza crust by Brittany Angell on RealSustenance.com that intrigued me. Her sight and domain appear to have since shut down. After making her recipe, I decided it was more cracker like than pizza dough like. It was too thin and brittle for my taste……….definitely more like a cracker. I adapted the pizza crust recipe to create what has become the BEST cracker recipe for me in my 14+ years of low-carbing. I’m making crackers today, so I thought I’d share it with my readers once again.
This cracker is so good, I’ve now made this recipe probably 50 times or more in 14 years. Since the predominant flavor is black pepper, I’m going to change their name to Black Pepper Crackers now. These are delicious by themselves, with butter, toppings, dips or cheese! Even my non-low-carb husband likes these! I think the crisping magic here are the arrowroot and oat fiber, so I don’t recommend omitting or substituting for those two ingredients lest you end up with a totally different textured cracker than mine.
Let me say up front, my method for making the crackers does not read at all like the original recipe, but it sure produces a crisp cracker that STAYS crisp for days and days! I changed amounts of come ingredients, added a couple things and definitely spiced them up a bit! Those changes and additions are noted below in blue, including the oven temperature. I also added a bit of oat fiber for a flour-y flavor, crunch and fiber.
This recipe is not suitable for Induction due to the oat fiber and arrowroot flour. It isn’t suitable for Primal-Paleo unless you omit the oat fiber and cheese. This is a really BIG recipe that makes two full sheet pans of 48 crackers each. Half the recipe if you do not want that many (tasting them will change your mind next time 🙂 ). That said, they do keep well and stay crisp in a loose-lidded ceramic canister on my counter for 2 weeks or so. That’s much better than any of my other cracker recipes keep for me.
You can also make round crackers that are slightly thicker but just as crisp (a bit more trouble & time consuming). Using 1 level tsp. dough per round cracker, I only got 66 round crackers. I show numbers below for the round version also.
Round version made in silicone muffin molds/liners
VARIATION: Omit the black pepper and add 1-2 T. of my 8-Seed Spice blend instead.
INGREDIENTS:
3 c. lightly packed almond flour (weighed out it was 11 oz. (311.8 grams)
4 T. arrowroot flour/powder
2/3 c. flax meal (I use a 50:50 mix of dark & golden)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1 T. onion powder
2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
2 T. oat fiber (omit for gluten-free version)
¼ c. grated Parmesan Cheese
3/4 c. warm tap water
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
DIRECTIONS: Line two large sheet pans (mine are 11½ x 17) with parchment. I use plastic gloves to press crackers into my pans, or sometimes I cut a third piece or parchment, lay it on top and roll out the dough that way, using my gloved fingers to finish off the edges evenly. The key is to get the cracker dough thin and even in the pan. Thicker areas don’t cook well; thinner areas will burn quickly.
Preheat oven to 350º. Stir the warm water and olive oil together in a small glass to mix well. Measure out all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well with a fork. Add the water-oil mixture to the dry ingredients and blend with the fork to form a solid ball of dough. I form the dough right in the bowl into in a log shape and cut in half to divide it equally. Crumble half the mixture onto each parchment-lined pan. Roll the dough or, wearing plastic gloves, press the dough in the first pan evenly and all the way to the edges. It will be very thin, and I always think it isn’t going to make it, but half the dough WILL reach the edge of the pan. I like to roll the surface with a straight-sided glass I own. If rolling with a rolling pin or straight glass, cover crumbles with parchment and roll as evenly as possible all the way to the edges of the pan. You’ll likely have to finish the edges with your fingers (use a piece of plastic wrap if need be). With a large chef’s knife, score the rolled dough into rows of crackers 6 x 8 (48 crackers). Repeat this process with the second pan of crackers.
Although a lot more trouble and time-consuming, to make round crackers for parties, I use silicone muffin pans or silicone cupcake liners. You can also use paper liners in a metal muffin pan. Measure 1 level teaspoon of dough into each mold and press down evenly with a your fingers (I use plastic glove to do this to avoid dough sticking to me). Set silicone muffin pans and/or molds onto metal sheet pans for support. Pop the pans into the preheated 350º oven and bake for for about 20-22 minutes. Ovens vary, so start watching them at 18 minutes. Do not over brown! I recommend removing those around the edges as soon as they begin to brown and those on the outside are inclined to burn. When all have browned, remove, cool 1-2 minutes, re-score with the chef’s knife and then let them cool completely before eating. These are not tasty hot in my opinion. The flavor develops when they have cooled.
Break apart and enjoy plain, with butter, cheese spreads (I’m addicted to them with chive & onion cream cheese) or your favorite hard cheeses or salami! Store remainders in a plastic zip bag or any canister of your choosing. I just use a ceramic cookie jar on my counter. These stay crisp for around 2 weeks. Mine get eaten within 2 weeks, so I honestly don’t know if they would keep longer or not. 🙂
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 96 square crackers, each cracker contains:
28.4 calories, 2.38 g fat, 1.32 g carbs, 0.68 g fiber, 0.64 g NET CARBS, 0.97 g protein, 37 mg sodium
NOTE: If you make round crackers pressed into silicone muffin molds/cups you will only get 66 crackers, using 1 level tsp. dough per cracker. Each round crackers will contain 41.3 calories, 3.46 g fat, 1.91 g carbs, 0.98 g fiber, 0.93 g net carbs, 1.41 g protein and 54 mg sodium
Buttoni's Low-Carb Recipes 