Nut and Seed Crackers

Since the start of my grain-free experiment I have been thinking about a quote from Fyodor Dostoyevsky: “Man grows used to everything, the scoundrel!” Being this very scoundrel, I don’t miss pilaf, and my heart doesn’t beat faster when I bake with my cooking classes’ guests. Maybe because I know my grain-free state is temporary. But I long for the textures often associated with the grain baking. I imagine biting into a fluffy something made of butter, goat cheese and dill. And I fancy a crunch of home-made crackers. To make both possible in the grain-free existence, I started baking with bean and nut flours.

Today I want to tell you about nuts and also seeds: I have always loved both deeply, but we have become particular close recently. I snack on a variety of these guys every day, and to bring diversity to my snacks I thought I can bake with nuts and seeds as well.

Even before going grain-free I was curious about grain-free and gluten-free baking recipes. However, I could never bring myself to the actual baking: long ingredient lists with many extravagant names are nothing short of intimidating. I understand that once you remove all the gluten, you need to work hard on creating a structure in your baked goods. Let’s face it: no one can beat the performance of the wheat flour proteins, gluten and gliadin. Non-grain flours will never create a dough with a body of its own (think a well-rested bread dough), they have a strong taste and often lead to the denser baked goods since they have a higher protein (beans) and oil (nuts) content. And if you remove other traditional baking ingredients such as sugar or, God forbid, eggs from the range of possibilities, you need to think even harder. How do you substitute them so that your grain-free treat is as good as its all-inclusive version? So I understand the reason behind the fancy ingredients and long lists.

That’s why when I saw this nut and seed crackers’ recipe I thought, “Too good to be true and grain-free.” I made the crackers and was surprised to see how the egg bound finely ground nuts and seeds making it possible to roll the dough into thin crackers that crisped so well in the oven.

Then I thought I’d make a Turkish version and .. ran out of eggs. Instead of searching for the organic eggs on Saturday morning I decided to try flaxseed as an egg substitute. See, I am happy I had a Californian friend in Istanbul: she left, but her exotic pantry and many wisdoms have stayed with me. Enormous bag of flaxseed included.

Flaxseed (keten tohumu in Turkish) is a super source of omega-3 (that also seem to be heat-resistant according to the research meaning green light for the bakers) and one of the strongest anti-oxidants out there (forget the blueberries). If flaxseed is gold, then ground flaxseed is platinum: it is easier to digest, and our bodies can absorb the available nutrition better. Plus, there is an exciting chemistry going on once the ground flax seed reacts with water: the flaxseed husks contain a gum that turns gelatinous when mixed with water. Flax seed egg substitute would not help if you are after making a perfect souffle, but it works wonders if you are baking a recipe where egg plays the role of a binder such as these crackers.

Bingo! By saving myself a shopping trip I found an eggless way to make crackers of ground pistachio from Antep (my baklavaci Bilgeoğlu in Kadıköy sells the best ones in Istanbul), walnuts and pumpkin seeds from Sakarya (my second home), sesame seeds from Konya and dry rose petals from Isparta’s renown flowers. I admit, rose might not be essential, but I loved how the dry rose petals perfumed the crackers and brought a different color to the mix.

Nut and Seed Crackers (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

Makes 40-50 small crackers

To make the crackers loaded with nuts and seeds more easily digestible you might want to pre-soak the ingredients (I am experimenting with it and promise to get back with a report); this recipe however assumes that your nuts and seeds are 100% dry. If any of the nuts or seeds you are using are salted, you might not need to add salt at all. You can confidently taste to adjust the seasoning - remember, there is no raw egg involved.

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min

Ingredients

1/4 cup shelled pistachios
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
3 tbsp dry rose petals
1/4 tsp fine sea salt (or more to taste)
2 tbsp water

For the egg substitute:
2 tbsp whole flaxseed
6 tbsp water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180C/355F.

Prepare flaxseed egg substitute: Grind the flaxseed in a coffee grinder or a food processor into a coarse meal. Combine with water in a small bowl and set aside for at least 10 min so the mixture thickens.

Make nut and seed crackers: Grind all the nuts and seeds in a food processor: watch the moment when they turn from a dry flaky mix into a slightly wet mixture with tiny lumps - this is where you want to stop. Transfer the nuts and seed mixture into a bowl and coarsely grind the dry rose petals. Combine the ground nuts, seeds, rose petals, salt, water and the flaxseed egg substitute. With a spoon mix into a stiff homogeneous dough. Divide the dough into two equal parts.

Roll crackers: Place one part of the dough to the center of a silicon mat or a large piece of parchment paper. With your hands shape into a neat ball. Then using a bench scrapper or the ribs of your palms flatten the ball into a square. Pressing very gently roll the dough into a 3 cm /0.2 inch thick sheet: now and then stop to keep the edges straight with a bench scraper or your palms. You might need a piece of parchment paper to cover the dough while rolling if the dough sticks to the rolling pin. Cut into the pieces of desired shape and size. With a bench scrapper transfer the crackers to a baking tray lined with the parchment paper. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Bake: Bake for 10-15 min, or until the crackers turn only slightly brown at the edges and the bottoms. Cool and store in the open: they will not last long anyway.