Oat crackers
grownandgathered
It turns out that having crackers makes everything easy and delicious. Crackers + wine + pate + pickles + dips = Easy meal.
How do we know? Because while we were making our book (sneak peak from inside it right there above) we paired these crackers with pate, rillettes (potted meat) and dill pickles (all recipes inside the book!) for the shoot - and behind the scenes, as we took photos, prepared food for shoots and wrote page after page that we can't wait to share with you in September, we pretty much ate everything on crackers to keep us going throughout the day (and night).
These are an absolute saviour when you are busy. They only involve about 5 minutes preparation time (the rest is all soaking and cooking) and the grain, as always with us, is pre-soaked with an acid to make it more digestible and nutrient dense (they have all the enzyme inhibitors/'bad stuff' deactivated). So you know that when you're too busy or tired to cook, these quick snacks or meals, are actually giving you a load of wholesome nutrition.
We hand roll our groats, into oats (you can just use pre-rolled oats if you don't have a roller) and then pre-soak them over night.
The crackers should turn out very slightly chewy and lightly spiced. We have made these many, many, many times and sometimes if it's just that bit thicker or thinner, the cooking time may vary a little. Just keep going until golden brown - we'd love to know how yours go (post in the comments below)!
The recipe makes a big enough batch to have crackers ready to go in the pantry for some time, great for a quick snack or for share plates. You can also use leftover porridge to make this recipe to minimise food waste – just add the salt and spices!
Makes about 120 small crackers // Time 12–24 hours souring + 5 minutes prep + 1 hour, 10 minutes cooking
Recipe
Ingredients
600 g rolled oats
850 ml un-chlorinated* spring water (*this is essential for the souring to work)
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 teaspoons unrefined salt
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
Method
Day 1: Souring/soaking
Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Massage the mixture well with your hands, cover and set aside at room temperature for 12–24 hours.
Day 2: Cooking
Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line two baking trays with oven mats or baking paper.
Once soured/soaked, the mixture should be wet and easy to spread. Using damp hands or a wet spatula, spread the mixture thinly, about 2–3 mm, over the oven mats and bake for about 50 minutes until golden brown.
Flip the flat sheet of oat cracker out onto a rack and place it in the oven for a further 5–10 minutes – when it’s ready, the sheet should be golden brown, dry, a little crunchy but still a tiny bit soft and chewy in places.
Take the crackers out of the oven, allow to cool and cut or break into small rectangles. Eat fresh or pack into an airtight container and store on the pantry shelf to eat as you desire.
P.S. Want to roll your own oats? You're not alone! Many, many people have emailed us, asking us where we get our oat rollers, fermenting crocks and other things from - so we are working hard to get them to you soon via our shop! If you haven't yet - join the mailing list from the bar at the top of this screen to stay posted :)
