Lavash

I will never buy crackers again. This recipe has been on my food-to-do list for a while and it took a weekend of sipping tea, soup and homemade cold remedies to give it a whirl. These are definitely worth the effort and I highly recommend getting on the homemade cracker bandwagon!

This recipe is adapted from the Bread Baker's Apprentice.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups whole wheat flour (see note)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon canola or olive oil
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup room temperature water
• Spices
  

How to:

1. Stir the flour, salt yeast, honey and oil together.
2. While continuing to stir, slowly add the water into the dry ingredients. Stir until the dough gathers into a ball. The recipe says you may not need the entire half cup of water. I used the entire 1/2 cup -- since I am in such a dry cold climate.
   
3. Lightly flour the counter top and knead the dough for 10 minutes. You will know the dough is ready when it stretches thin without breaking.
   
4. Spray a bowl with oil and swirl the dough to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 90 minutes -- the dough should double in size.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
6. Lightly oil the counter top. Place dough on the oiled surface and sprinkle with flour. Roll the dough out until its paper thin. It should be at least 12" x 15".
7. Place dough on a parchment lined baking sheet.
   
8. Mist the dough with water. Sprinkle any spices you would like onto the dough. I used paprika, caraway seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, salt and pepper.
   
9. If you would like pre-cut crackers, use a pizza cutter and cut the desired shapes - the crackers will break even once removed from the oven.
10. Bake the crackers for 15-20 minutes, when the crackers are evenly browned.
    

Notes: The original recipe used unbleached white flour. I used whole wheat since I like grainy crackers. Also, the recipe suggests misting water on the dough before placing the spices on top to help the spices stick. It worked well, but I think I would try an egg wash next time to see if it makes a difference. Lastly, you may need two baking sheets with this recipe. I used a second baking sheet to include the scraps.