Oatmeal Crackers Recipe
Snappy, substantial, homemade oatmeal crackers - made with rolled oats and rye flour. Plus a little glimpse at some postcards I made.
Repetition has been the theme around here lately. And you'll see why in just a minute. In a nutshell, my life has been dialed into one channel - it's called the "you have a cookbook coming out" channel. There's a lot going on, and the more unmanageable my in-box gets, the more I find myself craving moments of mindless repetition. The more mindless, the better. Roll-and-stamp cookies or crackers fit the bill nicely - like these oatmeal crackers. I've also started the process of assembling a thousand little postcard packets. I finish each one with a small piece of pink-striped tape, and I swear, I smile inside when each pack is completed. Simple pleasures.
The postcards came about as I started thinking that it would be nice to have a little something on hand to give to people who make the effort to come out to a signing, or to give to friends I bump into out and about, or to mail to all the people who helped me test recipes. The guys at the print shop up the street from my house helped me make four different postcards, each featuring a different image from the book. I ordered a box of flat glassine bakery bags, a self inking stamp, and picked up some paper tape in Japan Town.
As far as the postcards were concerned, I kept it simple - image on one side, then all-white back with a tiny super natural every day logo, and the words "stamp" and "postcard" micro-small. I wanted the bags to show a hint of the underlying image through them. Come to think of it, I wish they were a bit more transparent, but they work well enough. A semi-transparent kraft bag was another direction I was thinking about, but I had a hard time finding a good source with volume.
So, I've been making postcard packets. And at the same time, I've been thinking about crackers. I like the recipe for Oatmeal Crackers in The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas. I thought I might make them as part of a lunch menu I did for an event with Little Flower School and June Taylor yesterday. I'd top them with a spread (of some sort) in place of crostini. Well - I ended up doing the crostini from Super Natural Cooking instead, but I like these crackers enough that I wanted to share them. I have some tips and tricks I've come by to make them extra good.
The concept for these crackers is straight-forward. You make a pot of oatmeal, combine it with rye & all-purpose flour and a few seasonings. Then work it all into a dough. When these crackers are at their best, they are full of toasty oat flavor, hearty and substantial. They are snappy not soft, and will keep for a week or more sealed tightly in a jar. But! To get them this way you need to roll the dough as thin as you possibly can. And then you need to bake the crackers to within an inch of their lives - dark, dark golden. Can you see how thin I've rolled the dough up above there? Work it even thinner if you can.
You can cut the crackers into whatever shapes you like. And you can either bake them bumped up next to each other, or spaced out. I make strip shapes for cheese plates and spreads, and tiny animal crackers for my nephew from the scraps.
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Oatmeal Crackers
I tend to use fine grain sea salt in the crackers, and then a flakier salt sprinkled across the tops before baking. I grind my anise seed in a spice grinder.
1 cup / 3 oz / 85 g rolled oats
1 1/4 cups / 300 ml whole milk, heated just to boiling
1/4 cup / 2 oz / 55g room-temperature unsalted butter
4 tablespoons natural cane sugar
3 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
2 teaspoons crushed anise seed - optional
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 1/4 cup / 5.5 oz / 155g dark rye flour
1 1/2 cups / 6.75 oz / 190g all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
more salt for sprinkling
In a large bowl combine the rolled oats and boiling milk. Let stand until cool. To speed this up I sometimes place the bowl in the freezer for about 35 minutes. When cool, stir in the butter, sugar, baking powder, anise seed, salt, and rye flour. Stir in the all-purpose flour, a bit at a time, until a stiff dough forms. Turn out onto a counter top and knead until the dough comes together and is uniform.
Heat the oven to 425F / 245C with racks in top and bottom thirds.
Divide the dough into two parts, just so you have a manageable amount to work with. Now, you're going to want to roll the dough out very thin - 1/8th-inch. This way your crackers will have snap. Have a look at the photo up above, and try to get it thinner than that. If your dough is at all stubborn, just let it rest there for ten minutes or so, then try again.
Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheets [they don't spread much), and sprinkle with a bit more salt - flaky salt if you have it. Bake for roughly 14 minutes, but here's the trick. When the cracker bottoms are deeply golden, roughly 9 minutes in, flip each cracker, and brown the flip side as well. Use your best judgement and remove when well done. Cool completely before storing in large air-tight jars.
Repeat with the remaining dough, and cut the scraps into tiny soup crackers.
Makes dozens of crackers, depending on how large or small you cut them.
Adapted from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas.
Prep time: 45 minutes - Cook time: 15 minutes
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Comments
You may have covered this in previous posts, so I apologize if I'm asking an innapropriate questions. Why do you specify aluminum-free baking powder? Have pre-ordered the new book, as well as your first book and am anxiously awaiting both! I'm grateful I found your blog.
This recipe looks great, thanks. When I start my family on our no-processed-foods cleanse I will definitely make these, and probably even before then.
Those crackers look great! Cute postcards!
Heidi, Your first cookbook inspired me to totally change my eating habits. This site has allowed me to continue expanding my collection of phenomenally creative, delicious recipes, while also enjoying your beautiful photography. I've preordered your new book and can't wait to 'play' in the kitchen with your new recipes. Congratulations on your continued success!
Can't wait for the new book! And we would love to see you in Vancouver for a book signing!
Those look beautiful! Let us know what your tour dates are...we'll be looking for you in Seattle!
This looks so fun! My kids love to bake and I will have to give this a go with them. I wonder though, if the dairy & gluten can be substituted. I have allergies to both but I'm new to that style of baking. If any readers have success, I'd love to hear about it!
So cute. Sometimes it's fun to stand them up too like a little cookie diorama!
I hope you come to NY for a signing - I've been a fan of your site and cookbooks for a long time and it would be fantastic to meet you. And those postcards are beautiful - wish I lived close enough to bump into you :) All the best on the cookbook - counting the days until it arrives in the mail!
My mother always teases me when I make my own crackers because she can't imagine why I'd make something from scratch that is so ubiquitous in the stores. Then, she tastes one and I think for an instant she understands: Nothing that good comes in a box! These look outstanding. You're rolled out crackers are beautiful! An inspiring goal for me to shoot for.
I LOVE the tiny animal shapes--especially the duck. would you be willing to share your source for the mini animal cookie/cracker cutters, heidi?
It is SO difficult to find healthy crackers in the store. These look like a great option. I love the shapes!
Wow, is it a coincidence that I also posted a recipe from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book today? :) I really love that cookbook, the recipes are tried-and-true and so traditional. Everything just WORKS. Can't wait for your cookbook to come out though, and the postcards are a beautiful touch to celebrate people who support you.
I used to love 'animal crackers' as a kid (but not as much as my little sister). These remind me of those! What a fun cracker for a get together Heidi. Congrat's on your book!!! SO cool. Already have it ordered :)
Oh, I will definitely be making these. I am a nut for crunchy things, crackers especially, yet I've never tried making them myself. I love the oat-rye combination going on here. The postcards are beautiful; any chance you'll be doing an nyc book signing? :)
I love your little animal shaped crackers! They are so cute and I'm sure they are super tasty too!
Cracker from my kitchen! These will be a lifesaver on busy weekends and vacation days. Thanks.
These crackers look snackalicious! They are so adorable- love the little animal shapes!
Not sure what to comment on first! The postcards are absolutely stunning, and I want to shove a handful of those crackers in my mouth, ASAP. Great post!
Beautiful postcards. That's so thoughtful. I'm hoping you'll have a book signing in my area soon!
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