It’s not unusual for several of my dinners throughout the week to be a pretty cheese plate with a glass of wine. Simple, yet satisfying and quick to put together. When I find out that I had a gluten allergy several years ago, I knew I was going to miss a certain rosemary cracker from Whole Foods that was always part of my cheese plate.
I had tried homemade gluten free crackers a few time, but I could never get the texture just right. They always seemed to either fall apart or be so dense and tough that I felt like I was eating cardboard. When I got my new grainmill, I knew I wanted to give crackers another chance.
I decided to play around with a combination of nuts, seeds and freshly ground millet flour for a really natural, yet flavorful cracker. Cashews, almonds, sesame and flax seeds are all part of the equation, with healthy fats and protein to make this a good-for-you snack.
Once you’ve made the flour (I used the finest setting) you simply add all of the dry ingredients to a food processor and process until it forms a coarse crumb. Then a little bit of sweetener, oil, and rosemary is added and soon you’ll find yourself with a slightly crumbly ball of dough.
But don’t fret. A little time in the refrigerator helps strengthen the dough and after its baked you’ll end up with these amazing crackers. Their toasty flavor and soft, yet durable texture is fantastic. and enough chew and protein to fill you up nicely. They turned out so well with such little effort that I think I’ll be hard pressed to buy packaged gluten free crackers unless I’m in a pinch. Enjoy them with your favorite cheeses, hummus, or a homemade chutney, and as always, your favorite glass of wine.
- ⅓ cup millet flour (30 grams)
- ½ cup almond meal (50 grams)
- ½ cup raw cashews (50 grams)
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons flax seeds
- a sprig of fresh rosemary
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- Combine the almond meal, cashews, flax seeds and sesame seeds in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles a meal.
- Add the leaves from your sprig of rosemary, salt, honey and the olive oil and pulse for a few more seconds until the rosemary is chopped up.
- Drizzle in water and pulse until everything comes together into a ball. If it doesn’t, add a tiny bit more water.
- Place the ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- When ready, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out with a rolling pin on a sheet of parchment paper. This will be easier if you put another sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough and then roll out to ⅛ inch thickness. If it starts to crack at the edges you can gently push it back together before continuing.
- Cut the crackers into squares using a pizza cutter, then transfer them, still on parchment paper, onto the baking sheet.
- Bake for about 12-14 minutes until toasted and brown. Store in an airtight container for 10 days.
