graham crackers

One of the food blogs I read wrote a post about going to Edison, WA.  That is not too for south from our mountain.  My take away from the post that Edison was small town that it might be interesting to spend a couple hours someday but that they also have a top rate bakery.  One of the bakery's top sellers are their graham crackers.

Now, I have been looking for a good graham cracker recipe.  I like them to snack on trips.  Koda Bear too.  I had this recipe before the pirate boat ride to Alaska but I just did not get it tried.  Also, the directions are a bit tedious if you do not have a professional kitchen.  I at least know have a shelf free of all things for my bakes due to the Great British Bake Off.  My Beloved made it so, so I could bake more.  The picky recipes.  I have been working with a lot of pastry.  Or cakes that need to cool.

I had all the ingredients per the recipe before the trip but I used a few so I had to adapt.  Graham cracker flavor is actually a wheat flour grind.  This is really hard to make gluten free due to the flavor is actually coming from the wheat and that is what is looked for in a graham cracker.  I had whole wheat flour.  But not whole wheat pastry flour so I made due.  What else is new?

I actually made these crackers for the pecan praline style crust for a pumpkin cheese cake.  I did not wish to go to the store to buy graham crackers.  See a pattern?  Do not wish to leave the house to buy ingredients so change the recipe?  This is so me and I just accept it.  I even do not wish to leave the house to go to the grocery store that is six blocks away and I can walk to.  There are a lot of people in that building.

I get laughed at hard.

These graham crackers are worth making, even with my adaptions.  They start out crisp but if you keep them to long, the soften.  Even in an air tight container.  Quite lovely with a cup of tea and I am going to have to make some for our next driving trip.  I need to find a plain cracker, or biscuit as it has come to be referred to here, that I can make that will go well with cheese.  That is the next biscuit search.

graham crackers

Note:  Adapted from Breadfarm's Graham Cracker recipe on the SAVEUR website. I also cut the recipe in half when I made it because I was making a 6 inch cheesecake.  It worked well.

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, not stone ground.  I used a combination of heritage and organic

1/4 cup all purpose flour

5 teaspoons wheat bran

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup unrefined sugar, I used a Mexican brand I like

2 tablespoons honey

In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and honey together until light and there are no butter lumps.  In a medium bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together.  Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and stir together until it becomes a ball.  

On a lightly floured counter, split the ball in half.  Roll it out to be about a 12 inch by 16 inch rectangle and 1/8 of an inch thick.  Place on a parchment covered baking sheet.  Cover with parchment paper.  Due the same with the other half of the dough.  Put in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

Remove from the freezer.  Pull off the top parchment paper.  Prick the crackers all over.  Cut into two inch squares.  Freeze for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Take the cookies of the freezer.  Have an extra baking sheet covered with parchment paper standing by.  Separate the cookies and put on the baking sheets.  There should be about 1 1/2 inches between each but all the freezer time will help them not to spread.  Put back into the freezer for 15 minutes.

Bake for 14 minutes or until golden at the edges.  The go too brown fast so watch them.  Cool immediately.

Now there are crackers.  For eating with tea or for doing crazy things like making cheese cake.

Pumpkin cheese cake actually.  So worth the effort!