Olive Oil Wheat Crackers

It was day two of the week long vacation and I was half way done with pleasing the young ones with these Vanilla Bean Cupcakes. I was enjoying totally basking in the warmth of the attention and the affection which I got in return from them.   Though I found myself highly busy on the very first day, I was equally enjoying being on my toes.

So right after we finished our lunch and all the elders were ready for the afternoon nap, I heard a loud voice. It was my mommy to me. “What’s in afternoon tea time surprise today, honey?” And it occurred to me that why shouldn’t I bake her something which is acceptable to her palate. I have a very sweet tooth mouth actually which you might have guessed it right by now. Quite easy to know…huh? But my mommy, she is just the opposite. She likes her food intensely spicy, tangy; in nutshell completely full of Indian flavors.

I had previously thought of baking something sweet for the kids again, but then I changed my mind at last moment and opened my to-bake list and started to look down the list for something savory, snacky, which is perfect for tea time. And then my eyes stopped at these Olive Oil Crackers recipe from 101Cookbooks.

Original one is wonderful, but I needed to adjust it to my mother’s taste buds. So I adapted the recipe by adding some cayenne pepper and some paprika for color. I also adjusted the proportion of flour and added some leavening agent to it. And trust me, the adapted recipe did some great wonders.

Ingredients

100 gm plain flour
50 gm whole wheat flour
50 gm semolina flour
1 tsp baking powder
120 ml water
50 ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon paprika
cayenne pepper adjusted to taste
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp mixed dried herbs {oregano, thyme, rosemary}

Instructions

1. Mix all the ingredients together and knead into a ball of dough for 5 minutes.
2. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll into circular discs and wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 3o minutes.
3. Take out the dough from fridge, place between two large sheets of cling wrap and roll it using a rolling pin as thin as you can. It’s nice tip to roll this kind of dough by placing it between two sheets of cling wraps. This helps avoid using extra flour for dusting over the work surface.
4. Cut into any shapes you like. Place them on to a baking tray lined with parchment paper and prick them using a fork to prevent from puffing up.
5. Brush lightly with olive oil and bake for 8-10 minutes in a 220 degree Celsius preheated oven or until golden brown in color.
6. Once cooled, serve them with any kind of dip or cheese you like.