Olive oil crackers

There are times when austerity and economy are good kitchen partners. These crackers come from Ottolenghi's excellent cookbook, and not only look impressive - they do - but they are incredible to eat. More refined if you use white flour, but a mixture of white and wholemeal is not a bad idea. Last time, I added a heaped teaspoon of chopped rosemary needles to the dough. Recommended.

Worrying about neatness when rolling here is not the point - the more irregular, the better. The blistered tongue shape is integral to their charm and each one should be unique. Rustic is good. Cheap is good. Embrace it.    

Olive oil crackers

From Ottolenghi the Cookbook. By all means, use the dough hook on your free-standing mixer. Lugging out the mixer each time I fancy a cracker seems ludicrous, so I find that making them by hand is just as successful and only slightly more work. My mixer, bought for looks rather than functionality, is bloody heavy.

Sift 250g of flour with 1 teaspoon of baking powder over a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in 125ml of water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Work to a dough, then turn out and knead on a very lightly floured bench until smooth. Wrap in clingfilm or a clean tea towel and rest in the fridge for 1 hour. 

Set your oven to 220 C. Line a baking sheet with non-stick paper.

Dust the bench and keep the flour close to hand. Using a serrated knife, cut off walnut-sized knobs and roll them out in long, very thin tongues - you've no doubt seen how thin sheets of pasta need to be rolled, so use that as a guide. Dust heavily with flour as you go. Arrange on the baking sheet, brush liberally (go on) with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake in batches for 6-8 minutes with an eagle eye on the clock. Pale gold is good; deep gold is burnt. 

Cool on a rack and try not to eat too many.

Comments

[Callipygia]

Oh Lucy, I will try these within the week. Who knew that I'd long for some blistered tongues? Hope you're not getting too burnt yourself with summer! XX to you-

[chelsea]

simple, frugal and delicious? Yes, please.

[Lisa]

Gorgeous! Just gorgeous! I must try these. I know what you mean about the mixer. Mine is heavy too and there is something rather charming about mixing dough by hand, which I usually do.

Hope you are well.

[Anh]

Love the photos, Lucy. The recipe looks beautiful. Will make it soon, probably with a sprinkle of cumin seeds.

[sophie munns]

These do look wonderful Lucy!

I am even going to try them before long... used to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and inviting people to the table... tooo busy now but these make me want to get in the kitchen... so thank you for that!
S

[Maman]

Look good! Are they a bit like those Spanish "thingos" we bought in DJ's before Christmas?

[rachel]

Captured.
Making these this weekend.

[tinned tomatoes]

Bloomin' brilliant Lucy! I am making these tomorrow. I cna't wait to bite into one or two or... :)

[Duncan]

Great! I've been looking for useful cracker recipes in recent months. Need something to snack on which isn't too bready:)

[Lucy]

Calli: So good. So, so good. I hope you like them, too. Am well - summer hasn't been quite as horrific as last year. I owe you an email...XX

Chelsea: Who need more, right?

Lisa: I nearly break my back each time it comes out...I am well. And you?

Anh: Brilliant thought!

Sophie: I didn't mention it in the post, but you can make the dough and tear off as many pieces as you need, keeping the remaining quantity in the fridge for up to a week. Hope you have some fun with them.

Maman: Sorta, but more like long Italian things. Those Spanish ones are deep fried...which is why we can't get enough of 'em!

Rachel: Hope you love 'em.

Jacqueline: The crunch is seriously good, on these!

Duncan: Hello, you. Yep, I'm not a bread girl, but I am a cracker girl and these make anyone you make them for think you are a genius. Think we all need recipes like that.

[another outspoken female]

Oh boy these look great. Can't wait to see what variations you play with. Will try them when my elbow heals!

[Meghan (Making Love In The Kitchen)]

Those looks so fantastic and profesh! Wonder how I might tackle them with gluten-free flour.

[Lucy]

AOF: Crushed fennel seeds would be so good. Must try that this weekend.

Meghan: I know! You feel rather chuffed with yourself when you see how pretty they are, all lined up on the rack. Not sure how they'd fare without gluten, but I'd be really keen to hear how you go if you succeed.

[rachel]

three times in the last week....three, we have voted these crackers our favourite crackers ever. I love making them too, getting better each time.
Wrote about them too, hope that is ok.
thankyou for the recipe and your inspiring way xx
fennel seeds ummmmmm intresting

[Molly]

Oh, yes, Ottolenghi's so lovely! The addition of rosemary's brilliant, I can taste it.

[Lucy]

Yay Rachel!

Hi Molly, never been, but long to visit Ottolenghi now. Rosemary is going mad in my garden at the moment. Going to make some more tonight.

[Popular Blogs]

I've been looking for a good olive oil recipe, thanks! Really cool pictures too.

[Lucy]

Hi Popular Blogs - really? You've been having trouble finding a recipe for olive oil? Something tells me you're a spambot.

You're on notice...

[olive oil packaging]

That looks very healthy and guilt-free.

[Noelle Dineen]

Since I was diagnosed with Diabetes, I've been so conscious with the foods that I eat. At first, it was hard for me to eat healthy foods because I got used to eating sinful foods. But now, there are clean eating diet recipes that tastes great without that guilty feeling inside. Clean eating recipes are the ones that I'm addicted to and because of that, I can maintain my sugar level well.

[Alfred Whittman]

Our family loves eating olive oil crackers. I don't know why, but it just tastes great. Since we've moved in to Calgary five years ago, we've been giving importance to holistic nutrition. We want to keep ourselves healthy and we want to live longer and happy, that's why we always watch what we eat.