Sourdough Spelt and Millet Crackers

I’m continuing my quest to use up the flour in my freezer, and find new ways to incorporate sourdough. It gives me an excuse to experiment with new cracker combinations. So far, my experiments have been successful.

This time I made Sourdough Spelt and Millet Crackers. I created a spelt levain and paired it with millet, a gluten-free flour. The millet gives the crackers a unique crunch. The tops of the crackers are sprinkled with sesame seeds which adds to the crunchy texture.

Daisy and Perry, my parakeets, would’ve loved these crackers. Alas, they aren’t here to test them so I’ll just have to remember their sweet little chirps while I enjoy these seedy crackers.

Instead of using discarded sourdough in these crackers, I used a tablespoon of a mature starter from the refrigerator and mixed it with flour and water to create a levain. If you prefer to use discarded sourdough, use 2/3 to 1 cup of discarded sourdough and follow the directions below for creating the dough.

 

Sourdough Spelt and Millet Crackers

Ingredients:

Levain:

• 1 tablespoon mature starter
• 50 grams (scant 1/2 cup) all-purpose Spelt flour
• 50 grams (scant 1/2 cup) whole grain Spelt flour
• 100 grams (scant 1/2 cup) water

Final Dough:

• 1 – 1 1/4 cups millet flour
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon water, more if necessary
• Seeds for sprinkling on top of crackers (I used sesame seeds)

 

Directions:

1) Mix the levain and let it sit overnight at room temperature (70 to 75 degrees F.)

2) The next day, add the coconut oil to the levain and mix using a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk. Add in the flour, salt, and water, and mix well.

3) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 8 hours or up to 24 hours. The dough will become clay-like during it’s rest in the refrigerator.

 

4) After 8 hours (or the next day), take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it warm up to room temperature before using.

5) Once the dough is room temperature and workable, divide it into 2 equal balls.  Place one ball on parchment paper sprayed with olive oil.

 

6) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll the dough out onto the parchment paper, brush it with olive oil, sprinkle with sesame seeds or the seeds of your choice, and a little kosher salt (optional), and cut the crackers using a pizza wheel. The crackers will separate during baking.

 

7) Repeat the rolling/cutting/sprinkling process with the other dough ball. Slide baking pans underneath the cracker dough on the parchment paper.

8) Place one pan of crackers on the middle rack and the other pan on the bottom rack. Bake the crackers at 350 degrees F. for 10-15 minutes. Rotate the pans top-to-bottom, and front-to-back and bake 10-15 minutes more, or until browned. Watch the crackers, particularly during the last few minutes, and remove any browned crackers from the outside.

9) Remove the pans from the oven and let the crackers cool slightly on a wire rack.

 

These crackers taste best warm from the oven.

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

 

You might also enjoy some Einkorn and Barley Crackers.