By Ivy Manning

Flax Seed Pizza Crackers

MAKES 40 CRACKERS

These grain-free crackers are made with soaked flax seeds, almond flour (or coconut flour) and garbanzo bean flour to create a healthy, protein-rich snack with an Italian pizza-like flavor. Good eaten by the handful, they also shine when topped with slices of gluten-free hard Italian salami and roasted red peppers.

½ cup golden flax seeds
⅓ cup hot tap water, more if needed
⅓ cup chopped oil-packed sundried tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon oil from sundried tomatoes or extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
4 large fresh basil leaves
1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup almond flour (or ½ cup + 2 tablespoons blanched, slivered almonds, ground in food processor) or ½ cup + 2 table-spoons coconut flour*
½ cup garbanzo bean flour

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper so that they fit neatly into a rimmed baking sheet (each parchment piece should be about 11x16 inches); set aside.

2. Place the flax seeds and hot water in a food processor bowl and let them soak until the mixture is gelatinous, about 15 minutes.

3. Add the sundried tomatoes, yeast, oil, garlic, basil, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Process until mixture becomes a gummy batter, about 30 seconds, stopping a few times to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Add the almond flour and garbanzo bean flour and pulse until the mixture comes together into a sticky ball, about 20 pulses.

5. Turn the dough out onto one of the pieces of parchment paper. With damp fingertips, pat the dough out into a 6x6-inch square. Cover the dough with the second piece of parchment paper and roll it out to the edges of the parchment paper into an 11x6-inch rectangle (the dough should be about 1/16-inch thick), picking up the top piece of parchment once or twice to make sure there are no creases in the surface of the dough. It’s okay if the rectangle does not have perfect edges or if a bit of dough squishes out the side of the paper; reserve it for patching.

6. Remove the top layer of parchment paper and use the reserved scraps of dough to patch any empty edges or corners, pressing with damp fingertips to smooth the dough into shape. Using a pastry wheel or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 2-inch squares. Keeping the dough on the parchment paper, transfer both dough and parchment paper to a baking sheet.

7. Place in preheated oven and bake, rotating baking sheet once, until the crackers are firm to the touch around the edges and starting to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove the firm crackers from the baking sheet and transfer them to a cooling rack.

8. Move around the undone crackers so they are evenly spaced on the baking sheet and continue to bake, watching carefully, until the edges begin to brown and the crackers are firm to the touch, about 8 to 10 minutes more. (The centers of the thickest crackers may feel a little puffy; the crackers will continue to firm up as they cool).

9. Once cool, store the crackers in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

Each cracker contains 34 calories, 2g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 69mg sodium, 2g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 1g protein.

*TIP If using coconut flour, you may need more water to make the dough sticky.

 

Ivy Manning (ivymanning.com) is author of The Farm to Table Cookbook, The Adaptable Feast (Chronicle Books) and the forthcoming Crackers and Dips (Chronicle, Spring 2013). She is a columnist for Oregonian Food Day and teaches whole-grain cooking and baking classes at Bob’s Red Mill in Portland, Oregon.