Cooking School- Whole Wheat Goldfish Crackers

I've mentioned before that I don't really buy any sort of premade snacks. Since I like to spend time in the kitchen, I figure it must be possible to make anything that is out there for snacking, at home.
My daughter asked me if we could make goldfish crackers and I knew that they had been made successfully by smitten kitchen, so I said of course!

These crackers really couldn't be easier. All you have to do is shred some cheese (which my kids love to do and I remember it being one of my favorite jobs when I was their age), put it in the food processor with a couple other ingredients, pulse until a dough forms, roll it out, cut out shapes or make it into squares and bake them up. I was really quite surprised at how easy this turned out to be. So easy in fact, that we made extra dough and have it in the freezer for the next time a craving hits.

And, you don't have to actually make these cheese crackers into goldfish shape. We ended up slicing some of the dough with a pizza cutter and just making them into squares as well. (although the goldfish are pretty cute!)
Here's my helper giving our goldfish their "eye" and smile

Here is the recipe for Whole Wheat Goldfish Crackers from smitten kitchen
* I used all white wheat flour in my goldfish
* if you are interested in buying a goldfish cookie cutter, the link is included with the recipe

Daring Bakers- Lavash Crackers and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

This month's Daring Bakers challenge was Lavash Crackers and Toppings. This fun challenge was hosted by Shel- Musings From the Fishbowl and Natalie-Gluten a Go Go. They decided to go with a savory challenge that was vegan and/or gluten free. We were free to choose the toppings for our lavash and also encouraged to use a favorite dip or topping. I chose garlic sea salt, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and cumin as the topping for my Lavash. I kinda just sprinkled some of it everywhere. The edge pieces of my lavash were nice and thin, which meant they were very crispy and the ones in the middle tasted more like a pita. It was nice to have a difference in the thickness and texture. I made a Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, but cheated and used some of the bottled peppers I had in the fridge. I didn't really measure anything for the hummus, I just threw it in the food processor and pureed it. It was good though!

I had a little Lavash left over that I had to trim for it to fit in the pan and so I sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar. That was my 1 year old's fave of the bunch. This was a fast recipe (except for the fermenting) to throw together and it disappeared quickly! Go see what the other Daring Bakers came up with this month by visiting the Daring Bakers Blogroll!

Lavash Crackers recipe taken from The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread, by Peter Reinhart
Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers

* 1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz) unbleached bread flour or gluten free flour blend (If you use a blend

without xanthan gum, add 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum to the recipe)

* 1/2 tsp (.13 oz) salt

* 1/2 tsp (.055 oz) instant yeast

* 1 Tb (.75 oz) agave syrup or sugar

* 1 Tb (.5 oz) vegetable oil

* 1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 Tb (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature

* Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for toppings

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, agave, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed. .

2.For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed. The dough should pass the windowpane test (see http://www.wikihow.com/Determine-if-Bread-Dough-Has-Been-Mixed-Long-Enough for a discription of this) and register 77 degrees to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).

4. For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax. At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes. When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment. Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment. If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough (such as alternating rows of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.) Be careful with spices and salt - a little goes a long way. If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough. You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking. If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.

6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).

7. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus adapted from Cooking Light

1 red bell pepper

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon tahini (sesame seed paste)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (19-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained

1 garlic clove, quartered

Preheat broiler.
Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 10 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel.
Place bell pepper and remaining ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth.

Homemade Animal Crackers

I saw this recipe on one of my favorite websites, The Cookie Cutter Shop and thought it would be a fun one to do with the kids.

I added some orange zest and cardamom to the dough and we glazed it with a powdered sugar, freshly squeezed orange juice, and orange zest combination.

Animal Crackers

1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup buttermilk
(1). Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grind oats until fine using a blender or food processor.
(2). In a medium bowl, stir together the blended oats, flour, baking soda and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or your fingers until the butter lumps are smaller than peas. Stir in the buttermilk and honey to form a stiff dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto cookie sheets.
(3). Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, until edges are lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Makes about 60 crackers