Homemade Herb Spelt Crackers are a hearty dense cracker with spelt flour, herbs and yogurt for snacks or a rustic charcuterie platter.
What Is Spelt?
Spelt is an ancient grain, of the wheat family, but has a stronger husk and earthier, somewhat nuttier flavor.
This rustic hearty grain first originated in the Middle East and has always made for a beautiful flat pita bread.
When pita bread is made from a denser flour, then the highly processed white flour, it holds up better when used to scoop up food.
Mediterranean Homemade Crackers
We, here in America, like to think of crackers as an American food, but in essence it is actually an ancient food.
The Middle East, in particular, often serves meals, such as a Lamb Tajine and Persian Walnut Stew, without forks.
The same is true of serving a variety of plant spreads, such as hummus or baba ganoush, which are not served with a knife to spread onto flatbread.
Flatbread, pita and crackers (which are in essence a flatbread), are used to scoop food from communal plates and eaten with fingers instead of tableware.
A solid, firm piece of flatbread or cracker makes it easier to eat a meal without it becoming soggy in the food. Spelt crackers are perfect for this type of cuisine.
Herb Spelt Crackers
If truth be known about me, my greatest weakness in food is bread and crackers. For this reason I experiment often with a variety of types of breads and crackers.
Sometimes I like to diverge from the mundane ingredients in my pantry and splurge! This ancient whole grain flour, rich in calcium, magnesium, iron, and manganese, as well as flavor, was just the detour I was looking for.
Since spelt flour is not processed in the way so many of our bleached white wheat flour is, it is still rich in fiber. It makes for a very rustic loaf of bread and hearty crackers.
Spelt and herbs, used in a dough, adds depth to a hearty breakfast muffin, diverse flavor to a flat bread, and definitely becomes the star of a cracker. You will never want a plain ole white cracker again!
Why Use Herbs In Homemade Baking Recipes?
While creating this recipe, I wanted a rustic artisan cracker that would complement my cheese tray.
Since I always keep a pot of fresh herbs growing either outside or in a window in winter, I will add rosemary or sage to the cracker dough.
Both herbs bake beautifully in a cracker or bread because they impart their own natural oils to the dough.
Those natural oils are loaded with flavor, and the only thing needed to enhance their flavors is just a sprinkling of salt on top before baking.
Homemade Herb Crackers
Charcuterie board, after school snacks or cocktail hour treats all deserve to have a hearty cracker that isn’t pasty flour and water with no substance.
Making homemade crackers is so easy, you couldn’t scoot over to the market to buy a box of crackers faster than you could whip up a huge batch at home.
Toss any of your favorite dried or fresh herbs into the recipe for flavors that speak to you, or simply use the suggested herbs I often make my homemade crackers with.
For a video demonstration of making Homemade Crackers, see below. But if you already know how to make crackers, here is the recipe for these crunchy Spelt Crackers.
For a variety of other options and ideas for making Homemade Crackers with a variety of flour or herb suggestions, the options are endless and all delicious.
Homemade Herb and Spelt Breads
While crackers are considered a flatbread, perhaps using only a dash of baking powder, yeast breads require time for the yeast to rise the dough.
Spelt flour can be a heavy flour for a yeast dough, and so my favorite secret to making the dough rise fast, is to use potato water instead of just plain water.
Adding the herbs to the potato water, to allow their essence to be released before adding the spelt flour, brings out the most in the herbs you choose to use.
When making a quick bread, using spelt bread, baking powder is the leavening agent, and they rise and cook beautifully.
Here are just a few of my favorite homemade spelt breads:
- Ginger Molasses Spelt Quick Bread – an easy, quick muffin type bread
- Spelt Potato Sandwich Bread – a perfect bread to hold up to many sandwiches
- Spelt and Kefir Yeast Bread – the use of kefir in this bread rises it quickly and enhances its nutrients
- Turkish Simit Bread – a beautifully sesame coated bread, often a street food
Ingredients Needed
- Spelt flour
- Kefir or yogurt
- Oil, olive, coconut or avocado
- Salt
- Dried herbs, rosemary, oregano or thyme
- Water
Equipment Needed
- Mixing bowl with hand mixer or food processor
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Cookie sheet
- Parchment paper
- Pizza cutter
- Oven
Homemade Herb Spelt Crackers
Ingredients
- Spelt flour – 1 1/2 cups
- Kefir or yogurt – 1/2 cup
- Oil – 3 tbsp, any oil of choice, extra to finish
- Salt – 1/2 tsp
- Coarse salt – to sprinkle on top (optional)
- Dried herbs – 1 tbsp, oregano, rosemary or thyme
- Water – 1/4 cup, give or take
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425
- Mix all the ingredients together with a hand mixer or food processor, until it come together into a ball.
- If dry, add water, if wet, add flour.
- Roll out to about 1/4 inch. Cut in shapes to your desire with a pizza cutter. Brush lightly with oil. Sprinkle with salt.
- Bake on parchment paper lined cookie sheet for about 20-minutes, or until golden.
- Charcuterie board, after school snacks or cocktail hour treats all deserve to have a hearty cracker that isn’t pasty flour and water with no substance.
Nutrition
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.
Mmm they look great! How did you get the cool bumpy edges?
Thanks! A cool little gadget, like a mini pizza wheel with funny edges 😉