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Cheese Caraway Seed Crackers

by:
January  7, 2016
4.5
2 Ratings
Photo by adinab
  • Makes lots
Author Notes

These very cheesy crackers, sprinkled with caraway seeds or salt or even sesame seeds, are the perfect appetizer for any party.
—adinab

Test Kitchen Notes

I like homemade crackers. They're infinitely more interesting than what you'll find in a supermarket aisle—so I was intrigued by this cracker recipe. I needed to add two more ounces of butter to the dough in order to be able to roll it out; the resulting crackers were crisp and fragile, and very rich. I’d recommend serving with a beer. —Timothy

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Ingredients
  • 8.8 ounces grated Gouda or cheddar cheese
  • 7 ounces very cold butter, cubed
  • 7 ounces all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 egg, whisked
  • Caraway seeds, to sprinkle (or sesame seeds or flaky salt)
Directions
  1. Place everything (minus the egg and seeds) in a food processor and pulse a few times until combined and crumbly. Taste the pastry and add more salt if you wish; it should be on the saltier side. Form a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
  3. Roll the pastry on a floured surface (it is easier to do this in 2 batches) and cut the pastry into 1- x 2-inch rectangles using a very sharp knife. Place the crackers onto the baking trays and brush them with the whisked egg. Sprinkle them with caraway seeds.
  4. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
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1 Review

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JJ October 22, 2017
I've made 2 batches of these this week using sharp cheddar! I love them. I'll include my notes, for what they are worth:

-I prefer these rolled to 1/8th of an inch (4mm) and baked for 11-14 minutes. The instruction to bake for 20 minutes work if you roll them to about 1/4 inch. I've tried rolling on a floured surface and rolling between sheets of parchment and didn't notice a significant difference in the result. I divided the dough into 3 equal parts. Note that if you want to roll yours thinner than 1/4 inch you should stir them or at least rotate the pan halfway thru baking.
-The headlining Food52 reviewer added extra butter to make the dough come together- I added 1-2 oz water instead and rolled and folded a few times to distribute the layers of gluten. Mine turned out pretty much as pictured.
-I don't own a food processor, but finely grating the cheese and rubbing in the chunks of butter worked fine and didn't add much time at all. I used a pizza wheel to cut the rolled dough into rectangular pieces quickly.
-Caraway and salt (I used kosher) on top make these extra special. I tried egg wash on the top to help them adhere, but I actually prefer brushing on a careful, thin layer of water to keep the flavor and texture where I preferred - toasted flour/butter flavors as opposed to a slight cooked egg taste. With thin crackers that little brushed on egg makes a difference!

The flavor is definitely similar to a Cheez-it, but these are much butterier, more delicate and mild, with a special little crispy crunch. And a much prettier, puffier aesthetic.

Thanks for the recipe, adinab!