I heard that if you mix flaxseeds with an equal amount of water, let it hydrate, spread it thin, and bake it in a low oven, you’ll get light, crispy, and surprisingly tasty crackers. I heard right.
I generally like to leave eating seeds to the birds, but
these have a very mild nutty/earthy flavor, and while quite light, they’re
still study enough to use with your favorite dips and spreads. Above and beyond
the taste, I find that these start to lose their crispiness after about a day,
so if you make them ahead of time, I’d re-crisp them in the oven again for
maybe 30 minutes to dry them back out.
Also, please feel free to season these more creatively than
I did. Although a plain cracker is perfect for pairing with a slice of cheese,
I can’t help but think there are so many other ways these could’ve been
spiced-up. Regardless of what you add to yours, I really hope you give them a
try soon. Enjoy!
PLEASE NOTE: I've been told that whole flax seeds are not fully digestible, and to get the health benefits you should use flaxseed meal, but other sources are telling me that the soaking, and chewing takes care of that, maybe. Probably not a big deal unless you're going to eat a whole batch, but consider yourself warned if you are sensitive to high-fiber foods!
Ingredients for 32 Flaxseed Crackers:
Ingredients for 32 Flaxseed Crackers:
1 cup raw flax seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
pinch of cayenne
1 cup cold water
- Soak overnight, then bake at 200 F. for 3 hours, or until
crispy.
13 comments:
Hi Chef John,
This does look pretty fun and easy :) a quick question, as you basically got the jam (jelly to Americans I guess?) texture, would this be doable with chia? I ask as we have a ton of this at home and am wondering if you could do the same thing.
Chef John,
I have to share, sorry this isn't about crackers But I just ate the BEST BREAKFAST EVER!!! The flavors and technique I learned here are so astoundingly surprisingly good it will blow you away!
So last night I made another fantastic and fabulous pumpkin pie (becasue I had extra roast pumpkin) "Look Ma no cracks" No I didn't have pie for breakfast but I did have three egg whites reserved from the baking.
Do you Remember Buddha's Hand? This isn't about that either, but the reserved simple syrup that remains after candying the critter. I have some left over after I made some candy gifts last week. Do you see where this is going?
Three egg whites,beaten into a low foam, pour in some reserved Buddha's Hand simple syrup. You know, 'about that much ought to be good - OK, maybe another drizzle more'. Then I used the French Omelet technique - Guess who I learned that from? But low heat, it is egg whites after all. Anyway before the gentile scramble add little kosher salt and pepper and just as it was ready to fold I had some shredded cheddar Jack cheese that I sprinkled across the top (it needed a little splash of color and the cheese can help glue it together, is is just egg whites you know) Tri-fold, butter up and place seam side down.
If this isn't the best ever, most tasty, light egg white breakfast you've ever had, call me and I'll come over to eat yours too. Trust me you wont have to call its lick the plate good! The sweet citrus flavor from the Buddha's Hand is an absolute perfect element to add. OUT OF THIS WORLD GOOD!
Enjoy,
Paula (Albany NY)
PS. You better share some with Michelle!
Hello Chef John, If you haven't already could you please address the phrase "overnight"? Often one hears people say "soak overnight" or "marinate overnight" or whatever. An hour amount might help say if one were to mix these flax seeds and water in the morning and want to bake them in the afternoon or evening. So for example, how long did you actually soak them? From 10pm to 10am? 12 hours? What? Could a person soak them from 10am to 10pm then? This would help.
Thanks for listening and for your great blogs/videos.
Joel Mort
Jamaica Plain, MA
I soaked and wrapped mine at about 8:30am this morning. Would they be ready to spread and bake by the time I get home at around 6:00pm?
Since you're so adventurous, how about trying to make some tasty dish or concoction featuring Vegemite/Marmite?
Flax seeds must be broken in order to get the health benefits, you are correct. However, flat seeds lose any health benefits after am hour of being cracked or ground. Your teeth are supposed to crack them...that or a food processor right before eating them.
So your whole seed crackers are just the ticket! Hope this helps.
Would it make sense to partially grind some amount of the seeds in a spice grinder or the like so as to break them open and make their nutrients more available?
Flaxseeds are very tasty. Undigestible? I'm not sure about that, but what I am sure of is that, well let's just say you need to drink plenty of water to get the high fiber benefits. Otherwise, they have the opposite effect. Can't believe I just posted that. Haha! Regardless, these look wonderful and very easy. Can't wait to try them. Thanks, as always, Chef John.
The seeds have a high level of abrasive fibre and soluble fibre. Colonic cancer results from not having enough abrasive fibre, soluble fibre can help with blood sugar and blood fat. These crackers could save your life.
Hello Chef John ! For a lack of a better communication medium, I'll be leaving my message in this comment, which isn't necessarily about the flax seed cracker recipe. Anyway, I absolutely love your phuns! I usually find myself trying to make my own "Be the X of your Y" jokes but they're nowhere near as funny as yours. Additionally, I really enjoy hearing you, there's just something about the way you speak, maybe it's the lack of slangs, or the classy words you use that just captivates me ! I can't help but state how many videos I've watched, and whenever I do, it makes me feel at home and relaxed. Lastly, maybe you could try making some Brazilian "Brigadeiros", which is basically done by reducing the already condensed, condensed milk plus not much, but a fair amount of some sort of cocoa powder. Kids do it with those chocolate powder meant to be added to milk. The now classy and fine way is using pure cocoa powder. Both are the same deal, add to the reducing consed milk and when dense, let it cool down and finally, roll a spoon worth to a ball and throw some granulated chocolate or more cocoa powder as to coat the outside. By the way, they're famously too sweat for non-brazilians !
Hi, Chef John. I made these and they turned out way too salty as to be inedible. I checked some similar recipes and they all used much less salt, like 1/4 tsp vs 3/4 tsp that you have posted.
Is it a missprint?
Chef John, really like the videos and have learned a lot. Tried to find a way to contact you privately, but couldn't. As a former broadcaster and PR professional ( had Mr. Food as a client), the videos would be much better if you got some voice coaching. It is very common with amateurs in front of a microphone to be "sing songy." Sorry, but you've got it bad and it distracts from the video. The content and your personal asides are great! Just need a little work on delivery. Best of luck!
Chef John,
Regarding the flaxseed crackers, would there be an added benefit to the nutritional value of the final outcome if we sprout the flaxseed?
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