Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

3 c Hard whole wheat flour, or
More as necessary
1 ts Salt
1 1/2 c Warm water
Optional toppings:
Grated Parmesan
Cayenne
Coarse salt
Sesame seeds
Cumin seed

You will need a food processor, several 10- by 14-inch baking sheets
or pizza pans, a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, and a clean spray
bottle.

Place the flour and salt in a food processor and process for 10
seconds to mix thoroughly. With the motor running, add the water in a
steady stream, then process for 10 seconds longer. The dough should
have formed into one large ball; if not, feel the dough: If it feels
very sticky, add 3 to 4 tablespoons more flour and process briefly
until a ball forms. If the dough feels dry and floury, start the
processor again, add 2 to 3 tabespoons more water, and process until
a ball of dough forms.

Once you have a ball of dough, process for 1 minute more, no longer.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 30
seconds or so. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees, and place two racks near the center
of the oven.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Work with one piece at a time,
leaving the other pieces covered. On a lightly floured surface, with
lightly floured hands, flatten a piece of dough with your palms. Then
roll it out to a very thin rectangle or round, as even a thinness as
possible to ensure even cooking. Gently lift the dough from your
rollling surface and place it on a large baking sheet or pizza pan.
Sprinkle on one of the optional toppings or leave plain. Using a
knife or a pizza cutter, cut through the dough to make rectangular
crackers. (Don=t worry if they are not all exactly the same size.
Variations in size and flavor will make your crackers interesting.)
Spray the dough lightly with water and place on the upper oven rack.

Begin rolling out the next piece of dough, keeping an eye on the
crackers already baking. (Crackers brown from underneath.) Check on
them 2 1/2 to 3 minutes after they go in. As soon as the thinnest
patches of the dough have started to brown, take them out. If
necessary, continue baking, checking every 30 seconds, but it is
better to take the crackers out a little early than too late.

You will soon get a feel for timing and degree of doneness. Variables
that affect timing are the heat of your oven and how thin you managed
to roll out your dough. When they come out of the oven, some of the
crackers will be crisp, while others will need a little time in the
air to crisp up. Transfer to a large bowl, breaking up any
incompletely separated crackers. Roll out the remaining dough,
season, and bake. When completely cool, crackers can be stored in a
well-sealed plastic bag or cookie tins for up to a month.

Yield: Approximately 13 dozen very thin crackers of varying size,
averaging 1 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches

BAKERS' DOZEN ALFORD AND DUGUID SHOW #BD1A30

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