Sourdough Crackers with a Gentle Tang

I had heard that in Scandinavia they make crackers with sourdough — that they have sourdough's particular gentle acidity, a good level of salt, and a proper crispness. On that alone, I decided to make some.

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Step 1 — Making the dough

I have never made crackers before. I skimmed a few recipes online and worked from a rough sense of how it ought to go.

Ingredients:

• Starter (bread flour)20g
• Starter (rye and whole wheat)20g
• Plain flour60g
• Olive oil2 tbsp
• Water1 tbsp
• Sugar7g
• Salt3g

1. Put the measured plain flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix until evenly combined.

2. Add the olive oil to the bowl and mix roughly with chopsticks or a spoon until the flour and oil form coarse crumbs.

3. Mix the measured starter and water together well, then pour them into the bowl.

4. Mix thoroughly until it forms a single mass. Once it has, cover it and rest the dough for about an hour.

5. It is stiffer and less willing to stretch than a sourdough bread dough, but do four or five proper stretch and folds.

6. Ferment at room temperature for two to three hours and the dough turns smooth and soft.

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Step 2 — Shaping the crackers

1. Move the dough to the work surface and roll it out firmly with a rolling pin, to about 2–3mm thick.

2. Cover it and rest it in the fridge for one to two hours to ferment.

3. Cut into pieces of whatever size you like and prick the surface with a fork.

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Step 3 — Baking the crackers

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Once it is up to temperature, brush the surface of the dough with olive oil.

2. Bake at 200°C for 15 to 20 minutes.