Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Homemade Graham Crackers


I found this recipe for homemade graham crackers on the blog Zoe Bakes, and was immediately intrigued. I love the idea of making my own foods, especially foods that are typically bought - things like crackers. So I bookmarked it and planned on giving it a try. Now, a few months later, I finally got around to it!

Today, Jeff and I celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. I like to cook up really special food in the kitchen for special occasions like this, and I had a particular dessert in mind. But this recipe needed a graham cracker crust, and I was out of graham crackers! Rather than run out to the store I remembered the recipe to make my own, so here they are - my very own homemade graham crackers!


Homemade Graham Crackers
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup graham flour (whole wheat)
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter (or margarine)
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup water
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all the ingredients in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix until smooth and well combined, scraping down the bowl to make sure the butter is not stuck to the sides. (I don't have a stand mixer, so I used my little hand-held mixer as long as I could, then finished mixing by hand. Don't worry, my hands were clean!)

Spread the graham cracker dough onto a piece of parchment or a silpat. (I used cling wrap, since I don't have parchment paper)

Lay another piece of parchment or wax paper over the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin, until about an 1/8-inch thick. The thinner you get it the crisper the crackers and quicker they will bake.

Peel off the top parchment and transfer the bottom parchment with dough onto a cookie sheet. (For this, I peeled off the top sheet of cling wrap, inverted the rolled-out dough onto the baking sheet, then peeled off the second sheet of cling wrap. When I rolled the dough, I did it on top of a cutting board so I could invert the dough)

Bake for about 8 minutes and then turn the cookie sheet around and bake for another 5-8 minutes. (If you want them to break into even squares, then score the dough with a fork midway through baking.) The crackers should be golden brown.

Cool on a rack. Once the cracker is cool you can break up into pieces.


I think I rolled my dough a little too thick this time - the crackers were softer than I would have liked. But they tasted like graham crackers, and they ground up in the food processor just fine. Why did I grind them into crumbs? Well, you'll just have to stay tuned, won't you! Later tonight or tomorrow I'll be posting this fabulous dessert recipe, plus the recipe for another great dish I've made for tonight. But I can't post them yet - we haven't even eaten them yet!

6 comments:

Jenny said...

How fun is that?!! I've never even thought of making homemade grahams! They look great!

Barbara Bakes said...

Happy anniversary! How clever!

Southern Plate said...

Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, OH! You have hit on something with me here, I mean, HIT ON SOMETHING BIG!
Graham Crackers are my ultimate comfort food. If I ever get really sick, thats all I want, graham crackers and apple juice.I am certain that is something from my childhood because of my unusual attachment to them and I realize I probably sound pretty silly just going on and on about how much better they make me feel when I am sick but still....
Its just like your mama coming to your house and taking care of you again!!!

I love graham crackers. I simply must make these. Oh my, oh my, oh my.
This is like finding a bar of gold for me...
Thank you!
Christy
P.S. Just in case you didn't guess, I LOVE GRAHAM CRACKERS!

Zoe Francois said...

Your graham crackers look fantastic. I'm so thrilled that you used the recipe and it worked so well for you. I look forward to seeing what you have planned next!

Happy Anniversary!

RecipeGirl said...

Oh my gosh, you are terribly brave! What a fun task. If anything, just to get the fresh crumbs out of it is a neat idea :)

Jeanette said...

I so want to try this!