Rye and Flax crackers

Lexicographic virtuoso, radio-dramaturge, and cracker-spokesperson Nahum Stutchkoff made a series of radio spots for Manischewitz Tam-tam crackers. His tagline “America is a land of crackers” regrettably gains in translation some painful ambiguity absent in the Yiddish original.

I think about Stutchkoff every time I eat crackers, and of course, when I make my own. I made these rye crackers because I had sprouted rye berries left over from making rejuvelac. They are better than potato chips—wonderfully crispy and salty. They are also wheat-free (but not gluten-free), and while I baked them, you could probably prepare the same recipe in a dehydrator if you wanted to go the live/raw-foods route. I will be sprouting rye berries to make them again, possibly skipping the rejuvelac middleman, or possibly not.

Rye and Flax crackers

1 cup sprouted rye berries, made by soaking ½ cup raw rye berries or leftover from making rejuvelac

2 tablespoons flax seeds soaked overnight in 2 tablesppons water

2 tablespoons rejuvelac, or water, or a tiny bit more, as needed

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon caraway seeds

Grind up the rye berries, flax seeds, and salt in a processor, scraping down the sides several times. Add the liquid and blend to a thick paste. Stir in the caraway.

Place a sheet of baking parchment on a half-sheet pan (one 12-by-17 span or two smaller pans) using an offset spatula, spread the rye-paste over the paper to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Bake in an oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. Allow the giant cracker to cool to room temperature, and then break it up and peel off the paper. This is just perfect with vegan hemp seed and cashew cheese (recipe pending), soups, or whatever else you do with crackers.

See Kalyn’s roundup of Weekend Herb Blogging for other crackling creations.

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