150g/+5oz Rice Flour
1/2 teasp Salt
1 teasp finely ground Mustard Seed
75g/3oz Butter
175g/6oz Mature Cheddar Cheese, grated
2 Egg Yolks
30ml/1fl.oz. Water
Sea Salt for the tops (optional)
Instructions
1. Place 3/4 of the flour, salt and ground mustard in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
2. Rub or cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs then stir in the cheese.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolks and the water then add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and blend to form a dough, adding more of the reserved flour as needed, to make a workable dough. Wrap in greaseproof or parchment paper and chill for 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, Gas Mark 4.
5. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface (remember to use GF flour) to a square approximately 1cm/1/2 inch thick. This may take a little patience as the dough may be stiff and a little difficult to work.
6. Cut the square into 4 quarters and gently lift each of the squares one at a time and, without rotating them, stack them on top of each other. Roll it out again and repeat the process two more times, rolling the dough to 3mm/ 1/8 inch thick on the last rolling. This process makes for a flakier biscuit.
7. Sprinkle top lightly with the sea salt and roll lightly with the rolling pin.
8. With a sharp knife cut the dough into 5cm/2 inch squares and place them on un-greased baking sheets. Prick each square a couple of times with a fork and bake for about 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack
2006-08-11 23:40:18
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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Ingredients
2 C fine rice flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (more or less, to taste)
1 tsp. finely ground mustard seed
6 tbsp. (3/4 C) butter, cut into small pieces, and softened
12 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp. water
Additional salt to top the crackers (optional)
In a food processor or large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, cayenne pepper, and ground mustard. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Mix in the cheese, and blend until the cheese is evenly coated.
In a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolks and the water. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and blend to form a dough that will hold together in a cohesive ball. Add more flour if needed to make a workable dough; it should be mostly cohesive but somewhat crumbly. Divide dough into two equal portions and flatten into discs about inches thick; wrap each in plastic wrap and chill for about one hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
On a lightly-floured surface or pastry cloth, roll out a dough disc into a circle approximately 1/2 inch thick. The dough will be somewhat crumbly; just do your best to keep sticking it together. Cut the dough circle into four equal segments. Without rotating each segment to align the cut and non-cut sides, stack the segments atop each other. Press the dough segments gently together, and re-flouring if necessary, roll the dough out again. Repeat the cutting, lifting, and rolling two more times. (It's this repeated stacking and rolling that gives the cracker its flaky, crisp layers.)
The last time you roll the dough, roll it to about 1/8-inch thickness. If desired, sprinkle top lightly with salt; press lightly into dough with rolling pin. Cut the dough into 1-inch squares; place them on an ungreased baking sheet. Prick each square once or twice with the tines of a fork.
Bake the crackers for about 8-10 minutes. If any crackers are browned through, remove them to a cooling rack. Turn the rest and bake an additional 5-8 minutes, or until medium to medium-dark brown. Cool on a rack; then store in an airtight container. Repeat the rolling, cutting, and baking for the second dough disc.
Notes: This recipe is highly flexible, as long as the cheese you use is not too wet (brie or other soft cheeses) or too dry (parmesan or romano, for example). Knowing how the dough should feel will help you gauge the likely success of your own experiments. A bit of salt helps boost the flavor of the crackers, but it can be reduced in the recipe, and omitted from the tops, without problems. Similarly, the cayenne pepper enhances the tang of the cheddar cheese, so I don't recommend omitting it altogether. To make these crackers a perfect accompaniment to a bowl of chili, omit the mustard powder, adjust the cayenne pepper to your taste, and add chili powder (or various components of chili powder, such as ground cumin seed, pepper, etc.).
First Variation -- Feta cheese crackers: Omit cayenne pepper and mustard powder. Substitute 12 oz. best-quality feta cheese, freshly crumbled fairly finely, for the cheddar. If desired, omit the salt and substitute some of the cheese's liquid (whey) for the salt and water. Dried, crumbled oregano or basil are excellent additions (start with about 1/4 tsp. and adjust to your taste). For a more Greek-style cracker, substitute lemon juice for the water (or a mix of the two), and add 1/4 tsp. dried, crumbled oregano and 1/4 tsp. black pepper to the dough.
Second Variation -- Mozzarella crackers: Omit cayenne pepper and mustard powder. Substitute 12 oz. freshly shredded mozzarella cheese for the cheddar. You can substitute up to around 1/2 C of parmesan and/or romano cheese for 1/2 C of the rice flour, if desired. Dried, crumbled thyme, oregano, and basil make excellent additions to this cracker. In fact, I once used this as an acceptable wheat-free pizza crust for a friend. I accomplished that by skipping the steps of dividing and repeatedly rolling out the dough. Instead, I rolled it into a "crust" of about 1/4-inch thickness, and prebaked it for about 15-20 minutes prior to topping it and baking the pizza. A good-flavored provolone cheese would be an excellent choice for a wheat-free pizza crust experiment as well.
2006-08-08 15:43:38
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answer #3
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answered by wittlewabbit 6
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