Daring Bakers Challenge, Sept. 2008, Lavash Crackers and Toppings

I was really excited when I saw the challenge for this month for the Daring Bakers. First of all I am really proud and happy to be a member of this large group of dedicated bakers who come from all over the world. Each month we all bake the same recipe as chosen by a member of the group and some of them are really very challenging. In belonging to this group I have been able to make and experience such wonderful delights such as French Bread, Swiss ButterCream and Choux pastry to name but a few, all from scratch and I am happy to say that I've been able to master each one as it has been presented. I just love belonging to the group as it challenges me and allows me to stretch and grow in the field that is one of my great loves . . . baking!

This month as you can tell from the title we were challenged to bake some Lavash crackers with a variety of toppings. Not only that but this month we are making Daring Bakers history as our September challenge is vegan and/or gluten free. As you can imagine belong to a baking group such as this makes for some pretty great challenges for those of us who are vegetarians and allergic to gluten amongst other things, so this was really special that finally we have a recipe that caters to those of our members who face this challenge in their daily lives! This month's challenge was chosen by none other than Natalie from Gluten A Go Go, and co-host Shel, of Musings From the Fishbowl.



It was really nice to be baking something savoury for a change and I was just so pumped to make these crackers. I have always wanted to try making my own crackers and so this was great! We were also challenged to come up with a dip or spread to serve with the crackers that was also vegan and gluten free!

Whilst I am not a vegetarian, I do like to toy with the idea from time to time and I have to say in recent years Todd and I have been eating a lot less red meat, and if we are going to eat any meat at all, it is mostly chicken or fish.



This was a very easy recipe to execute actually. In my quest to create something healthy and good for us, I decided that I would use a bit of whole wheat flour in the cracker dough. The hardest part came with the rolling it out. I tried to roll it as thin as possible, although after they came out of the oven I realized I should probably have tried to get them even a bit thinner. I brushed the tops lightly with some olive oil before baking them and scattered a mixture of sea salt, oregano, some cumin and garlic over top. They smelled incredible when they were baking.



To go along with the savoury toppings I decided before I even started that I wanted to make a type of hummus dip. I just love hummus. Hummus and some raw veggies have always been my favourite snack of choice (next to chocolate of course!) I love the roasted sweet potato hummus that you can get in Marks and Sparks and I just adore Lemon Coriander Hummus as well, not to mention Sun Dried Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper, but I wanted something with a distinctly Medditerranean feel to it, not to mention taste. I just love Kalamata Olives and Capers and so I decided that I would use them. Well, enough talk, see for yourself. This was delicious!



Many thanks to the other Daring Bakers for all the incredible presentations they make each month with their challenges and to Natalie and Shel for choosing this recipe. If you would like to see some of the other challenges feel free to drop onto the Daring Baker's Blog Roll and check them out!

Mmmm . . . I wonder what next month's challenge will be! I can't wait!




*Lavash Crackers*
Makes one baking tray

Based on the recipe from The BAker's Apprentice.

1 cup strong bread flour
1/2 cup strong whole wheat bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 TBS agave syrup (or sugar)
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 cup, plus 2 TBS water, at room temperature
olive oil
Sea salt
Ground cumin
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp dried oregano

Place the flours, salt, and yeast in a bowl. Mix together the syrup, olive oil and 1/2 cup of water. Pour this slowly into the flour mixture and stir it together to get a workable dough. Add only as much of the 2 TBS of water as needed. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, turning it to coat with the oil, then cover and allow to rest for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/350*F. Line a large flat baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out at thinly as you can, aiming for a rectangle roughly 15 inches by 12 inches. Carefully lift onto the parchment paper lined tray, cover and let rest for 5 minutes.

Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the top with a bit of olive oil, then sprinkle some sea salt, ground cumin, the garlic and the oregano as evenly over top as possible.

If you want, take a pizza cutter and make several cuts through the dough to the size of crackers you desire. If you prefer a more rustic look, just leave it as is and break it up into shards after baking.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top. Allow the crackers to cool in the pan before snapping or breaking into shards to serve with your favourite spread or dip.



*Kalamata Hummus*
Serves 6

1 1/2 cups tinned chick peas, drained and rinsed well
1/4 cup tahini paste
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
the grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3$ tsp cayenne pepper
2 - 3 TBS olive oil
3/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
2 TBS capers, drained and rinsed
1 small red pepper, seed and cut into chunks
3/4 tsp ground cumin
a small handful of fresh flat leaf parsley
To top:
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and puree. If necessary add some cold water to adjust the consistency.

Spoon the hummus onto a serving plate. Dust the top with the cumin and cayenne pepper. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle on the pasrley.

Serve with your favourite cracker dippers, crisp pita breads or raw vegetable crudites.