Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie was our February 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to use our creativity in making our own Crisp Flatbreads and Crackers!
When we did our crackers daring bakers challenge a few months back I was working on a recipe for the sweet sesame crackers my grandmother used to make and could not get it quite right then so when this challenge was announced I knew that this is the recipe I wanted to make
These crackers are called Karakeesh قراقيش and they are perfectly crisp, sweet but not overly so. The sesame seeds add a beautiful texture, they pop when you bite into them and because there are sesame seeds in the dough itself and on top of the crackersو all the popping is almost like there is a little firework show in your mouth 
. The anise and the cardamom play gently in the background, they are not pronounced in the final baked cracker but they add a nice spicy depth and warmth to the taste.
My other take on this challenge was using Linda’s sundried tomato and basil flat bread. I make this bread often to serve with soup or with dips but this time around I made it into crackers and a round loaf that I rolled out thin then toasted in the oven. I stuck to Linda’s recipe except for using dried herbs and adding oregano to the basil. I also added some tomato paste to the dough itself and reducing the garlic a little. The kids call these pizza bread and pizza crackers and love them warm out of the oven. As you can see from the pictures my bread really rose in the oven , so next time I may divide the dough into 4 parts and roll it super thin to get to be more crisp
Sweet sesame crackers “Karakeesh” قراقيش فلسطينيه فلاحيه
1 kg all purpose flour (you can replace part of the flour with whole wheat flour)
1 and 1/2 cups toasted sesame seeds
1 cup olive oil
1 and 1/2 tablespoons anise seeds slightly crushed
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 cup warm water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
In a bowl add the flour, salt , anise, cardamom and sesame seeds
Add the olive oil and rub it into the flour mixture until the flour absorbs all the oil and turns into wet sand consistency
Dissolve the sugar in the water and add the vanilla to it
Add the sugar water gradually and knead the dough until you get a smooth dough that does not stick to the sides of the bowl
Cut the dough into 30 balls and allow them to rest, covered with a clean cloth for 10 minutes
Sprinkle your working surface with sesame seeds and start rolling out the dough into circles 7-10 cm in diameter and 1/2 cm in thickness
These crackers are meant to look rustic so don’t worry about getting perfect circles, rough uneven edges are part of their charm
If you find that the dough sticks to the working surface sprinkle some flour with the sesame seeds
Transfer the rolled out dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment
Bake on the lowest rack of a preheated oven at 200 C until the edges turn golden and then place them under the broiler until the tops are golden brown too
Cool the crackers on a wire rack
Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Flatbread
Adapted from Savoring every bite
1 teaspoon yeast
¾ cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped *
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 ¼ cup white wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
Garlic oil or plain olive oil for brushing and sea salt for sprinkling on top
Instructions
Combine the yeast, sugar and warm water in a large bowl or stand up mixer with dough hook attached. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes. (if the yeast does not foam and bubble then it has gone bad and you need to discard it and start over with new yeast)
* If the sun-dried tomatoes were not previously marinated, soak them in hot water for about 5 minutes to soften.
Add in the drained sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, oregano and basil stirring to combine.
Mix in the flour and salt and knead by hand or dough hook until smooth, about 10 minutes by hand, 5 minutes by mixer.
Place the dough in a well-greased bowl and allow to sit for one hour, slightly covered with plastic wrap or a towel away from any drafts.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. When dough has risen, divide in half and flatten to about ¼ inch thick either in a round shape or rectangle.
Brush the top with olive oil and sprinkle on the salt.
If you plan on making crackers cut the rolled with the pizza cutter of knife into little squares.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes until brown and crisp.
Notes:
If you like your crackers to be extra crisp, warm the oven to 220C then turn it off and place the crackers in it on a baking sheet and then leave them in the closed oven until it cools down completely
The sesame crackers can be stored in an air tight container for weeks, they also freeze well
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Cebu Resorts
/ March 26, 2013I love cookies. I want to try these unique food.
spicegirlfla
/ March 6, 2013I’m so behind on my blog reading only to find this nice surprise!! I’m thrilled your kids enjoy the “pizza bread” and what a fabulous idea to add in the tomato paste! I really have to try the cracker idea too. Thanks so much for the mention! Your photos are so tempting !!
Sawsan@ Chef in disguise
/ March 6, 2013Thank YOU for the great recipe Linda, it is a family favorite now
Bam's Kitchen
/ March 5, 2013Sawson, I love your flat bread recipes and the sesame one I know would be gone in nano seconds in our house. Lots of space on these crackers for all of my favorite toppings. I love the rustic look of these crackers and there are just not enough hours in the day to make all of your lovely treats. Take care, BAM
Palawan Resort
/ March 4, 2013Just in time, I am looking for foods that are unique to what I used to eat. This one caught my attention and I want to taste it. I will try to bake crackers.
Aspen System Inc
/ March 2, 2013These crackers will be great with coffee. It’s a delicious treat.
gourmetgetaway
/ March 2, 2013What a great post, you have done an amazing job on this months Daring Baker Challenge, I love it!! So YUM!
Coffee and Crumpets
/ March 1, 2013These crackers look absolutely lovely Sawsan! I especially like the sesame seed ones. Pizza flatbread would go down a treat with my kids also. What’s also catching my eye is the tea…yum!
Renata
/ March 1, 2013As always, a wonderful job on the challenge, Sawsan. Thanks for your lovely welcoming message, I do miss the DK and I’m so looking forward to joining the fun again. I can’t wait to try your challenge. I’m having a little difficulty finding ingredients. Guess I’ll have to try to buy ot online. Wish me luck!
Good Cooks
/ March 1, 2013I liked both of them, but the karakeesh the most. Yummy i have to try your recipe sawsan. Thanks hun.
Kari@Loaves n dishes
/ March 1, 2013I’ve just discovered your blog and I’m totally digging your recipes! I just started following you on Twitter & FB.
spree
/ February 28, 2013What a generous and gorgeous post! Where to start?! I think I’ll start with those crackers Sawsan…those will be such a welcome treat around this house!! (I’m wondering how it would go if I replaced some of the flour with chickpea flour?) I can hardly wait to try these…the weekend can’t come soon enough now.
xx
Tales and Travels of the Tin Man
/ February 28, 2013Once again you inspire us to become better culinary stewards. Your dedication and commitment to Culiary Perfection are greatly admired by your readers. Thank You for always amazing us!! XXOO Tin Man
Deeba Rajpal (@vindee)
/ February 28, 2013Absolutely gorgeous! Love both of them, and bookmarking them too. Really really nice!
saffronandhoney
/ February 28, 2013Just beautiful!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
/ February 28, 2013I’d love to try your sesame cracker recipe! It looks delicious and I like the sound of the slightly sweet aspect
muppy
/ February 28, 2013i love the look of both these recipes
Korena in the Kitchen
/ February 28, 2013The sesame crackers look and sound wonderful – glad you got a chance to perfect and share them
bitsandbreadcrumbs
/ February 28, 2013The crackers look amazing, and I’m definitely going to have to try making the flatbread. Anything with sun dried tomatoes in it is something I’d love!
yummychunklet
/ February 28, 2013I love how earthy your crackers look. Great job!
jehanne@thecookingdoctor
/ February 28, 2013Love the rustic look of the crackers Sawsan! And the sun dried tomatoes are perfect for soup, yum! I was so busy this mnth that had to abandon the DB challenge, but every time I visit u, I wished I did join in:-)
myninjanaan
/ February 28, 2013i loveeee that you tackle things like crackers! These look like they would be so great with a cup of tea in the evening! Totally delish!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
/ February 28, 2013I love sundried tomatoes, what a delicious flatbread!
Li @ Words and Cake
/ February 28, 2013Pizza crackers! Love that. These look so good, and the flavor combo sounds amazing.
Geni - Sweet and Crumby
/ February 28, 2013Both the crackers and the flat bread look fantastic. I love all the seasonings that went into these.
Tonette Joyce
/ February 28, 2013Sawsan! You always have the most incredible ideas! And your breads…mmmm. This looks wonderful!
Genn
/ February 28, 2013I bet that sundried tomatoes would be lovely in crackers!!! Awesome idea.
Noel | The Kitchen Grouch
/ February 28, 2013Amazing photos. I have a similar wooden chopping board which is already screaming to be replaced from too much use. hahaha.
marilyne_k
/ February 27, 2013Sun dried tomatoes and basil sound like summer to me, great job!
hotlyspiced
/ February 27, 2013I love the look of the crackers and they must have so much flavour and texture with all those sesame seeds. And the flat bread recipe is great because you can never have too much flat bread in the house – so useful in so many ways xx
Chica Andaluza
/ February 27, 2013They alllook incredible but I think first on my list to make will be those gorgeous crackers!
Saskia (1=2)
/ February 27, 2013Beautiful recipes Sawsan. I know my boys will love ‘pizza bread and pizza crackers’. These both look like perfect lunchbox treats too.
Minnie@thelady8home
/ February 27, 2013This is my idea of snack, anytime of the day – breakfast, lunch or dinner. Love the Karakeesh, and your pictures are so drool worthy, as always. We make a lot of ‘namkeen’ this way in India, though those are mostly deep fried. Love it.
A_Boleyn
/ February 27, 2013I love crunchy crackers with cheese as a snack late in the evening and all the ones you’ve pictured in this post look delicious … especially the newest sweet sesame ones. They do look like they’d be tricky to get thin enough and baked without accidentally burning them by keeping them in the oven too long. Did you cut the crackers on the Silpat sheet? I bought a pair recently (pricey!) and am afraid of doing anything to ruin them.
I’m leery of making anything with sundried tomatoes as the last batch I had for much too long in my pantry had gone ‘funky’ ruining the taste of the buns that I made with them. I bought a new batch and am storing them in the fridge in a tupperware container until I have a use for them … making these flatbreads would be a good one.
Christina @ Salt Pepper Brilliant
/ February 27, 2013These look delicious, stop by and say hi. I think you will like my most recent post featuring sundried tomatoes
Eva Taylor
/ February 27, 2013I do love a good flavourful cracker with seeds and nuts, I know I would love these, particularly the Karakeesh. I adore how rustic they look, afterall, if we wanted perfectly extruded crackers we wouldn’t be here but at the grocery store stocking up on Ritz! I bet you didn’t know that most commercial croutons are not cut bread, but extruded? Except for one that I know of (they are also a customer of ours).
I’m not sure you were around when I posted a ‘flatbread’ cracker I developed so here is the link http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/evas-whole-wheat-flatbreads/ I used my pasta maker to roll out the dough evenly. Home made is always so much better for you than store bought, any way you look at it. Plus it will always have hand in the loving care that was put into making it. I will definitly bookmark your beautiful crackers, thanks!
Lail | With A Spin
/ February 27, 2013Oh those crackers and flatbread pieces look scrumptious! I admire all the food recipes you post, Sawsan dear.
Kristin @ The Chocolate Box
/ February 27, 2013That sundried tomato and basil flatbread looks really scrumptious! Well done on the challenge!
Cher
/ February 27, 2013Both of your versions look beautiful!
Promenade Claire
/ February 27, 2013I’m still making your crackers and these need to go on the list to try when I get home, lovely flavours there!
Aisha
/ February 27, 2013All of them look delicious!!!
john@kitchenriffs
/ February 27, 2013Lovely cracker and flat bread recipes! I think I’d cut the dough in the second recipe into crackers, but it sure looks nice as a large, round flat bread too. Great flavors in these! And so easy to make. I’ve been looking for a good flat bread recipe, and I think I’ve found it! Thanks so much.