Thursday, April 1, 2010

Graham Crackers

Graham Crackers!
Oh the smell of Preschool. I remember the smell of my preschool class: Graham Crackers, kool aid, and playdoh. All still give me that fun -n- happy feeling. I am so glad I ran across this post from the Celiac Teen. I can now give my little preschooler the same memory.
Celiac Teen is wise beyond her years, and it is really cool to see a teen with such a take charge and positive attitude. (I don't even know her and I am proud of her.)
While I didn't make the entire recipe (yet), I did try the Graham Crackers. I made a few adaptions to her recipe, but they still turned out perfect. Slightly chewy with a flavorful crunch. The little and big taste testers in our house asked for more...with milk.
Gluten-Free Graham Wafers-
(my adaptions will be in red)
Ingredients
1 cup (138 g) (4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup (100 g) (3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup (65 g) (2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour (Amaranth flour)
1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed(Brown sugar replacement-see post)
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt (Atlantic Sea salt)
7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover. (half honey half agave)
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract
Directions:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour (saran wrap with no flour)and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight(freeze for an hour).
4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. 1/8-1/4" thick The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. i put the dough on parchment paper and laid a sheet of saran wrap over it. when you roll it out this way, it wont stick to anything and you don't need flour. I trimmed the edges to make one large rectangle then transfer the one rectangle including the parchment paper onto the cookie sheet. I also cut the smaller squares after they baked half way(see below in step 8)
Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. one large rectangle
Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Freeze for 10-15 minutes
Repeat with the second batch of dough.
5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and re roll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.(I did this half way through the baking time during the switch*below*-along with cutting the squares with a pizza cutter)
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take much less time, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.