gluten-free butter crackers.

April 25, 2011

Remember coming home from school when you were young? Chances are you were absolutely STUH-HARVING from all that play on the playground, and dinner felt like an impossibly distant promise. That’s when your mom would pull out a beige, waxy sleeve of Ritz crackers, slap some peanut butter on a few, sandwich them up, and give you the richest, most appreciated snack of the day.

Keep that memory close, because — chalk it up to nostalgia — we wanted to create a recipe that captures the buttery crispness of the Ritz cracker. We haven’t found anything quite like it on the gluten-free supermarket circuit, and, hey, there are millions of kids coming home from school starving. Every single day! Let’s give ‘em something good to eat…

. . .

Gluten-free butter crackers
Light, flaky and incredibly crisp, these butter crackers won’t last long in anyone’s house!
See why the measurements are in weight

Makes 20

65 g xpandex Expandex® (1/2 cup)*
80 g brown rice flour (1/2 cup)
30 g sweet rice flour (1/4 cup) + more for dusting
10 g granulated sugar (1 tablespoon)
4 g coarse kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon) + more for sprinkling
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and put a third sheet of parchment paper on the counter. Set aside.

Pulse flours, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add cold butter and pulse in 1-second intervals 8-10 times or until mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. With machine running, add 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream through feed tube until mixture just comes together, adding more cream by the teaspoonful if mixture looks dry. Dough should come together into several clumps, but it will look smooth and hold together when crimped in hand.

Sprinkle third sheet of parchment with sweet rice flour and turn dough out from the bowl of the food processor. Sprinkle dough with a little more sweet rice flour and gather into a ball. Flatten slightly and roll out to an even 1/8-inch thickness with a floured rolling pin. If dough sticks, sprinkle with the smallest amount of sweet rice flour possible to prevent sticking. Using a floured 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter or a 2 1/2-inch glass, cut rounds out of rolled out dough and place onto parchment-lined cookie sheets about 1 inch apart. Regather dough and repeat the rolling and cutting process until all the dough is used.

Place baking sheets in freezer for 15 minutes, then remove from freezer, brush lightly with egg yolk mixture, and sprinkle each cracker with coarse kosher salt to taste. Place baking sheets in middle of oven and bake 20-25 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through baking time, until deep golden brown in color. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Crackers will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

*Expandex® modified tapioca starch is a revolution in gluten-free baking. It enhances the texture and appearance of bakery applications so those living a gluten-free lifestyle can enjoy the foods they love.

Filed under: delicious,kids,recipes

Tags: crackers, expandex, gf, gfree, gluten free baking, gluten-free, ritz crackers, table crackers