Crackers for Remembrance

As a company owned by an Australian and a New Zealander, we take our trans-tasman celebrations very seriously. A time honoured tradition in our house on ANZAC day is to bake a few treats to thank those who have gone before us.  Most households are shrouded in the sweeter scents of the baked ANZAC cookie (for which we total fans), but we do have a preference for something a little more savoury.  When we stumbled upon Annabel Langbein’s recipe for Remembrance Crackers, we haven’t stopped baking.  Annabel refers to these as “a riff on the cabin bread eaten as a staple food in the trenches but updated into a modern crunchy cracker with rosemary and poppy seeds (symbols of remembrance adopted by the RSA).”  Well worth the effort and a wonderful carrier for your topping of choice.  We turn to our friends at Maison Vauron for their irresistible selection of cheese, and when paired with a fino sherry, what better way to start your friendly game of two-up.

So that’s how we roll when not at work …. just don’t get us started on the great pavlova debate!!

Credit: Annabel Langbein (recipe and photo)

Prep time:  5 mins          Cook time:  20 mins       Makes:  about 30

  • 1 cup plain flour
  • ¼ cup wholemeal flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 3 tbsp poppy seeds
  • 2 tsp finely chopped rosemary leaves
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup water
  • extra virgin olive oil and flaky sea salt, to sprinkle

 

Preheat oven to 160˚C fanbake and line an oven tray with baking paper for easy clean-up.  Combine the flours, baking powder, poppy seeds, rosemary and salt in a large bowl. Combine the oil and water, add to dry ingredients and mix to form a soft, pliable dough. Divide into 2 pieces, roll out on a lightly floured board to about 3mm thick and cut into crackers about 6cm x 4cm. Transfer to prepared tray, brush lightly with extra olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake until crisp and pale golden (20-25 minutes). Allow to cool fully before storing in an airtight container for up to 2 days.