Tag Archives: rye crackers

Snapseed, Shards and Spirals

Snapseed is an inexpensive photo editing programme for the Mac that I am quite fond of and try to use with restraint, though I do love the textures that it creates as above.

This is one of my most recent batches of sourdough rye crackers cut out with a spiral roll stamp which is a good use for this funny little object apart from making pretty patterns on small dinner rolls. Celia made some very good rolls with hers in her Playing with Bread post when we were going mad for Rosetta rolls last year.

Here are a couple of the other pictures, including some rather elegant, or so I thought, shards. These keep so well in an ordinary kitchen tub with an airtight seal. I keep the little packets of absorbent gel that come with camera equipment and put them in the tubs. You can dry them out in a warm oven when they get damp and re-use them, very useful! These crackers are well worth making if you have some spare time and a little old starter that you are not sure what to do with. I have adapted the original recipe to use other ingredients that I like, so don’t be afraid to do that too!

They do end up quite floury so I decided to dust them down with a clean paint brush as I don’t like the taste of rye flour when it is loose on the surface of a cracker. I did feel a bit like Mrs Matisse dusting the fruit (Great Housewives of Art) but it was all in a good cause. I am always delighted with the way that the sun transforms the appearance of bread. Rye has a characteristic grey tone normally but in the sunlight everything is touched with gold.

Short & Sweet : Rye Crispbreads and Cider Squash Farls

Sourdough Rye crisp breads – extra thin and snappy with it! The Holy Grail for me at least of rye crackers is that they should snap and be brittle, something like a potato crisp (chip in US English) rather than something you have to gnaw your way through. Stale crisp breads usually respond well to a reheat in the oven, but if they are too thick and hard then they are no fun at all.

Like just about everything in the wonderful world of bread, tastes vary and this is what makes it all the more worthwhile making your own and finding your way to the breads you want to eat yourself.  Continue reading