Cracker recipe with only rye flour

Toast
yam on

I've been looking for a recipe to no avail for a Rye Krisp or Wasa cracker.  All the ones I see have mixed flour (graham, whole wheat or white) and rye while the ingredients on the packages of crackers state only rye, water and salt.  Does anyone have a clue on how to bake these with only these ingredients?

Thanks in advance

 - chris

Wafers like these are difficult to manufacture at home, because of the specialized technology used to make them. 

For a good overview, see the "Wafer Biscuits" chapter of Technology of biscuits, crackers, and cookies By Duncan J. R. Manley, available for preview on Google Books.

In a nutshell, wafers are made using a batter (simple or not, sweet or savory), where a thin amount is deposited between two metal plates and baked, kind of like a thin waffle. Often there is some kind of leavening, like baking soda or baking powder.

If you browse the link above, you will even find some example recipes. 

Good luck!

You aren't kidding about the difficulty.  That book is a real eye-opener...

I'm still a very novice baker and I will have to say that I'm not going to be reading that any time soon.  Unfortunately, the recipes for rye crackers is part of the book that Google doesn't show, so I'll have to start making them by following the wheat/rye recipes and adapting after I'm comfortable.

Thank you for the link.

 - chis

Chis,

Check page 294 of that Google book preview. At the bottom, it shows some example wafer formulas. 

 

I keep meaning to try to make the rye based crackers as seen in 'Jamie does Stockholm'. While there are no exact quantities given  (and my internet searches haven't turned up any details), there is enough information shown that I feel I could make a reasonable go of making them at home.

Check it out on this youtube clip, from 1'42" to 5'19".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHdO_yMr1VQ&feature=related

 

Thanks for sharing the video.

Looks like the ingredients were:

  • 100% fine rye flour
  • 50-75% whole wheat flour
  • Water
  • Some honey
  • Fresh yeast
  • Salt
  • A knob of starter (looked dark, like rye or WW starter, my guess is somewhere around 80-100% hydration)

Mix to combine. Into fridge to rest for a while, probably at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours. 

Remove from fridge, roll out 1mm thin, using a generously floured surface.

Bake on a perforated sheet pan (or a pizza screen) for 10 minutes, temp unknown, I'm gonna guess 375F.

Here's a different rye cracker recipe from Bob's Red Mill.

 

you mixed rye flour with water, and spread in spoonfuls on a cookie sheet, sprinkled with caraway seeds and baked in a 350 F oven for 10-12 minutes, remove to rack and cool. These were good but not really crackers, try getting an iron for making them, I found several online spots in Minnisota I do believe it was, they also have irons for making the thin wafter biscuits that you can roll around a form and fill with cream.

Just google search for baking irons and waffle irons, and keep refining the search for other crackers and cookies.

An idea or two or three...  let the mad cracker scientist inside you be called forth!

 

  1. Make a rye sourdough starter and use that with rye flour, water and salt to leaven a rye dough.  How about baking between two hot iron fry pans?One smaller than the other or two baking trays one on top of the other?Coins in the corners could be used as spacers if the dough is very wet or soft.
  2. Using the above sourdough but with a cooked and cooled roux of rye and water.  Add sourdough and rye flour to make a dough, salt to taste. Roll into sesame seeds to coat and roll out between sheets of parchment and bake.  Remove parchment after baking.  Brush with light glaze and bake again at low heat until dry.
  3. Pour boiled water into salted rye flour to form a dough and while cooling, work in sourdough and maybe rye altus.  Wet hands and pull out little balls of dough and flatten out onto parchment or make like a pancake batter spreading thinly into a parchment lined baking tray.  Cover tightly to avoid drying.  Allow to rise a little bit and bake.  
  4. Bake a long and narrow loaf of cocktail rye, when done, slice thin, spread out and bake at low temp to dry and toast.