Gluten-Free Crackers

Spicy blue corn crackers (sans paprika)
Yellow or white corn will taste entirely different and not to my liking.

The choice of buttermilk or yogurt is dependent on the desired final consistency of the crackers. Buttermilk makes a tender cracker. Yogurt makes a physically stronger cracker that is better for spreadable cheese. It is likely that the crackers can be made lactose-free by using potato flour (not starch) or ground-up instant mashed potato flakes. But I haven't tried that yet.

You can see the variations of crackers that you can make with something close to the same recipe. The 3 tablespoons of lite olive oil makes a crispy cracker. You can reduce the oil, and the cracker will be a bit tougher. Consider making a double batch. It is hardly harder, and since the crackers are a bit labor-intensive, you might as well make a double batch. These do not hang around our house very long.

Cracker 1 is spicy. Cracker 2 is plain and good for sweet goat’s milk or cow’s milk cheese. Some people do not like the taste of millet. You are free to experiment.

Ingredients	1. Spicy Blue Corn	1 A. Spicy Blue Corn	2. Sesame-Millet	3. Teff-Millet (ersatz rye)	4. Millet-Corn (can be made into a pizza crust)	5. Onion poppy seed	6. Pizza
Buttermilk powder	2 T in ½ Cup 1% milk or ½ C fresh buttermilk
1% milk and Yogurt -each		¼ C	¼ C	¼ C minus 1 T	¼ C plus up to 1 T additional	¼ C minus 1 T	¼ C
Light Olive Oil	3 Tablespoon	3 T	2 T	2 T	2 T	2 T	1 T
Blue Corn Meal	½ C	½ C			¼ C or ½ C and omit millet four
Yellow Corn Meal							2 T
GF Flour	1 C Corn-Sorghum*	1 C Corn-Sorghum*	1C Featherllight**	1 C Featherlight**	1 C Featherlight**	1 C Featherlight**	1-1/2 C Corn-Sorghum*
Millet flour			1/2	¼ C	¼ C or omit and use corn meal instead	½ C
Teff flour (or use 100% millet)				¼ C	¼ C	¼ C
Salt				½ t	½ t	½ t	1 t
Baking Soda	½ teaspoon	½ t	1 t	1 t	1 t	1 t	1 t
Baking Powder	½ t	½ t	½ t	½ t	½ t	½ t	½ t
Cayenne	1/8 t	1/8 t
Garlic powder	1 T	1 T					1 T
Onion powder	1 T	1 T				1 T	1 T
Italian seasoning****							1 T
Parmesan cheese							1 -2 T
Tomato powder***
Salty vegetable bullion	1 t	1 t					1 t optional (substitute for salt)
Salt			½ - 1 t	½ - 1 t	½ - 1 t	½ - 1 t	½ - 1 t
Chili powder or GF dry BBQ rub or Old Bay Seasoning	1 t	1 t
Sugar			1 T	1 T	1 T	1 T
Xanthan Gum	¾ t	¾ t	¾ t	¾ t	¾ t	¾ t	¾ t
Sesame Seeds			2 T				2 T
Optional Paprika	Cover the top, roll in, flip, cover the top	Cover the top, roll in, flip, cover the top
Optional Caraway Seeds				Cover the top and roll in
Onion Poppy Seed						Cover the top and roll in
				If the mix is too wet, add 1 - 2 Tablespoons more flour	If the mix is too wet, add 1 - 2 Tablespoons more flour	If the mix is too wet, add 1 - 2 Tablespoons more flour

* Carol Fenster’s Corn-Sorghum mix ** Bette Hagman’s featherlight (rice) mix (Actually, you can use whichever gluten free flour mix you like.)

*** Spice Barn, 499 Village Park Drive, Powell, OH, 43065 sales@spicebarn.com **** Purchase or make you own: 2 parts ground oregano to one part each of ground marjoram, thyme, basel, tarragon, and 1/2 part rosemary

Instructions
	Preheat oven to 350º F
	Mix liquid ingredients and and dry ingredients in separate containers and then combine. Stir/knead until dough forms a ball and then turn out to a board
	Knead by hand for about 1-2 minutes to incorporate all of the ingredients. The dough should be completely workable. If it is too wet, kneed in more flour
	Put flour or corn meal on the parchment or wax paper. Divide dough into three balls. Flatten a ball with your fingers. Flip over and flatten several times more.
	Roll-out to 1/8” or 1/16" on the parchment or wax paper. You may need to flour the top to prevent sticking to the rolling pin. If dough is sticky you may need to flour the paper. Note the spacers for a 2" rolling pin can be ordered from The Bakers Catalogue - King Arthur Flour or from Sur la table. Alternatively, you can lay down two thin layers of clean 1/8" aluminum strip from the hardware store.
	Cut into rectangles using a sharp knife. Just press straight down to form dividing lines. Remove burrs and frayed crackers. The dough can be re-rolled if you do not use too much flour in the rolling process. Poke dough with fork to provide a pathway for steam to escape
	Move the dough to a cookie sheet.
	Bake for 7 -10 minutes and then bake for 8 to 10 minutes longer or until slightly brown
	Turn out to a wire rack to cool
	May need to dry out crackers at 200º F. Alternatively, when the last batch of crackers are baked, put all crackers on wire racks on top of the jelly roll pans and back into the cooling oven and allow to thoroughly cool before removing to an air-tight jar or Zip-lock bags.

Tasting note:
Original recipe is located on the Arrowhead Mills blue corn meal bag. This recipe seems too dry and too corn-mealy to me, but it was a great starting point. I tried this recipe with yellow corn meal, and it really wasn't the same. It is worth buying the bag of blue corn meal.