My book group makes the most amazing meals. There are never any assignments; creativity runs wild. A while ago, I took the time to write down one particularly memorable meal: That night we ate roasted eggplant appetizer; spinach salad with roasted beets, pomegranates, red onions, and golden raisins; sweet corn pudding; grated Jarlsberg cheese and red onions on whole-grain crackers; squash soup; and chocolate-covered strawberries. I remember once Lynne made us affogato, black coffee poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Wow. Once in a while, we all bring salad. Or dessert. Or baba ganoush and crackers. We deal. I mentioned the last bit because today I would like to talk about crackers. 

The first point I’d like to make is that it is nearly impossible to tell which crackers are nutritious by looking at brand names. Who would guess that a serving of ten Ritz Crackers Whole Wheat crackers contain less than a single gram of fiber? The same goes for four Keebler’s Townhouse Bistro Multigrain crackers, or ten Nabisco Wheatsworth Stone Ground Wheat crackers? Less than 1 gram of fiber per serving. Late July Organic Classic Saltines, even though they’re made with “organic wheat flour,” contain zero grams of fiber.

Which crackers make the cut? Ak-Mak 100% Whole Wheat Stone Ground Sesame Crackers, Back to Nature Harvest Whole Wheats, Nabisco Triscuit Thin Crisps (not the reduced fat ones), Trader Joe’s Multigrain Savory Thins, WASA Multigrain Crispbread, Trader Joe’s Woven Wheat Wafers, RyVita Rye & Oat Bran Whole Grain Rye Crispbread (these pack 6 grams of fiber/serving), and, my personal favorite, Mary’s Gone Crackers.

What is the source of fiber in crackers? The source is whole-grain flour. The very first ingredient should contain the word whole. You want to see whole wheat, or 100% organic whole wheat, or whole-grain rye flour. Brown rice is a whole grain, but whether it is listed as whole [grain name] or brown rice, it must be the first ingredient. If you don’t see these words up front, it’s not a whole-grain cracker. 

Nabisco Wheat Thins 5 Grain Crunch and Keebler Townhouse Wheat crackers, each with less than 1 gram of fiber per serving, list “enriched flour” first, and “whole wheat flour” second. Second place doesn’t count. Nabisco Premium Multigrain Saltine Crackers, with 0 grams of fiber per serving, list “enriched flour” first, “whole grains” second, and “whole wheat flour” third. The first ingredient in Blue Diamond Almond Nut-Thins is rice flour, and you would have to eat 16 of these to get a single gram of fiber.

Dare Breton Multigrain and Kashi TLC Crackers Original 7 Grain may sound authentic, but the first ingredient in both is “wheat flour.” Wheat flour is not the same as whole wheat flour. Don’t be enticed by “enriched flour” either, which would not have required enriching if it had not first been stripped. No matter how they sound, neither wheat flour nor organic wheat flour are whole-grain products.

Carr’s Whole Wheat Crackers, and Hain All-Natural Wheatettes list whole wheat flour first, but they have 2 grams of fiber per serving. Not bad, but you can do better. Generally speaking, I would avoid crackers with fewer than 3 grams of fiber per serving.

A post about crackers wouldn’t be complete without encouraging you to try making some yourself. Making crackers is a great family activity. In the past when I have made them, they were a big hit. They were delicious, and then they were gone. 

Here’s one nice recipe I found. The crackers will be dry, crisp, and golden-brown. They will not spread or rise in the oven. This recipe makes 3 dozen crackers, and each cracker contains 1 gram of fiber, which is a lot. 

Four-Seed Snapper Crackers*

1. Heat oven to 300F.
2. 2. Grind 1/8 c. sunflower seeds and 1/8 c. pumpkin seeds into powder (in a blender, coffee grinder or mortar & pestle). Stop before they turn into seed butter.
3. Combine the sunflower and pumpkin seed powder with 2 Tbsp. flax meal, 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds, 1 c. whole-grain spelt flour, ¼ tsp. salt, 1 Tbsp. honey, 1 ¼ Tbsp. olive oil, and 3/8 c. water. Mix the ingredients to form a firm ball of dough. It should not be sticky. 
4. Knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface for 30 sec. Add more flour if necessary to keep it slightly tacky but not sticky. Line two baking pans with parchment paper.
5. Divide the dough into two equal parts. On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll each as thinly as possible, to nearly paper thin. Keep lifting the dough so it doesn’t stick to the surface, and dust more flour underneath if necessary.
6. Transfer the dough to a baking pan, and use the tip of a sharp knife to score the dough into rectangles.
7. Combine an egg with ¼ c. water, and brush the crackers lightly with an egg wash. Sprinkle with more sesame seeds, and a bit of salt, and bake approx 25-30 min.

Hearty appetite!

* adapted from Peter Reinhart at LA Times