Crackers, twists, sticks and sheets of crazy dough
Finally it’s Monday! 😊 Can you believe I was looking forward to it? I missed the Monday recipe dedicated to Light and Tasty!
After the Easter break “disturbed” by a sad episode of social bullying that put me in a bad mood for a few days, I really wanted to return to the normality of our weekly appointment.
A normality made of calm, kind people who enjoy cooking, who cook for their family without making food a competition, and without using social media as a showcase to flaunt nonexistent superiority through insults.
Therefore, with great pleasure, welcome back!
The Light and Tasty Team dedicates today’s appointment, as always after Easter and Christmas, to post-holiday waste-free recipes. Yes, you know that food wastage is our third priority after Light and after Tasty? Um… something like Light, Tasty and Waste-free 😄 Well… no, I think it doesn’t sound good, it’s too long! 😃
My proposal today is not a real recipe but a mix of ideas, all for reusing the crazy dough that I used during the Easter holidays to make an Easter pie, the mini single-serving Easter pies, a rustic pie (similar to this one but with different filling) and a delicious rustic that we ate on Friday and which I’ll write the recipe for soon (update: here it is!).
I always have some leftovers of crazy dough, sometimes I use them to make decorations, in the Easter pie on Easter day I made a little bow, but I should have made quite a few to use all the scraps! But then I must say that some crunchy breadsticks are always appreciated here as a snack or appetizer, so in the end, if a couple of sheets of dough are left, I don’t mind at all. 😊
I imagine that soon you all will tell me you’ve had enough of hearing me talk about crazy dough, between the seed one and the olive oil one for the Easter pie (and pretending I didn’t make the carnival crackers 😇), by now it might seem like a recurring theme! But it’s all true! It’s a dough I make often, sometimes even at the expense of leavened doughs, I confess, it has perfect results, it’s great for everything, for savory pies, for filled rustics, for sweets, for crackers… and so here you go, even this anti-waste recipe!
I collected photos of various productions of crackers, sticks, twisted breadsticks + two different types of dough sheets, sometimes made by combining leftovers from different productions, because crazy dough also has the advantage of keeping very well in the fridge for several days, tried and tested!
Are you ready? Let’s get started!
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Affordable
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Waste-Free
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- leftovers and scraps of crazy dough
- mixed seeds (optional)
Tools
- Rolling Pin
- Cookie Cutters
- Oven
- Crepe Pan
Steps
To make crackers, twisted breadsticks, twists, sticks in various shapes and sizes or dough sheets similar to thin flatbreads or thin baguette slices, or anything else your imagination inspires, you can use leftover crazy dough scraps (but also obviously freshly made dough) of any kind, that is:
– both using flour 0, type 1, type 2, or wholemeal
– or even the mixed seed version (seeds can also be added when rolling out the dough)
– but you can also use butter-based brisée dough.
The process is very simple, almost unnecessary to tell 😃 but I leave you some details that might be useful.
Dough thickness: the thinner, the better, so that just a few minutes of baking is enough and the crispiness is guaranteed.
But don’t worry, the crackers turn out very well even if they’re not too thin, like these flower-shaped ones:
For breadsticks and sticks, the twisted shape we like best, it has a great yield in cooking.
Before baking:
After baking:
And these are the crackers I made with the leftovers from the mini Easter pies. 😊
For oven baking:
I recommend placing the tray at the bottom of the oven, or at the top, in both cases the proximity to the resistance allows baking in a few minutes, from 5 to 8 minutes depending on the dough thickness. Naturally, you must pay attention and check the baking because, with such a minimal time, just one more minute can be enough to go from crispy to too dry, or burnt. The temperature is good between 356°F and 392°F, the difference is played with time.
Then I also tried stovetop cooking using the crepe grill:
A test I did both to understand the differences in yield and time spent, and because in this case, I had a larger amount of crazy dough to use (because I made an open savory pie and had a third of a dough ball left). In this case, I was able to roll out fairly large sheets, like a small flatbread, and the idea of cooking them on the grill was a conditioned reflex (😄).
As you can see from the following photos the behavior during cooking is really similar to that of flatbreads, and you can leave them soft so you can fold and fill them.
When cooked longer they become crispy. Although not quite as crispy as the same sheets baked in the oven.
You can notice the difference in the following photo, the sheets on the left with a more uniform golden color are the ones I baked in the oven, those on the right cooked on the grill. The former behaves a bit like carasau bread (Sardinian friends, please don’t be offended, it’s just an example 😌), a light tap with the hand and they break into delicious crispy pieces.
If I convinced you to try the fantastic crazy dough, both for regular recipes and for recycling leftovers… I’m sure you’ll become as addicted as I am! 😄
Enjoy!
Salt-Free Tips
Suggestions to flavor this recipe without added salt: sprinkle the dough sheets with paprika or chili powder, or spices like curry or turmeric or Mexican spice blends, or with finely chopped aromatic herbs and garlic. But I assure you, they are moreish even plain! 😋
If you’re interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
■ Gradually decrease the salt, the palate needs to gradually get used to it and should not notice the progressive reduction.
■ Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
■ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
■ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, nuts…
■ Use spicy vegetables or fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
■ Use my salt-free vegetable granules
■ Prefer fresh foods.
■ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
■ Avoid bringing the saltshaker to the table!
■ Occasionally allow yourself a cheat day. It’s good for the mood and helps you persevere.
If you do not want, or cannot, give up salt:
■ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
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Light and Tasty:
And now let’s find out what my colleagues from the Light and Tasty Team have recycled 👇
Carla Emilia: Broccoli meatballs
Daniela: Bruschetta with ricotta, sun-dried tomatoes and ham
Elena: Zucchini and egg white flan
Milena: Savory muffins
Serena: Homemade Nutella
Carla Emilia: Broccoli meatballs
Daniela: Bruschetta with ricotta, sun-dried tomatoes and ham
Elena: Zucchini and egg white flan
Milena: Savory muffins
Serena: Homemade Nutella
