Spent Grain Crackers

I have awesome friends.

I have awesome friends who let me borrow their fancy blenders, no questions asked. And friends who tell me about secret local food co-ops. And friends who dehydrate our spent grain from homebrewing and then spin it up into flour for me. Just because.

Are you jeal? My friends are AWE-SOME. Just full of love.

Remember when I wasn't sure about moving to GA? Well now I'm not sure about leaving. I love these crazy Southerners! They really grow on you.

These tiny crackers were my first project with my spent grain flour. If you're curious, spent grain flour is just dried spent grain (leftover from the brewing process) that is ground into flour. I just used a little bit in this recipe- it's pretty powerful stuff. You don't need much to get that robust, deep-grain flavor.

If you don't have any spent grain flour, you can certainly substitute another whole grain flour or seed. I think the crackers would be great with the addition of sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds or maybe some millet. Whatever you have on hand, just throw it in and see how it goes. You can't really ruin these. Unless you leave them in the oven too long.. I can't help you there.

If you make your crackers tiny like I did, the recipe makes approximately a bazillion crackers. It will seem like you will never run out of dough. To make it easy on yourself, you can just cut them into squares- no need to get fancy with the little cutters.

The nutty, whole-grain flavor goes great with sharp cheddar, by the way.

Share them with your awesome friends (I know you have them, too).

Spent Grain Crackers
by Oven Love, based on a recipe by Whisk and Whimsy

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rye flour (you can sub another whole grain flour if you like)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup spent grain flour (use a dehydrator or oven to dry your spent grain and run through a grain mill; directions here)
• 1/3 cup ground flax seed
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for topping
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2-3/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, flax seed, baking powder, and salt. Then add the olive oil and mix with a fork until combined. Slowly mix in a 1/2 cup of water, working it in with your hands. If needed, add up to 1/4 cup more water until the dough holds together. Knead the dough in the bowl until it is smooth and easy to work with, about 2 minutes.
2. Dust a clean surface with flour, dump out the dough, and press it into a flat disc. Use a rolling pin and roll out the dough until it is 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut the crackers into 2-inch squares or circles, re-rolling the dough as needed.
3. Carefully transfer the cut crackers to un-greased or parchment paper lined baking sheets, and sprinkle each cracker with a little salt. (I also poked holes in mine with a fork). Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the crackers are crisp and hard to the touch. Transfer the crackers to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.