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(Seriously Good) Activated Charcoal Crackers

charcoal crackers
charcoal crackers

These Activated Charcoal Crackers are seriously, seriously good. They may not be your usual mix-roll-and-bake crackers, as they require creating a poolish, which means preparing ahead of time. To make a poolish, you just mix water, flour, yeast and salt and leave it mature overnight. You then proceed with making the dough. So you only need some planning; other than that, those crackers are made in a breeze. Poolish is what actually gives these crackers their seriously good flavour; without it the crackers’ taste would be flat.

Activated Charcoal had its moment as a hype product in 2016, so it may still be easy to find in specialty stores online. It should be in powder form and labeled as an edible product. In baking it is mainly used to naturally give baking goods a black colour, without the use of artificial colours.  Thanks to its addition, these crackers have a dark-grey colour, they are attractive and remarkable.

Colour apart, these charcoal crackers are light, thin, crispy and super tasty. They have a distinct flavour and a strong character. They are perfect as a vessel for all bites imaginary; and lovingly crunchy to snack on at any given moment. And they are also warmly welcomed when brought along at friends’ gatherings. And to addition to it all, they store well for a long time.

 

(Seriously Good) Activated Charcoal Crackers

These Activated Charcoal Crackers are seriously, seriously good. They may not be your usual mix-roll-and-bake crackers, as they require creating a poolish, which means preparing ahead of time. To make a poolish, you just mix water, flour, yeast and salt and leave it overnight to mature . You then proceed with making the dough. So you only need some planning; other than that, those crackers are made in a breeze. Poolish is what actually gives these crackers their seriously good flavour; without it the crackers’ taste would be flat.

Activated Charcoal had its moment as a hype product in 2016, so it may still be easy to find in specialty stores online. It should be in powder form and labeled as an edible product. In baking it is mainly used to naturally give baking goods a black colour, without the use of artificial colours.  Thanks to its addition, these crackers have a dark-grey colour, they are attractive and remarkable.

Colour apart, these charcoal crackers are light, thin, crispy and super tasty. They have a distinct flavour and a strong character. They are perfect as a vessel for all bites imaginary; and lovingly crunchy to snack on at any given moment. And they are also warmly welcomed when brought along at friends’ gatherings  And to addition to it all, they store well for a long time.

Activated Charcoal Crackers

The recipe at a glance: first you create a poolish and let it rest for 12 hours. Then you make the dough, knead and let it rest for 1-2 hours. Lastly, you roll and cut the dough, then bake the crackers for 12 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes.

Ingredients:
for the poolish:
for the final dough:

Flour suggestions (only for the final dough): All purpose flour works just fine, however wholemeal flour is more recommended, as it adds a deeper and more complex taste.

Hence, I use a combination of half whole wheat flour and half whole rye flour, for a lovely, hearty taste.

Definitely, depending the type of flour you will use, you will have to add more liquid or more flour to obtain the right consistency of the dough, as described in the recipe.

Molasses: molasses is totally optional, it is added to give a blackish colour to the crackers (as in the photo). Without it, the final colour of  the crackers is dark grey. However, in terms of taste, I prefer them without the molasses.

Instructions
Make the Poolish

100 gr all purpose flour ( 3.5 oz )

1 ½ tsp. activated charcoal 

pinch of instant dry yeast 

pinch of salt

100 gr/ml  tepid water ( 3.4 oz )

Start by making the poolish 12 hours before the time you are planning to prepare the dough.

In a medium bowl put the flour, activated charcoalyeast and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the water and stir with a spoon until just combined.

It is ok if the mixture looks rough and dry, just try to incorporate any remaining crumbs into the rest of the dough, whilst mixing the least possible.

Cover with a damp towel and leave at room temperature for 12 hours.

After 12 hours, you will see a few holes forming on the surface of the poolish. It should also have a distinct, pleasantly sour smell by now. These are indicators that the poolish is ready.

You should use it within the next two hours; after that it will go stale.

In the event that no holes have formed on the surface of the polish after the 12 resting hours, it may be because your kitchen is to cold; in this case, put it in a warmer spot in your house, for one more hour.

Form the dough for the charcoal crackers

200 gr flour (7 oz.)

1 pinch instant dry yeast

1 ½ tsp sea salt

15 gr honey ( o.5 oz / 1 Tbsp. ) 

15 gr molasses, if using ( o.5 oz / 1 Tbsp. ) 

70 gr olive oil ( 2.5 oz / 75 ml ) 

1 Tbsp. liquid of choice (eg. buttermilk, milk, water)

all of the prepared poolish above

In a medium bowl put the flourpinch of yeast and sea salt. Whisk to combine.

Measure the olive oil in a cup, add the honey, molasses  (if using) and liquid of choice, stirring well with a fork to dissolve. Pour this around the edges of the poolish. Using a spoon, gently push inwards the edges of the poolish to release it from the bowl.

Pour everything (poolish and liquids) into the flour mixture. Begin mixing with a spoon until it comes together to a rough dough; then by hand, until it absorbs all the flour and form into a dough. If the dough is too dry, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time. 

Knead the dough

Dust the counter with flour.

Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead with your hands for 5 minutes. The dough should gradually start feeling smooth and firm. If it is too dry, wet your hands with cold running water to hydrate it and continue kneading. Repeat wetting your hands, as needed, to create a smooth dough, without dry cracks.

When the dough is ready, put it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and leave it to relax for 1-2 hours. 

Roll out and cut

About 45 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 180ºC / 360°F. 

Divide the dough in two. 

Working with a batch at a time, dust the counter lightly with flour and roll it out to 1 cm / 0.5 inches thick with a rolling pin.

The dough should by now be relaxed and roll out easily. If it shrinks as you roll it, leave it to relax for half an hour before re-attempting to roll.

Cut a baking paper the size of the baking tray and transfer the dough there. Continue rolling it out as thin as possible.

You may use another piece of baking paper to flip it over and roll. This helps it roll it out very thinly.

If it extends beyond the edges of the paper, trim it and continue rolling. 

Using a pizza cutter wheel, cut the dough into 4 cm ( 1.6 inches ) squares. Leave trimmings intact; these are the baker’s treat. Transfer the baking paper along with the crackers to a baking tray.

Bake the Crackers

Important: bake a batch at a time in the oven. If you bake the two batches together, the crackers won’t be crispy.

Bake for 12-14 minutes in the preheated oven (180ºC / 360°F) . 

Remove from the oven as soon as they look and feel dry, but not necessarily crispy; for they will become crispy as they cool.

Leave the crackers on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Arrange then in a single layer; if they overlap during cooling, they will get soft.

Repeat with the second batch. 

After 10 minutes of cooling on the wire rack, test the crackers for crispness by breaking one in half; it should break with a snap (choose one from the center of the tray). If it is not, rebake as instructed below:

If during baking the crackers start taking a yellowish hue at the edges, remove them from the oven immediately. Accordingly, follow the instructions “how to rebake for crispness”.

Adjust the oven temperature to 150º C / 300º F (fan setting, if available). If the oven is hot, leave its door open for a few minutes for the temperature to drop.

Transfer the crackers back to the baking tray and rebake till crisped; this may take from 5 – 10 minutes. Check for crispness by breaking one in half. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, arranging them in a single layer.

Out of time for today? It’s ok, you can rebake the crackers up to one day after the initial baking.  

Storing

In an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to two weeks. 

As seen in:

6 Responses

  1. Thank you for this recipe, and thank you also for the trouble shooting sections. It has been sooo helpful.

  2. Can it be done with sourdough started instead of yeast? How would you recommend to change the recipe?

    1. Sure it could, but I have no experience with sourdough so I cannot make a safe recommendation which can guarantee the outcome.

  3. Hello, recipe looks great, what temperature d would you say to store the polish as when it’s developing, also can this be made with gluten

    1. My room temperature is 26°C (80°F), but it can be anywhere from 20°C to 28°C (68°F-80°F), the difference being in the time it takes to fully mature: the cooler the room is, the more time it takes to develop. And the warmer it is, the faster it matures. You can use gluten, but I do not know if this will add anything noticeable to the cracker. If you do try it, please let us know how it went.

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