When it’s so hot and steamy outside here in Nassau, I’m not so keen on baking bread which makes it hot and steamy inside too, and turning the AC on just to cook seems a bit anti-ecological, even for me. (I’m already queen of leaving chargers plugged in, lights on and computers beeping.) But something bready just seems indispensable at lunchtime and so I’ve turned to crackers – no kneading, no lengthy bakestone preheating, no steam = happy cook.
After these olive oil and paprika crackers and the rye crisp breads shown here from the Nordic Bakery Cookbook, this recipe from Dan Lepard in the Guardian came along. It’s a bit of a different animal – more fat makes these crumbly-crisp, rather than snappy-crisp. Think Digestives rather than water biscuits. But the results are soooo good with cheese and more complex and less sweet than actual Digestives, as well as not having industrial gunk in them. They’re not quite right dunked into tea – trust me, I’ve tried this for you – so the red packets haven’t been entirely banished yet…
Spelt and oat digestives
Makes about 20. Adapted from Dan Lepard.
- 250g spelt flour
- 25g soft dark brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp bicarb
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 125g softened butter
- 75g rolled porridge oats
- 50ml milk
Preheat the oven to 170 ˚C and line a baking sheet with parchment. Combine the flour, bicarb and sugar in a bowl and rub in the butter. Then add in the oats and milk to form a dough. Roll it out to about 1/3 cm thick and use a floured cutter to make biscuits, rerolling the leftovers as you go. Brush with more milk to glaze them brown and bake for 30 minutes until golden and crisp. Cool on a wire rack and store in tupperware. Fabulous with blue cheese.
