Fennel Seed Olive Oil Crackers

This recipe is in the Flavour Thesaurus, one of my all time favourite books. Niki Segnit writes that anise and washed-rind cheese goes together very well, citing specifically Stinking Bishop and these crackers.

“Washed-rind cheeses such as Munster or Stinking Bishop are simply too opinionated to be paired with many flavours, but anise (sweet, beloved pet flavour of The Flavour Thesaurus) is up to the challenge.”

This is the first time I have made crackers, and while they could have probably done with being in the oven a little longer (I know for next time), they are some of the easiest things I have made in a while. And with entirely storecupboard ingredients! Including oven time, these take about half an hour to put together.

Makes 15 – 25 crackers, depending on how big you make them.

2tsp fennel seeds

½ tsp baking power

½ tsp salt

125g plain flour

25 ml olive oil

125ml water

Preheat the oven to 160C (with fan).

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the olive oil and water in increments until it comes together in a dough (I had them both in the same measuring jug and it worked pretty well).

Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, and then roll it out to a thickness of 2-5 mm. Handy tip: if you roll dough between 2 pieces of cling film, you don’t need to flour surfaces, drying out the dough and making everything a bit messy. Use a cutter or knife to cut the crackers into whatever shape you fancy, and place them on a greased or lined baking sheet. Brush the crackers with water and bake for 25-30 minutes. They may need a little longer depending on your oven.

When I made these, I also made a batch with cumin seeds, and they were similarly delicious and well-partnered with cheese.

Note - the next day, I brushed the crackers with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and baked them at 180c for another 15 minutes until golden brown. And oh my. They were good before, and now they are amazing!