Homemade English Oat Crackers

We served Ina Garten's oat crackers with soup but they are good on a cheese tray, too. However, I did make several adjustment in the recipe to make it workable; those changes are noted below.

English Oat Crackers     Makes 24 crackers (my yield was 30)

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 lb. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, 1/2-inch-diced

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup lukewarm water (I needed about 1/2 cup water to make the dough hold together but start with 1/4 cup and add more as needed.)

Fleur de sel salt / I used Madlon® sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper or silicon sheets.
2. Place the oats, flour, brown sugar, and kosher salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse for 45 to 60 seconds, until the oats are coarsely ground.
   
3. Add the butter and pulse 15 to 20 times, until the butter is the size of peas. Be sure to stir the mixture at this point to make sure no large chunks of butter remain—I had to pulse longer to incorporate all butter.
   
   
   
   
4. Dissolve the baking soda in the lukewarm water and drizzle it over the crumbs in the food processor. Pulse until the mixture is evenly moistened and can be pressed into balls that will hold together. (I needed about 1/2 cup water to make the dough hold together but start with 1/4 cup and add more as needed.)
5. With a medium (1 3/4-inch) ice cream scoop or two spoons, scoop the dough into your hands and roll them into round balls.
   
6. Evenly space 12 balls on the prepared sheet pans.
   
7. Flour the bottom of a flat-bottomed 3-inch-diameter drinking glass and use it to flatten each cracker to 1/8" thick and about 3" in diameter or . . . my version—cover the sheet with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with pan release; then use the bottom of the drinking class to flatten crackers to 1/8” thick x 3” in diameter. The crackers will not be perfectly round.
8. If there is a lot of flour on the crackers, turn them over with a metal spatula.
9. Sprinkle with the fleur de see or Madlon® sea salt.
   
10. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown on the edges. After 25 minutes the crackers were soft and cookie-like. I baked them for at least another 15 minutes to get a crisp cracker!
    

Recipe without photos . . .

English Oat Crackers     Makes 24 crackers (my yield was 30)

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 lb. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, 1/2-inch-diced

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup lukewarm water

Fleur de sel salt / I used Madlon® sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper or silicon sheets.
2. Place the oats, flour, brown sugar, and kosher salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse for 45 to 60 seconds, until the oats are coarsely ground.
3. Add the butter and pulse 15 to 20 times, until the butter is the size of peas. Be sure to stir the mixture at this point to make sure no large chunks of butter remain—I had to pulse longer to incorporate all butter.
4. Dissolve the baking soda in the lukewarm water and drizzle it over the crumbs in the food processor. Pulse until the mixture is evenly moistened and can be pressed into balls that will hold together. (I needed about 1/2 cup water to make the dough hold together but start with 1/4 cup and add more as needed.)
5. With a medium (1 3/4-inch) ice cream scoop or two spoons, scoop the dough into your hands and roll them into round balls.
6. Evenly space 12 balls on the prepared sheet pans.
7. Flour the bottom of a flat-bottomed 3-inch-diameter drinking glass and use it to flatten each cracker to 1/8 inch thick and about 3 inches in diameter or . . . my version—cover the sheet with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with pan release; then use the bottom of the drinking class to flatten crackers to 1/8” thick x 3” in diameter.  The crackers will not be perfectly round.
8. If there is a lot of flour on the crackers, turn them over with a metal spatula.
9. Sprinkle with the fleur de see or Madlon® sea salt.
10. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown on the edges.After 25 minutes the crackers were soft and cookie-like. I baked them for at least another 15 minutes to get a crisp cracker!