Savoury Hemp Crackers (Raw Pizza Crackers, Raw Caraway Crackers, Raw Za’atar Crackers)

With the bright summery weather, I am thinking of doing a Raw Thursday series for the summer. A bonus recipe each week… Let me know what you think!

There is crack and then there are crack crackers.

Healthy, vegan crack.

I was honestly hooked on Mary’s Crackers for a while.
(In the US, the crackers are called Mary’s Gone Crackers for good reason!)

Then I said, enough is enough! Let me make my own crack crackers!

I started by making a sweet flax cracker with cinnamon and dates but wanted to tackle something savoury, too. This multiseed cracker, courtesy of Sarah, boasts not only ground flax but also hemp and chia seeds. This cracker base was great because it was so much easier to spread than the flax-only cracker.  It was more airy and flaky, too, compared to the Mary’s Cracker prototype. The flavourings are, of course, up to you.

I was itching to recreate Mary’s caraway flavour, which was simple. I also made a version with za’atar that was perfect with my go-to hummus.

My favourite cracker of the bunch, so far, is this pizza cracker. I spiced them with garlic, onion, rosemary, nutritional yeast as well as red pepper paste (a roasted red pepper or tomato paste could be substituted). The slight tang from lemon juice evened out the flavours just slightly.

If I thought Mary’s Crackers were addictive, now I know making my own crackers can be equally as addictive.

What flavour will I create next?

I like Angela’s suggestion to add kelp and Herbamare. Do you have any suggestions?

This is my submission to this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Cristina, and to Ricki’s Weekend Wellness.

Savoury Hemp Crackers
Adapted from Sarah

Raw Pizza Crackers

2 tbsp Turkish red pepper paste (could try this with tomato paste, too)*
2 cups water, divided
2 cups flax seeds
1/2 cup hemp hearts
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
2 tbsp dried rosemary, ground*
2 tsp garlic granules*
1.5 tsp onion granules*
4 tbsp nutritional yeast* (not technically raw)
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, optional

1.In a small glass, place red pepper paste in 1 cup of water and stir until dissolved. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, grind the flax seeds in a coffee grinder briefly to get a very coarse meal. Depending on the size of your grinder, you may to do this in batches. Transfer into a large mixing bowl.

3. Add the remaining ingredients, including the dissolved red pepper paste and its water, to the large mixing bowl.

4. Work quickly so the mixture doesn’t gel up too fast. Mix everything together and spread the mixture immediately onto a solid dehydrator sheet and let it harden for 10 minutes. Cut into desired shapes, or keep as a large sheet (I did this and cut them later).

5. Dehydrate at 115F for 3-4 hours or until the top is dry, then flip onto a mesh dehydrating sheet. Continue dehydrating at 105F until crisp, about another 5 hours. (If you don’t have a dehydrator, spread the dough onto an oiled cookie sheet, cut into desired shapes and dry in the oven on the lowest setting, for 4 to 6 hours or until you achieve the desired texture (from slightly soft to very crispy).

I stored my crackers at room temperature without problems, but for longer storage, store in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container.

Makes 2 sheets of crackers (lots!)

Alternative versions:

Raw Caraway Crackers

Remove ingredients that are starred and replace with 2 tbsp of caraway seeds

Raw Za’atar Crackers

Remove ingredients that are starred and replace with 8 tbsp of za’atar