Graham Crackers

These are some of the most useful things for the aspiring American-style baker. Commercially available almost everywhere are boxes and bags of crackers and crumbs, used to make crusts for pies and tarts, bases for bars, all manner of no-bake sweets, not to mention s'mores. However, a brief look at the ingredients list and you'd never guess that these were originally meant to be a sort of pure, all-natural food created by a reverend to help stave off lustful urges (well, if you say so...). Mind you, the original crackers didn't contain nearly so much sugar either, but that's an adjustment that I certainly don't mind. Otherwise they wouldn't be nearly so good for baking with.

Though the original recipe used only white sugar, some of the distinctive graham flavour comes from molasses and/or honey, so a bit of brown sugar and honey is called for. You also need whole wheat pastry flour (or alternatively, white whole wheat flour) since the whole wheat content is one of the hallmarks of graham crackers. One might not be familiar with the leavener- baker's ammonia. Baker's ammonia usually refers to ammonium carbonate, but I used ammonium bicarbonate (a.k.a Hirschhornsalz or hartshorn), which works just as well - it's sold more and more commonly at well-stocked grocery stores, especially those with lots of Italian or North European products (as the ingredient is used extensively in biscuits there). You need to dissolve the ammonia in water to prevent any lumps from being left in the dough- you really don't want to bite into that. But mixing it with the liquid portion is all you need to do. 

The cinnamon is a matter of taste, but I don't think it'd taste like a proper graham cracker to me without it. Likewise, you don't need to sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar, but it does add a nice touch of flavour and texture.

This recipe is remarkably easy to make vegan- egg replacers won't work everywhere, but since you only need one egg here as a binding agent, an equivalent amount of egg replacer works just as well. This was very handy when I was making these for my Jain friend, so that she could also enjoy some campfire s'mores (along with vegan marshmallows). That also means you don't need any fresh ingredients whatsoever, so you can whip these up whenever. With such an untemperamental and easy to work dough, the only caveat is letting them dry properly for full crispiness- but that's completely effortless, just switch off the oven and let the door stay open a while. Think about how cool you'll look when you tell everyone you make your own graham crackers. It's some domestic goddess level stuff right there.

If you need any more motivation to make these cheap, delicious, preservative-free biscuits in lieu of shifty, extra ingredient-laden, and often expensive storebought ones, consider that they last weeks in a well-sealed container, and months in the freezer. You can keep them on the ready for whenever you feel like making a cheesecake base, an oven-broiler emergency s'more, or something decadent like a seven-layer bar. I have a boxful in my freezer right now! Go for it.


Graham Crackers (easily vegan!)
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

2 C. Whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
2 TBSP Honey
1/2 Tsp. Baker's ammonia (ammonium carbonate) or ammonium bicarbonate
1/4 C. Vegetable oil (or melted butter)
1/4 C. Water (or orange juice)
1 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Egg, or egg replacer equivalent (I used Ener-G Egg Replacer)
Additional cinnamon sugar (optional)

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, and sugar. Add the egg (or replacer), honey, and oil. Dissolve the baker's ammonia thoroughly in the water (make sure there's no clumps, lest they burn your mouth if you bite into them) and add. Mix well until a cohesive dough forms, and chill for about 15 minutes to make it easier to work with.

Preheat the oven to 160℃. Divide the dough into two halves. Between sheets of baking parchment, roll out the first piece of dough as thin as possible without tearing it. Remove the upper sheet of parchment, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (if desired). Poke with a fork all over and repeat with the second piece of dough. Bake both sheets of dough for 10 minutes. 

Remove from the oven briefly and score lines with a sharp knife to make rectangles of the desired size of your crackers- don't separate them, you can snap them apart later. Place back in the oven for an additional 20-25 minutes, switching the positions of the trays in your oven halfway through for even baking. The crackers will be slightly browned when done, but still soft to the touch- don't keep baking, as they get crisp during the cooling process.

Turn off the oven and let the crackers cool gradually with the oven door ajar. When the air in the oven is at ambient temperature (hover your hand in front of it to see how warm it is) remove the crackers. When completely cool they can be snapped along the lines you cut earlier into individual crackers, or you can leave them as sheets. Keep in a well-sealed container for about 3 weeks in a dry place, or freeze for several months.