you won't be able to stop eating this crispbread (dukkah crispbread with a silky baba ganoush)

a few weeks ago i had the honor to prepare some snacks and sweet treats for the opening of a lovely design shop in my town. thin crunchy crackers packed with seeds along with baba ganoush, beet hummus and some vegetables sticks seemed to be a quite nice solution. of course i also needed to create some sweets stuff and since the theme was "lemony, fresh and fizzy" i went for a mini version of creamy lemon cupcakes.

faces reflecting the indulgence of what they've just eaten, makes me really happy. there isn't a better reward for spending a lot of time in the kitchen rolling out several batches of dough as thin as possible with aching heels of my hands. Don't get me wrong! i love this kind of work - it is a great counterpart to all the mental work, but seeing you can make others happy with your creations is wonderful.

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the great thing about this crispbread is that it all gets nicely toasted in the oven so you end up with a diversity of nutty and intense flavours of the seeds and spices. and without the dukkah spices it goes great with fruit jam and other sweet topping as well as with savoury dips such as hummus. of course you can also eat it just as it is - this was the reason why i had to hide the baked crispbread, otherwise there wouldn't have been much left till the opening of the shop;) theoretical it would keep for a few months in an airtight container but i have serious doubts that there will be anything left after a few days.

just one thing before the recipe: the baking itself needs some experimenting - i recommend starting with one piece of crispbread until you figured out how long and at which temperature it needs to be baked. since every oven is a little different and and the crispness depends on the thickness and moisture of the dough it is really hard to say exactly how you have to bake it.

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RECIPE CRISPBREAD

one batch

_ 100g buckwheat flour

_ 350g flour (wheat/spelt/...)

_ 7g dry yeast

_ 1.5tsp salt

_ 120g mixed seeds (i used sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, poppy and chia seeds)

_ 30g hazelnuts

_ 2tsp coriander seeds

_ 1tsp cumin seeds

_ 1tsp dried thyme

_ 300ml lukewarm water

in a large bowl combine the flours, yeast, salt and seeds. with a pestle and mortar ground the hazelnuts coriander and cumin seeds and add them with the thyme to the flour mix.

slowly add the water until a dough forms. it is better to start with a little bit less and add more - it will be quite hard to roll it out thinly if it is too wet. then knead it for 10 mins.

now place your dough in a clean bowl, cover it with cling film and let it rise for 1.5 - 2 hours. meanwhile preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F (fan oven) or 210°C/410°F in a electric/gas oven.

once the dough has risen take small balls (about 70g) and roll them out really thinly - some of the seeds may crack, but that is fine. it doesn't have to be paper-thin but if it is to thick it won't be that delicate.

then bake it on a tray lined with baking parchment for 15 mins. once baked let it cool down completely before placing them in an airtight container.

RECIPE BABA GANOUSH

makes around 400g

_ 500g aubergine (2 medium ones)

_ 1 garlic clove

_ 2-3 tsp sweet paprika

_ 20ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

_ 1tsp tahini

_ 3tbsp olive oil (about 30ml)

_ generous pinch of salt

preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. halve the aubergines, poke them with a fork and place them on a lined baking tray with the cut side facing down. bake it for 30-40mins until soft and baked through.

let the aubergines cool down a little bit the scoop it out with a big spoon and put it into a blender. add all the other ingredients (i prefer to crush the garlic before adding it) and blend it until smooth and silky. don't be afraid to season it with enough salt - aubergines contain quite a lot of water.

sometimes i like to spice it up with some chilli flakes or hot paprika.

for serving top it with a splash of good quality olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika.

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