These savoury wholemeal crackers are a perfect texture. They are part oatcake, part biscuit. The wholemeal flour gives them a delicious nutty flavour, and they have a great crunch which complements softer textures such as cheese and pate. They are rather like an unsweetened whole wheat digestive biscuit.
Why you'll love these healthy crackers
- Healthy whole wheat crackers taste great. They've got a lovely crisp texture and a slightly nutty flavour. I've experimented with several oatcake and cracker recipes over the years. Oatcakes can be a bit dry and crumbly, and some crackers a bit papery. These are just right.
- They are nutritious. Wholemeal crackers are high in fibre, and a good source of B vitamins. They are also additive free, and made with healthy oil. You can control the amount of seasoning so that they are not overly salty.
- These savoury biscuits are easy to make. It doesn't take long to blitz up the mixture, and it comes together really easily. There's no need to chill or rest the dough.
Wholegrain cracker ingredients
Oats and wholemeal flour are both packed with healthy fibre, vitamins and minerals. If you are making the recipe in a food processor, the oats will become mostly broken down, but some nubby bits will remain to give a nice texture.
Olive oil. Olive oil is rich in antioxidants, and a key component of the Mediterranean diet which has proven health benefits. (Read more about the health benefits of olive oil.)
Of course you can replace the oil in this recipe with any other type of healthy oil if you prefer, but the nice thing about making your own crackers is that you can avoid the ubiquitous palm oil.
Bicarbonate of soda provides a tiny bit of lift so these whole meal crackers aren't too dense.
Seasoning: add salt and pepper to taste. I'd suggest a large pinch of each.
Optional ingredients
These wholegrain and olive oil crackers have a lovely flavour. But if you want to include some herbs, just add them to the dry ingredients. It's best to use dried herbs - rosemary or thyme both work very well.
You could also add garlic powder, or a pinch of paprika. And you could add sesame seeds to the top, and maybe switch to sesame oil in the crackers. (If you do add seeds, add them to the top of the dough as you roll it out so they are slightly stuck in and don't all fall off!)
For a wholegrain cracker with an even shorter ingredient list, try this gluten free oatcakes recipe which just needs oats and olive oil.
How to make wholemeal crackers
The process for making these oat and wholemeal crackers is really easy.
1. Blitz the oats, wholemeal flour, bicarb and seasoning together for a few seconds. If you'd like them a bit chunkier just blitz briefly for a few seconds, or for a smoother textured cracker, blitz for a bit longer.
2. Then add the olive oil and blitz briefly. Add 3 tablespoons of boiling water and process until the mixture starts to come together. You might need a little more water, so add a little extra at a time until it starts to clump. It won't form a perfect ball, but it'll start to stick together in crumbly lumps.
3. It's much easier to roll out this wholemeal dough between 2 pieces of baking parchment or silicon sheets. Tip the mixture onto your sheet and form into a rough square or rectangle. Then add the top sheet and press it out with a rolling pin. The dough should be about 2mm thick. The mixture is quite forgiving so you can easily fill in any gaps and squish it together.
Cut the dough into squares, you should be able to get about 16. Of course you can cut the wholemeal crackers into whatever shape you like, but I find squares or rectangles easiest so I don't have to re-roll or waste the dough. If you prefer, you could form 2 circles, and cut the crackers into triangles.
Slide the baking paper onto an ovenproof tray. There's no need to space out the crackers as they won't spread.
4. Bake at a cool temperature - 160 degrees - for 30 minutes. Check them after 20 minutes and turn if necessary to stop the edges browning and becoming hard.
Leave to cool for 15 minutes on the tray, then lift off with a palette knife. Finish cooling on a wire rack.
Serving suggestions
Oat and wholemeal crackers are the perfect complement to quick and healthy mackerel pate, or hummus, but IMO you can never go wrong with cheese and biscuits.
And although these wholemeal crackers are savoury biscuits, they are also really delicious with a thick smear of honey:)
Store the crackers in an airtight tin. They'll keep well for a few days.
You might also like these oatcakes made with cheddar cheese, or wholemeal spelt flour scones. Or browse other healthy savoury bakes and snacks.
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Recipe
Wholemeal Crackers
Ingredients
- 90 g whole rolled oats
- 60 g wholemeal flour
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- large pinch of salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4-5 tablespoon boiling water
Instructions
- Add all the dry ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and whizz for a few seconds until the oats look like coarse flour.
- Add the oil and whizz again, then gradually add enough boiling water until the dough comes together in clumps (around 4 tablespoons).
- Roll the dough out very thinly (about 2mm). The easiest way to do this is to roll it out between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper or silicon. Cut into squares approximately 7 cm, you should end up with around 16 biscuits.
- Slide the greaseproof paper with the biscuits onto a baking tray and bake for 30 mins at 160 degrees. Check after 20 minutes and turn the tray if necessary.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes on the tray, then remove with a palette knife. Finish cooling on a wire rack.
- Store in an airtight tin.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.
Sam says
These are lovely with cheese. Thank you.