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poppyseed and fennel seed crackers

7 July 2016 by Dominic Franks

… it’s funny having lived most of my life in London but never having gone to Wimbledon to watch the tennis.  It seems like one of those British institutions that simply must be done in ones life and thanks to an adorable client The Viking and I got ourselves centre court tickets to watch the women’s semi-finals today.  It was quite thrilling as we got to watch both Williams sisters in action, although the first match was over in moments with a win from Serena and the second wasn’t too sloppy either although Venus was beaten by Angelique Kerber in a ferociously fast set of games.  It’s an incredible atmosphere and you’re surrounded by the hoi polloi of the tennis world who all look like they wouldn’t say boo to a goose but get quite excitable you can’t help but be swept up by the whole thing. It was a great privilege and one that neither of us can see ourselves repeating in the near future so we do count ourselves very lucky… of course I was also there for the Pimm’s (which came on tap) and of course the strawberries and cream.  Apparently there are swathes of fields in Kent where they grow special strawberries just for the Wimbledon fortnight and I have to say they tasted rather lovely but of course it’s the ‘being there’ that I’m sure adds to the flavour.  Centre Court tickets are expensive but you can gain entry to the grounds for a much more reasonable price and watch all the big matches on a big screen on ‘Murray Mound’ where you really do feel part of the action and atmosphere. A thoroughly wonderful and very British day out which i’d highly recommend…

poppyseed and fennel seed crackers
for the life of me i’d never thought of making my own crackers which is utterly insane as we get through a huge amount of cheese in this household and the cracker is the ultimate vehicle to get said cheese into ones gob… well actually the hand is probably the best vehicle for getting the cheese into ones gob but when i’m not scarfing handfuls of cheese late in the evening i’m in need of an elegant cracker that whilst has a wonderful crunch and flavour it’s subtle enough not to overwhelm the cheese itself and get too carried away with it’s own personality.  These little beauties are really easy to make and i’m sure you could get quite inventive with the seasoning but remember to keep it simple and elegant…

300g homepride plain flour, plus extra for rolling
2 teaspoons baking powder
85g butter
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons poppy seeds

pre-heat the oven to 160C fan and line a baking sheet with parchment.

place the flour, baking powder, butter, fennel and poppy seeds with ½ a teaspoon of salt in a food processor and whizz for a minute until the butter is completely mixed with the flour. Add 100ml water and pulse until the mixture comes together to a firm dough

roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface as thinly as you can and then cut into shapes… you could use a round scone cutter but I used a clever fluted cutting wheel to create my shapes which all ended up a little different sized but I felt this added to their home-made look… space them out on the backing sheet and prick all over with a fork

bake for 15 – 20 mins until the biscuits feel dry and sandy with a slightly golden colour around the edges – they may still feel soft but will harden up when cooling. Cool on the baking sheet.

i’ve had them in an air-tight container for the past two weeks and they’re still nicely crunchy and very tasty

eat and of course, enjoy!

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Filed Under: Everything else Tagged With: British Food, cheese, crackers, fennel seed, Pimms, poppyseeds, tennis, Wimbledon

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Comments

  1. Sammie says

    7 July 2016 at 7:30 pm

    I'm so glad you got to go to Wimbledon. I went a few years ago, well I was 16 so more than a few. Great experience. These crackers look fabulous. I'm a cheese snacker, much more so than cake. So am pinning these to be made.

  2. Manu says

    8 July 2016 at 7:33 am

    I use to make crackers too; I'll try your recipe.
    My favourite are with cumin seeds.
    Have a nice weekend

  3. Helen says

    8 July 2016 at 11:23 am

    these look great. I love both poppyseeds & fennel seeds so I need to try these.

  4. belleau kitchen says

    8 July 2016 at 12:29 pm

    Thanks Sammie… love the cheese snackers of this world!

  5. belleau kitchen says

    8 July 2016 at 12:29 pm

    Thanks Manu… love cumin seeds too.

  6. belleau kitchen says

    8 July 2016 at 12:29 pm

    thanks Helen… fennel seeds are my favourite!!

  7. Jo says

    9 July 2016 at 12:15 pm

    These look so delicious – such a good seed combo!

  8. From Beyond My Kitchen Window says

    9 July 2016 at 12:31 pm

    These look perfect. I like how the ingredient list is short. I will try these for sure. It felt great to visit after so long. I hope all is well!

  9. belleau kitchen says

    9 July 2016 at 3:11 pm

    thanks Jo… I do love this combo!

  10. belleau kitchen says

    9 July 2016 at 3:12 pm

    Thanks honey… nice to see you back here xx

  11. Treat and Trick says

    10 July 2016 at 1:18 am

    Like you, I never made crackers before but yous looks super easy and full of flavor. I need to give this a try…

  12. Kate Glutenfreealchemist says

    12 July 2016 at 9:15 pm

    I've never been to Wimbledon, but it sounds as though it was a fantastic day. The atmosphere must be amazing!
    The crackers look very professional and perfect! Very impressive x

  13. Choclette Blogger says

    24 July 2016 at 4:11 pm

    Gosh Centre Court? Wowzers. I've never been, of course, but I can imagine you two there enjoying it all in style. I do love your writing Dom – so envious of this sentence “an elegant cracker that whilst has a wonderful crunch and flavour it's subtle enough not to overwhelm the cheese itself and get too carried away with it's own personality”.

  14. Susan Lindquist says

    10 August 2016 at 9:00 pm

    Oh Gawd! Why haven't I visited you in such a long time? I intend to make these for a little get-together this weekend! And by the way, those little blood red tomatoes look divine!

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My name is Dominic, I am a cook, food writer and creative event producer. I write the food blog Dom In The Kitchen and also write a monthly recipe column for Lincolnshire Life Magazine and Good Taste Magazine. I also run creative event production company The Persuaders, producing global events for brands since 1997. I am based both in the small village of Belleau in Lincolnshire and the smaller village of London! Read More…

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beat the sugar and butter together in a large bowl until light and creamy… a stand mixer will do this in 4 minutes, a hand held electric whisk will do it in 6 minutes and a wooden spoon will do it in 8 minutes.

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🥚 salt
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pre-heat the oven to 180C and butter your baking tin… i’m using an oblong swiss roll tin but any metal pan will do, a quiche or tarte tin is good.  Earthenware will work too but there’s something about the metal tin that makes it more ‘roasty’

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