Only 3 base ingredients and less than 30 minutes cooking dedication and you end up with the perfect healthy snack! Gram flour is made of ground chickpeas and it is widely used in Indian cuisine. It is really easy to use, has a very distinct and flavourful taste, has no gluten but lots of protein, it is ideal for thickening and sometimes mixed with water can replace eggs for vegan recipes and goes perfectly with veggie dishes or warming flatbreads. If you ask me – a real super power flour!

The first recipe here in my gram flour addiction is the simplest but yet a very yummy thing you can make – crackers. 3 key ingredients – flour, water, olive oil and 10 minutes in the oven – Et Voilà! Healthy, gluten-free, protein packed crackers, ideal with soups, salads or just on their own. The great thing about crackers is that you can easily add different spices, herbs and seeds and make these simple creatures real fancy. Mine here are with  za’atar (addiction No.2) and some extra sesame seeds.

The ingredients here make roughly 25 medium sized circle crackers, so feel free to adapt the quantity:

2 cups of gram flour (ideally made of roasted chickpeas as it is milder and more flavourful than the one from raw chickpeas) 

warm water 

3 tbsp.  olive oil + extra for brushing 

sesame seeds to taste 

pinch of salt 

2 tsp. za’atar + extra for sprinkling 

Mix the flour with the dry ingredients well and make a well in the center. Pour the olive oil and warm water. You are aiming for an easy to roll dough but not too hard. Therefore, start with adding just a bit of water and as you mix keep adding more if needed.

Once you have a nice firm ball of dough, sprinkle some gram flour on a clean working surface and roll the dough with a rolling pin to the thickness you like. I prefer them really thin. Using a cutter of your choice cut the cracker shapes and place on a tray lined up with baking sheet. I often forget to take out my fancy cookie cutters out of box in the top cupboard before I get my hands really messy with dough and flour so I end up using a glass or knife which works just as well!

Once your crackers are ready and resting in the tray using a fork pierce them gently 2 -3 times to give them a nice finish a allow for some air to get in. Brush them with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with za’atar.

Bake in preheated oven at 180-200ºC for about 10 minutes. Be careful not to overbake them because as they cool down they harden up. Take them out of the oven just when the edges are hard but the inner is still a bit softer.

These crackers are so easy to make and so distinct in flavour so beware of addiction! Enjoy!