Forbidden Black Sesame Rice Crackers

There are times when I find it hard being gluten-free; without the fluffiness of bread or the crunch of a well toasted wheat cracker-my life was lacking some bite!

In my deprived state, I discovered Forbidden Rice and fell in love with the nuttiness and earthiness of this grain. It was called “Forbidden” in ancient China because they were grown in very selected farms and were only sold to the Elite classes and the Emperor. The exotic sounding name together with the deep black colour only adds to the mystery. This savoury cracker is fantastic with the sweetness imparted by a Date Hummus (recipe coming soon!).

Ingredients

Makes 2 trays of crackers

1 cup of cooked Forbidden black rice

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt

1 cup toasted black sesame seeds

2 tbs brown rice flour, plus more to roll out crackers

Tamari/miso to brush on crackers

Method

Cook rice together with a pinch of salt according to the instructions on package. Fluff rice when ready and allow to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Cut out 3 sheets of baking paper to the size of your baking tray each and set aside.

Add ¾ cup of sesame seeds, black rice and 1/2 teaspoon salt to food processor and blend just until combined. Pulse in brown rice flour until well combined. The dough should come together nicely into a sticky ball. Divide into 2 portions.

Take first portion out and place it on lightly floured baking paper. Place another baking sheet on top of it and use a rolling pin to roll out into a large triangle (or whatever shape you desire, a heart?) and as thin as possible ~ 2-3mm, without the dough tearing.

Remove the top baking sheet and brush generously with tamari or watered down miso, sprinkle ½ of the remaining sesame seeds. Replace the baking sheet and flip over to the other side and repeat brush and sprinkle.

Slide it into oven and bake for 10-12 mins, remove from oven and rotate tray to cook evenly and bake for another 10 mins, or until desired crispiness. Repeat for the other portion.

Remove from the baking tray when they are slightly cooled and then allow them to cool completely on wire racks. Break off into shards and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Note: I like my crackers rock hard and crispy so I throw them into the dehydrator at 49 degrees C for another 3 hours. But beware of the jaws workout to follow.