This month on #Breadbakers, we have Stacy hosting a wonderful theme close to my heart – Gluten Free Baking. At home, we have been making subtle but significant changes to our everyday diet and try alternatives to usual flatbreads / baking we do with Whole-wheat and / or dairy products.
One of the (successful) bakes were these spicy and flavourful Besan cookies (gram flour / garbanzo flour crackers), and as we are a savoury-bake-loving family, these vanished in a jiffy. Bookmarked from Suma’s recipe, I made a couple of changes for the kids and we are sure to make and savour these often. Besan is not only protein-rich, but is a great alternative as a GF flour for baking (yes, it takes a little getting used to) or even to make pancakes (a.k.a Cheelas)
Other GF dishes (and mostly vegan too) that you like on this blog:
Baked Idli Fry | Gluten Free and Vegan Snacks
Vegan shammi Kebabs (GF too!)
and many, many more – just hit the GF button here
This recipe is not only GF, but also vegan – so, its a win-win for all those who are looking for healthy non-dairy and not so butter-heavy cookies. Thank you, Stacy for a wonderful theme, and we are sure to try these again with a different mix of spices.
The only changes I made were to bake them as thin cookies, rather than the thicker “cookie” type that the original recipe had.
Prep time – 15 mins, Resting time – 10-15 mins, Baking time : 12~15 mins / batch
Ingredients:
- Besan / Chickpea flour / Garbanzo flour – sifted – 1 cup (here 1 cup = 200 ml)
- Peanut / Canola / sunflower oil – 3 TBSP (warm)
- Salt – 1/2 T
- Crushed Fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) – 1 T
- Red chilli powder / spicy cayenne powder – 1/2 T (adjust to taste)
- Baking Powder – 1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp
- Sugar – 1 tsp (optional)
- Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
- Roasted Sesame seeds – 1 T
- Warm water – to knead
Method:
- Mix all the dry ingredients except oil and water. Add warm oil 1 TBSP at a time and fold into the flour as breadcrumbs (if using butter here, use cold butter and cut into the flour).
- Add 1 tsp warm water at a time, and knead into a soft slightly crumbly dough.
- Cling wrap and refreigerate for 15-20 mins (optiional but recommended step)
- Towards the end of 15~20 mins, preheat oven to 160 C / 350F. Line a baking sheet.
- With slightly greased hands, knead dough for a min.
- Roll the dough between two parchment / thick plastic sheets to desired thickness.
- Place gently on the lined baking sheet. Bake until a golden edge appears around the edges
- The cookies might be slightly soft when taken out. They harden a bit after left around for 10-15 mins on a cooling tray.
- Store the crackers in an air tight container and enjoy along with your afternoon cuppa.
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Let’s check out the #GF bakes this month.
- Coconut Flour Pancakes from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Gluten Free Cheddar Garlic Biscuits from What Smells So Good?
- Gluten-Free Petite Vanilla Bean Scones from All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
- Idli – Steamed Sourdough Rice and Lentil Buns from Sneha’s Recipe
- Japanese Rice Crackers from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Low Carb Garlic Rosemary Bread from Gayathri’s Cook Spot
- Pan de Yuca from Mayuri’s Jikoni
- P̣o de Queijo РBrazilian Cheese Bread from Food Lust People Love
- Quinoa Chia Multiseed Bread (Vegan ~ Gluten Free ~ Dairy Free) from CookWithRenu
- Spicy Besan and Fenugreek Crackers (GF and Vegan) from Sizzling Tastebuds
These would disappear very quickly from my plate too, Kalyani! I love a savory, crunchy cracker.
These make a perfectly baked snack.
I would love some of these to snack on while I do my virtual wine tasting tonight.
What a delicious sounding snack! I love the spices and flavorings in these.
I don't make nearly enough crackers, and these look amazing. I'm going to have to remedy this by trying them.
Kalyani did you roast the chickpea a bit? I'd once tried making chickpea flour crackers and didn't like the raw taste of the flour though the crackers were baked. Would love to try baking them again.
@Mayuri – I didn't roast the besan, but slightly warmed it.