Spelt & rye crackers with herbs & flowers recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup spelt flour
• 1⁄2 cup rye flour
• 1⁄2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1⁄2 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing on the crackers
• 1 tablespoon cider syrup or honey
• 1½ teaspoons Cider Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Handful of fresh edible flowers and garden herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, parsley, marjoram, chives, wild fennel, borage, calendula, nasturtium, or chive blossoms
• Coarse kosher or sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Combine the spelt, rye, and whole-wheat flours with the water, olive oil, syrup, vinegar, and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low-speed until a dough forms, about 1 minute. Switch to the dough hook attachment and knead on medium-low speed for about 2 minutes. If you don’t have a stand mixer, combine the ingredients with a wooden spoon in a mixing bowl, then turn it out onto a floured work surface to knead by hand.
2. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a plate. Set aside on the counter for about 30 minutes to rest.
3. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
4. Lightly flour your countertop or a cutting board. Place the dough on the floured surface and knead a few times, then divide into four equal pieces. If the dough is sticking to your hands, dust it with a little flour. Knead each piece again, form into balls, and place the dough balls back in the covered bowl until you are ready to use them. (If you want to save some of the dough for baking at a later date, seal the balls in an airtight container and freeze. Bring to room temperature before moving on to the next step.)
5. Set your pasta machine to number 1. Pat one dough ball into a rough rectangle and pass it through the machine. Or roll it out as thinly as possible with a rolling pin (no need to fold in thirds). If rolling out by hand, skip to step 8.
6. Fold the dough into thirds like folding a piece of paper to fit in an envelope and then pass it through setting 1 once again. If the dough seems too wet, dust it with flour.
7. Pass the dough once through setting 2, then once each time through settings 3, 4, then 5. If the dough becomes too long and unmanageable, cut it in half. Finish by passing the dough through setting 6.
8. Remove any stems from the herbs and the petals from the flowers. Distribute a portion of the herbs and flowers randomly yet evenly on half of the dough sheet and fold the other half over them. Cut off the folded end, so that you have two distinct sheets stacked on top of each other.
9. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Pass the dough through setting 5. Place the dough on a floured work surface, brush the top with olive oil, and sprinkle with the coarse salt. Cut into desired shapes using a large knife or pizza cutter, then place on the lined baking tray, spacing 1⁄2 inch apart.
10. Place the tray in the oven and bake for 5 minutes, or until golden and crisp, checking a couple of times during the last couple of minutes to see if they’re browning. These crackers are so thin that they will go from underdone to overdone fairly quickly. If your herbs or flowers are very juicy, let the crackers dry out (see note). Let cool on a rack.
11. Repeat steps 5 through 10 with the remaining dough balls.
12. Allow the crackers to cool, then store in an airtight container. They will get crunchier as they cool. If the crackers lose their crunch, reheat in a 200°F (90°C) oven directly on the oven rack for 5 minutes.