These are delicate crackers that are great with cheese or salmon pate.  They are a bit fiddly to make but very easy if you follow these instructions exactly! This makes about 50.

  • 350g plain flour
  • 90g unsalted butter, cold
  • 1tsp salt
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • leaves from 5 sprigs of thyme
  • 140ml cold water

Bang the lot in a food processor and whizz until it forms a dough. Divide into six balls, cover in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Put the oven on at 180C (160C fan). Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Roll out the dough a ball at a time to a thickness of about 2mm. That’s thin! Cut into long triangles like in the phot above and transfer to your baking tray. You do need it this thin, trust me. And it is possible to transfer the cut dough balanced on a thin knife to the tray – trust me on that too! Bake for 12 minutes. Have a peek after 10, you want the crackers to look pale but the corners just tinging golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. It is best to do this in batches otherwise the dough will dry out, and you probably haven’t enough trays anyway. The original recipe used a pasta machine to roll the dough but I found I had made the dough too sticky for that. Whatever works for you – if you use the machine roll out to setting No. 2.