Worth shall now disappear from posting at TJunction for a few days, as he will head to his machine shop to build a rolling pin cracker jig.

Yeah, Worth's pins are gorgeous. I have an old and oldfashioned rolling pin with handles, and using a bit of parchment to roll on... that's about what I'm willing to invest for a few crackers So I'll have to get better at wingin it, for now.
I did see people are using pasta machine to get the dough really flat and even.... well I'd love to have one of those but it'll have to wait. Maybe next year. I have a list of like to have, and pasta maker is on it somewhere after grain grinder and dehuller

My mom used an old handle type rolling pin my grandfather turned out on a lathe back at the beginning of the 19th century.
Made from hard maple.
Handles with bearings defeat the purpose of the engineering behind them.
As the hand rolls along the smaller handle the larger diameter part travels farther.
Or at least that's my opinion and it works on my larger rolling pin.
The handle with a circumference of 2 inches rotating 1 time will make the larger section with a circumference of 4 inches travel 4 inches while your smaller handle only moves 2 inches down your palm.
Since the hand is on average about 6 inches from finger tip to back of palm the pin will roll 24 inchs.
This is just the math involved and not meant to be real life but the point is made and why a spinning handle defeats the purpose.

Totally hog wash on my part.

I got the idea of using tomato powder and the other ingredients from Sundried Tomato & Basil Wheat Thins, which are yummy.

Bower wrote: ↑Mon Apr 24, 2023 10:55 am Yeah, Worth's pins are gorgeous. I have an old and oldfashioned rolling pin with handles, and using a bit of parchment to roll on... that's about what I'm willing to invest for a few crackers So I'll have to get better at wingin it, for now.
I did see people are using pasta machine to get the dough really flat and even.... well I'd love to have one of those but it'll have to wait. Maybe next year. I have a list of like to have, and pasta maker is on it somewhere after grain grinder and dehuller

In my experience, the handles don't improve ease of use or dough quality. They also make it much more difficult to use your rolling pin as a weapon.

The pasta machine that works best is the Kitchenaid attachment, but it's still a pain to work with unless you've had lots of practice and cleanup is no fun either.

It all depends what you are uesd to. I use one with handles and always have, and have tried ones without and can't get the same nice even round dough I do with the handled pin. Don't care what anyone says, what you think the engineering advantages are, results are what matters. I roll a nice round, even dough, have been asked several times how I get it like that. Just practice over many years of doing it. Changing what works for me is what doesn't make sense. I am sure I could learn to get good results with the other type of pin but why?

Nobody's trashing what kind of rolling pin you use.
I just happen to be lucky enough to use all types.
Maybe I should have been a twirler in school.
A rolling pin twirler.

Ah, I've never been a perfect roller - I often cook with friends so I've had the pleasure of seeing it done right a few times, just not by me so much. So it isn't the rolling pin making the difference.
I went ahead and made a second batch of crackers.
This time decided to keep it simpler flour wise and work on improvements from there.
One recipe gave this: 5 parts flour to 1 part cornstarch to 1/2 part oil to 2 parts icewater.
So I made it with one part = a tablespoon. 2 unbleached 2 rye 1 buckwheat 1 tapioca flour (in place of cornstarch). Tiny ball of dough and seemed kind of tough. Maybe more water? Or a rest of some kind? might have helped.
Rolled out and cut some curved edges with a glass. Then I took each cracker and flattened even more. reallythin. Pricked with a fork and salt sprinkled. This recipe almost filled a full baking sheet again!! Stuck them in for ten minutes at 400 while eating my supper... a bit overbaked in places, so next time I should hover and check.
These crackers are crispy, but by no means tender. they are crisp and hard. Overall taste neutral and good. Salt just right.
So I'm still wanting to do better with the texture.
One thing for sure, this is the right size of recipe for cracker tests. Just a few left.

Edit to add: here's a link about why they were hard: overmixed the dough.
https://www.bobsredmill.com/blog/health ... -crackers/

So they are like pie dough or bisquits, then. Don't over work them to keep them flaky and tender. Sometimes the technique is as important or more important than the recipe in getting good results. But it is so much fun when you do master it. That is how I feel about my flour tortillas and my chocolate chip cookies. Which are practically world famous by the way. Well, at least in MY world.

I didn't cook last night, I pulled some frozen meals of tuna casserole out and put them in the hot logic to heat up, easy dinner for sure. Yesterday I made the sauerkraut, and I made the refrigerator pickles using my friends cucs with onions and bell peppers from my garden. The sauerkraut will take at least 7 days before I can try it to see if it's ready to use for those Texas sandwiches so I need to freeze the bread we bought because I don't want it to go bad on us. I again have no idea what dinner will be like but today I have 8 dozen eggs from the guy down the street so I am going to freeze some, and I am going to pickle some for hubby. They freeze well and I can use them in scrambles, meatloaf, well anything that calls for eggs to be scrambled before using them.

Rockporter wrote: ↑Tue Apr 25, 2023 6:53 am I didn't cook last night, I pulled some frozen meals of tuna casserole out and put them in the hot logic to heat up, easy dinner for sure. Yesterday I made the sauerkraut, and I made the refrigerator pickles using my friends cucs with onions and bell peppers from my garden. The sauerkraut will take at least 7 days before I can try it to see if it's ready to use for those Texas sandwiches so I need to freeze the bread we bought because I don't want it to go bad on us. I again have no idea what dinner will be like but today I have 8 dozen eggs from the guy down the street so I am going to freeze some, and I am going to pickle some for hubby. They freeze well and I can use them in scrambles, meatloaf, well anything that calls for eggs to be scrambled before using them.

Give it at least 14 days on the sauerkraut.
Any sauerkraut recipe worth it's salt will tell you this.

worth1 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 25, 2023 9:13 am

Rockporter wrote: ↑Tue Apr 25, 2023 6:53 am I didn't cook last night, I pulled some frozen meals of tuna casserole out and put them in the hot logic to heat up, easy dinner for sure. Yesterday I made the sauerkraut, and I made the refrigerator pickles using my friends cucs with onions and bell peppers from my garden. The sauerkraut will take at least 7 days before I can try it to see if it's ready to use for those Texas sandwiches so I need to freeze the bread we bought because I don't want it to go bad on us. I again have no idea what dinner will be like but today I have 8 dozen eggs from the guy down the street so I am going to freeze some, and I am going to pickle some for hubby. They freeze well and I can use them in scrambles, meatloaf, well anything that calls for eggs to be scrambled before using them.

Give it at least 14 days on the sauerkraut.
Any sauerkraut recipe worth it's salt will tell you this.

7 days is for taste testing. I don't like strong pickling so it might be what I like and can take some out to save for me, then let it keep going for hubby.

Mexican rice.
Usual ingredients.
Including my spice blend.
Anytime I say Mexican rice just assume it's toasted rice.

Thai Chicken and Green Beans. Used Emerite filet beans, plus one Mucho Nacho Jalapeño, a stalk of Lemongrass, 2 tablespoons of fresh basil, a clove of Lorz garlic and a red ripe thai vesuvius pepper, all of it I grew. The Thai vesuvius will light up your mouth for sure, good thing I barely used any and only as a garnish.

Definitely a keeper recipe. Also a tablespoon of fish sauce and about 2.5 of green curry paste along with 12 ounces of coconut milk went into the recipe.

https://www.food.com/recipe/thai-chicke ... ans-348080

The final meal way past my bedtime.
It's almost 8 PM.
But I'm doing laundry and took a shower.
Small hamburger steak with my homemade mushroom ketchup.
Charro beans.
Charred onion.
Mexican rice.

There is so much stuff in our kitchen supply areas as both PIC and I like to cook and bake. Too much stuff really !! So, for me, something smaller and easier to store is helpfull and that doesn't slide around while in use is a plus. But each cook has their own style.

Here are a couple well tested cracker recipes to let your imagination take off from, Bower, and can be scaled down or up if need be.





Have fun experimenting !

Rolling pins...use what is comfortable to your hands and works for you. We have several, even a marble one with the bearings, LOL, and it is especially great for making butter sheets for laminated doughs. Some french pins, a couple different sized handled ones of various thicknesses and a couple plain dowel types.

Using what you have and works for you is the important thing.

My favorite is also that long, handleless rolling pin; also, a tapered one, for some things, but the even one more than anything. I even have a marble RP, and a large, wooden one with roller bearings, but both of those are in a drawer in the dining room, and haven't been touched in years! Sometimes, simplicity is best.

Conducting an experiment with fried flour tortilla dough.
Highly successful.
Nothing but the White Wings tortilla mix and water.
They aren't greasy.
I made a doughnut too, but ate it.
This dough and technique will be used to make pigs in blankets.
But not tonight.

Avocado toast with radishes and arugula. Poached eggs on top. The Saxa 2 are the red radishes, those have a whiff of heat, the helios are the gold ones and have an earthy and slightly minty note. Lemon juice and zest goes into the mashed avocado. Cumin was supposed to go in with the mashed avocado, but I forgot that add in. Still, we loved it.