I had to find out if this super-simple method for making rice crackers works. It sounds so ridiculously easy! It couldn’t possibly work, right? But it does! All you need is some leftover rice, a food processor, a baking sheet with a silpat, and about 2 hours, and you can have your very own homemade rice (or any grain) crackers. And they’re fun, crunchy, and delicious! And as a bonus, you know exactly what’s in them – no preservatives, no cross-contamination from nuts or other grains if you’re worried about that for yourself or your kids, or other unwanted ingredients. Of course, the fact that there are no preservatives means you’ve got to eat them pretty much right away, but I don’t think you’ll find that very difficult.
Where on earth did I get this idea? Food52’s Genius Recipes, of course. It’s kind of an aside in a little space on a page otherwise covered with a photograph of something else, but nonetheless it caught my eye since I had a large quantity of leftover brown rice on hand that day. The Food52 folks attribute the idea to the chef at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, which coincidentally is a place my husband and I went on one of our early dates. See? It was destiny that this recipe and I find each other!
- About 2 cups leftover rice, or any cooked grain (but it doesn't really matter... use however much you have. However, 2 cups will make about one baking sheet's worth of crackers).
- Vegetable broth or water
- Coarse or flaky sea salt (like kosher salt or Maldon salt)
- Other toppings of your choice - I used black sesame seeds
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Place your cooked rice or grains in the bowl of the food processor. With the motor running, drizzle in vegetable broth or water until the grains are the consistency of thick oatmeal, stopping and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Basically you want the mixture to be just thin enough to be spreadable.
- Line your baking sheet with a silicone baking sheet (silpat). Spread the grain mixture thinly and evenly over the baking sheet, stopping short of the edges. Sprinkle the top with salt and any other toppings you desire.
- Bake for about 2 hours, or until cracker sheet is dry and starting to lift away from the silpat. Cool and snap off pieces (you can bend the crackers over the back of a butter knife to create straight-ish lines if you like). Enjoy!!
