September Daring Baker ~ Lavash Crackers

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge was to make Lavash Crackers from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread cookbook, and also to create a dip/spread/salsa/relish to accompany it as long as they were vegan and gluten free!

Our hosts this month are alternative Daring Bakers, Natalie from Gluten A Go Go, and Shel, from Musings From The Fish Bowl. Please refer to their blogs for the Lavash cracker. They have non gluten free and gluten free versions of the recipe posted.

I followed the non gluten free version, and created whole wheat herb crackers, using fresh rosemary and thyme from my garden. This was the first time I made crackers, and they were fun to make, and fun to eat!

I decided to make three easy dips to accompany the crackers -- Roasted Sweet Red Pepper Dip, White Bean Dip, and Fresh Tomato Salsa.

First, I roasted four red peppers on a cookie sheet in my oven at 375 degrees, turning them from time to time until they were wilted soft and the skins were charred. I also roasted three large cloves of garlic at the same time.

After the peppers were roasted, cooled, the peels and seeds were discarded, and I whirled the red flesh in my food processor along with one of the roasted garlic cloves, a little dash of salt and about 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Pour into a container to serve. That's it!

Then I opened a can of cannelini ( soft pre cooked white beans), drained it, added it to the food processor without even cleaning it from whirling the red pepper, and added second clove of roasted garlic, and some fresh rosemary, oregano, and basil and a dash of salt and pepper and a 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil --gave it all a whirl and pored it into a container to serve! It couldn't be easier!

The Tomato Salsa is four chopped fresh tomatoes from my garden, a chopped red onion, the third roasted garlic clove chopped, chopped fresh basil, oregano, a dash of salt and a chopped red jalapeno pepper from my garden. Mix well and add 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, or to taste. Place all in container and enjoy!

Buon Appetito!

If you would like to see wonderful versions of the crackers and dips on other Daring Bakers web sites today, check the Daring Bakers blogroll! There is also an open forum for general baking discussions here, but you have to be a member of Daring Bakers in order to register to log in for each month's challenge and discussions regarding it.
If you think you are up to taking the monthly challenge instructions are on the blog as to how to join! Don't delay, as there is only a 24 hour time limit to join evey month for the next month's challenge!

There is even an "Alternative Daring Baking group for gluten-free, lactose intolerant, allergy, vegetarians, vegans and bakers who use alternate ingredients due to other health concerns or life styles."

I hope to see you all doing the October Daring Baker Challenge!