These crunchy za’atar chickpea crackers are the perfect little scoops for hummus and dip. They are naturally gluten free too!
Living in the Middle East, first in Abu Dhabi then, almost 25 years later, in Dubai, I fell in love with za’atar. The word means thyme in Arabic and refers both to the plant native to the region and the spice mixture that is made with it.
Any Middle Eastern cook will tell you that their family makes the best za’atar, as they all have their own recipe. Along with thyme, most contain toasted sesame seeds, sumac and sometimes coriander and cumin.
I do have one caveat. Make sure your za’atar is fresh. As with most dried herbs, the spice mix loses its flavor when it gets old and sometimes the sesame seeds will turn rancid. It's best to buy it in small batches and replace at least every three months.
Zaatar Chickpea Crackers
Watch these guys like a hawk when they are in the oven. My parchment paper flipped up in the front so I didn’t notice that the ones closest to me were burning! Ugh.
Ingredients
1 cup or 95g chickpea/besan/garbanzo flour, plus a little extra for kneading
1 tablespoon za’atar
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ghee, melted and cooled
3-4 tablespoons water
Method
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Add in the melted ghee and then slowly add the water a tablespoon at a time until you can form a soft dough. I used my Danish whisk.
Put the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and press down. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until it is very thin.
Carefully peel back the top parchment paper. If the dough sticks a little, press the paper back down, rub it gently then try again. Mine really stuck at first, but as I eased it off, rubbing again occasionally, it finally came off fairly clean.
Bake them in the oven for about 10-12 minutes or until they are golden and crispy. As I mentioned above, keep a close eye on them! Remove from the oven and use the pressure of the pizza cutter to separate them into crackers. Ugh, burned ones in the back!
Serve with hummus or your favorite dip!
It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes for crackers or recipes that use crackers. Many thanks to our host Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories. Check out the links below.
- Sourdough Discard Crackers from Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Keto Cheese and Chive Crackers from Cook with Renu
- Easy Inside Out Chicken Cordon Bleu from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Homemade Everything Seasoned Crackers from Amy's Cooking Adventures
- Homemade Goldfish Crackers from Culinary Cam
- Parle Cheesling Bhel from Mayuri's Jikoni
- Whole Wheat Crackers from Sneha's Recipe
- Za'atar Chickpea Crackers from Food Lust People Love
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