One of my new favorite seasonings is za’atar, it tastes great in these Gluten Free Za’atar Crackers! These delicious crackers are also vegan and soy free
One of my favorite things to do is to try new foods from around the world and new seasoning blends. Middle Eastern cuisine is one of my favorites, and I’m pretty sad we don’t have a good Middle Eastern restaurant around here!
I remember trying harissa spread when I was younger, it was sent to us by my aunt and uncle who live in Saudi Arabia. I couldn’t get enough of it! I’d add it to eggs for each breakfast and meals whenever I could until it ran out.
One of my new favorites is za’atar seasoning, it goes great on everything! I still have yet to try it on some allergy friendly bread (I need to come up with a recipe for allergy friendly flat bread), but it tastes pretty amazing in these Gluten Free Za’atar Crackers!
What is za’atar seasoning?
Za’atar (also zaatar) is a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean spice mixture that’s usually a combination of sesame seeds, sumac, thyme, oregano, and other types of savory, but sometimes also contains roasted flour.
Traditionally, za’atar is made with with the za’atar plant, a type of savory related to thyme. Other names for the za’atar plant is eizov in Hebrew (also translated as hyssop). Most modern za’atar blends aren’t made with the actual za’atar plant since it is a protected plant in certain areas.
There are different types of za’atar seasoning blends based on the country of origin and the person mixing it. It is often mixed with olive oil and spread over bread, or used to season meats, salads, and vegetables.
Some kinds of za’atar seasoning blends have roasted flour in them, so read the labels on packaged za’atar seasoning if you have allergies or celiac disease. Or better yet, you can make your own homemade za’atar seasoning.
Making za’atar crackers
For my gluten free za’atar crackers, I found a delicious za’atar blend at World Market that didn’t have any nut allergy cross contamination warnings on the label. This blend tastes amazing on grilled chicken, too!
When rolling out the gluten free cracker dough, you’ll want to make sure it’s rolled between 1/16-1/8 inch thick. This will help it get crispy without having to cook it for a long time. But more importantly, you’ll want to make sure that the dough is rolled evenly and the crackers are cut mostly evenly.
Rolling and cutting the dough *mostly* even helps the crackers cook uniformly so you don’t end up with burnt ones and undercooked ones in the same batch. I say mostly even because you don’t have to make them perfect, just try to make them mostly uniform.
If you want to punch up the flavor even more on these crackers, you can try some flavored on top of them, like smoked salt or herb salt. Just lightly sprinkle any salt on top since the cracker base itself has some salt in it and you don’t want super salty crackers.
Gluten Free Za’atar Crackers
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup fine sorghum flour OR fine brown rice flour (both options work great in this recipe)
- 2 Tablespoons ground golden flaxseed
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar (or Stevia for sugar-free)
- ¾ teaspoon za’atar seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil ( or palm oil shortening, both work well in this recipe)
- 4 ½ Tablespoons cold water
- Salt and garlic powder for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, flaxseed, coconut sugar, za’atar, baking powder, and salt.
- With a fork, cut the coconut oil into the flour mixture until crumbly. Stir in the cold water until a crumbly dough forms.
- Press the dough together into a disc and place between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Roll out the dough until it’s about 1/16- to 1/8-inch thick. Once it’s rolled out, sprinkle lightly with the salt and garlic powder.
- Place the rolled dough along with the bottom piece of parchment paper together onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cut into 1-inch pieces, separating the crackers from each other so they can get crisp. Try to cut them as uniform as possible so the crackers can cook evenly.
- Return the crackers to the oven, and bake for 10 minutes more. Some of the crackers from the inside of the dough will seem soft at first, but they will get crisp as they cool. If your dough is thicker, they will need a few more minutes to cook (start with 2 minute increments).
- Allow to cool completely before putting in an an airtight container. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie. She’s a food allergy mom and healthy living blogger based in Wyoming. Sarah is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Certified Health Coach, Revolution Running certified running coach, and an ACE Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist