This week’s Cook the Book Fridays recipe from David Lebovitz’ My Paris Kitchen is like a very thin savoury biscotti-type cracker with almonds called a “croquet” in French that reminds me a lot of my favourite Raincoast Crisps. It’s an interesting recipe, containing just flour (whole wheat and plain), a touch of sugar, some Herbes de Provence, almonds, olives and baking soda, held together with buttermilk.
You bake the mixture in a loaf tin for about 30 minutes (mine was still wet in the centre at this point so I baked a further 15 minutes for a total of 45 minutes but I reckon it could have used a few more minutes, even) then cool it completely before slicing the loaf into what David says will be 1/4-inch thick slices, although it’s hard to imagine how you can possible get the 40 crisps that is the serving size because it’s pretty challenging, even with a decent bread knife.
I use an Opinel bread knife which definitely comes under the heading of “decent bread knives” and is worth the money…
…but I had a hard time cutting the slices very thin so mine were more like 1/2 inch thick and I got 24 slices… Those slices are baked again for 35 minutes (mine was more like 45, again, because the slices were a little thicker than the recipe called for).
These were delightful with a crisp glass of rosé and definitely very more-ish. Summer patio food par excellence! They are best enjoyed the day you make them because, even kept in an airtight container, they didn’t stay crisp but a stint under a medium broiler perked them up! I wonder if they might be able to be frozen once you’ve cut the slices, then baked from frozen? they would be very handy to have on hand for unexpected guests!
Get the recipe for David Lebovitz’s Salted Olive Crisps on p 42 of My Paris Kitchen.
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If I had made these earlier in the day I definitely would have enjoyed these on the deck with a glass of chilled white. Glad you enjoyed these as much as we did!
They were tasty for sure!
Refreshing these crisps under the broiler to perk them up is an excellent idea. Why not have them baked thrice?
Right? I figured it can’t hurt!
Shirley also suggested the loaf slices be put in the freezer. But, I think your idea of just freezing the sliced pieces and using a few at a time is a good one. My crisps were fine the first night with wine but, even in an airtight container, they were inedible the next night. I toasted them but no-go, not worth the calories. I wonder what is it that David was successful we the storage and most of us were not. When you see him, ask him!!!
I’m not sure what he stored them in to keep them crisp 🙁
Wow, your slices look great and very crisp. It’s a shame they didn’t stay because they were really good.
Well they might look crisp but they were not so crispy…
I should have sliced up one of the remaining two loaves I have for toasting as and when required as per your suggestion! These were good with beer too!
Good to know!
Love the idea of freezing the slices to bake up a few at a time. This reminds me that I’ve run out of my freezer store of gougères. I love things like that, where I can put in a little time earlier and yield results much faster! I had the same issues as you with the slicing–my knife caught on some of the olive chunks–and the losing crispness. They sure taste good, though!
I need to try the freezing method with these too!
I had a hard time making thin slices, but on the other hand, a week later, my slices are still crisp. I’m wondering if it has to do with the olives. My olives, though moist, were not stored in brine. I’m thinking there was less moisture in my batter, so it the result was drier. Tasty treat with wine though.
Ah that’s a good point re: the moisture in the olives… Noted!