Rosemary Flatbread Crackers

One of the best things about the weather getting warmer (at least for me) is sitting outside glass of wine (or beverage of your choice) in hand and enjoying some great appetizers. Recently I went to Sonoma County for a  weekend full of great friends, fabulous wines and of course food.  I am a bit of a fan of smittenkitchen.com and all of Deb's wonderful photos and food. So of course I went to her blog for inspiration for some great ideas to bring to our potluck in wine country.  And of course she did not let me down... well she never does.

This Rosemary flatbread/cracker is so fresh and easy to make. Much better then those store bought dry water crackers that you think of at your Mom's last cocktail party. You know the ones that get stuck in your throat... cough!

They are also so easy to make and with ingredients that you already probably have on hand. I used some rosemary from my front yard. But you could also substitute any fresh or dried herb or just use simple sea salt and pepper.  I decided to doctor mine up with some black pepper and finely sliced green onions.

Your friends and family will be pleasantly surprised when you bring something other then store bought crackers and I promise they will never know how easy they are to create. The additions are endless. Try grating some cheese over them right out of the oven... sublime. This recipe is a great go-to for a  quick easy delicious appetizer to bring to your next summer BBQ, wine tasting soiree, or just to enjoy in sitting outside in the sun with a nice piece of cheese or your favorite dip. Enjoy!

Rosemary & Green Onion Crisp Flatbreads
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

I added green onion and black pepper to the recipe, but you could add just about any herb or spice. I'm thinking green onions and sesame seeds next time. Hmmmm some fresh tarragon to go along with a nice chicken salad. The hardest part about making these is waiting for them to get out of the Oven.

1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary (plus some sprigs to place on top)
3-4 finely chopped green onions
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt (I used Kosher)
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing on top prior to baking
Sea salt (I used Kosher salt)
Black Pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 450 F with a heavy baking sheet in the middle rack

Stir together flour, chopped rosemary and green onions, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  Make a well in the center, add water and oil to the center if the well. Stir in flour until dough forms. Knead dough gently a couple of times.

Divide the dough into three pieces. Roll out one piece on parchment paper into a roughly round shape, until the dough is pretty thin.

Brush with a little olive oil and then add some sprigs of rosemary, salt and black pepper. Slide the round still on the parchment paper onto the baking sheet. Bakes for about 8 - 10 min until there are some golden brown spots. My oven gets pretty hot and one was over browned at about 10 min.
Transfer to a rack to cool. Start the process again with a new piece of parchment until all three rounds are  baked.

Break into pieces prior to serving or serve as a whole round and allow your guests (or yourself) to break off as little or as much as you want.

The crispy flatbread stores well for about 2 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Time to get dirty!!