Savoury Sesame Seed Crackers with Cumin

These rustic-looking homemade crackers are crispy, crunchy and peppered with back and white sesame seeds. Sesame seeds have a long and established history. They were once highly valued for their oil in ancient times, in fact the famous phrase "open sesame" from The Arabian Nights refers to the unique feature of the sesame seed pod, which bursts open when it reaches maturity. Adapted from a recipe from The Great British Bake Off, the key to the crackers success is rolling them as thin as possible, so that once baked they are lovely and crisp. Flavoured with a few teaspoons of ground cumin, these savoury biscuits are great with cheese, hummus or just on their own.

Wholewheat and semolina flour with sesame seeds

Honey with hot water and oil 

The wet and dry ingredients incorporated along with a little ground cumin

The dough is kneaded for 5 minutes

The dough is rolled out very thin

Using a ruler and sharp knife, the dough is sliced into bite size crackers

Baked at 375°F for 15 minutes, the crackers are firm to the bite but get crisper 

once stored for a couple of hours

Multi-Seed Savoury Crackers
Makes 48
Recipe courtesy of Brendan Lynch / The Great British Bake Off

8 oz wholemeal flour (I used wholewheat)
4 oz semolina
3/4 tsp fine salt
3 oz sesame seeds, black and white
1 tbsp runny honey
3 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
3 tsp ground cumin


In a large bowl, mix the wholemeal flour, semolina and salt together with the sesame seeds. In separate bowl, whisk 7 1/4 fl oz of water with the honey and oil. Stir in to the dry ingredients and mix to a medium-firm dough. Knead the dough for five minutes. Return to the bowl, cover and set aside for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking tray with parchment. Oil the work surface and roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/10-inch. Using a ruler and a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into squares, rectangles or diamonds, of about 2 x 2 or 2 x 6-inches. Place onto the prepared tray close together, but not touching.

Bake the crackers for 15-18 minutes. Turn the oven off, open the door for 30 seconds and close again. Leave the trays in the residual heat of the oven for 10-15 minutes for extra crispness. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Turn the own back on to 375°F and continue with the remaining dough.