Vegan Cream Cheese & Gluten Free Crackers

By Carmel Karni    —   See the recipe

You can make a vegan spread that anybody (I promise!) will love. Homemade fermented soy cheese (tastes like a good cream cheese and you can flavor it any way you want!) and GF/V seeded buckwheat, quinoa and teff crackers. I assure you that while it all sounds too healthy, they are addictive-level delicious, and that (most) kids will adore them. Serve these crackers and cheese alone or together as a snack or as a part of a cheese plate with plenty of crunchy, colorful veggies, like I did here. I hope that they will become a staple in your household, like they are in mine.

My parents have been vegan for quite a few years now and prefer to eat very healthy. The cheese is my dad's recipe and the crackers are a recipe my mom found in one of the Israeli newspapers and has been baking for years. This cheese is made from soy yogurt that you can easily make in the instant pot (or any yogurt maker) It takes some time but practically zero work. You then strain the yogurt and flavor the cheese any way you wish. 

These crackers contain some unusual flours but all of them can be found in almost any supermarket. The method is quite easy, just make sure to check them at the end to make sure they don't get too dark. 

• Soy milk, shelf stable with only soy and water listed as ingredients (the refrigerated stuff has a ton of fillers)
• 2 capsules probiotics or you can use a spoonful of your previous yogurt as starter.
• Make soy yogurt in the instant pot- clean a quart glass jar (I pour boiling water into the jar after washing it and let stand for a few minutes, than empty it) 
• Once cleaned, pour in soy milk,  open two capsules of probiotics into the milk and stir.
• Place in the instant pot, and use the yogurt function to ferment for 14 hours. (Skip the boiling function) when the yogurt is ready cover and place in the fridge for a couple of hours to cool down and stabilize further. 

• Strain the yogurt in a cheesecloth on a colander over a bowl for about 5-6 hours. I put a light weight on top and place the whole contraption in the fridge. Once the yogurt is strained you can flavor in any way you want. The options are endless.
• Plain - just salt to taste
• Olive cheese - salt to taste and chopped olives. 
• Chive/garlic cheese - salt to taste, chopped chives, a grated clove of garlic.
• Other nice ideas - sun-dried tomatoes and basil; paprika and garlic; mint and garlic; caramelized shallots or onions; mixed soft herbs; jalapeño, cilantro and garlic; ready made harissa or schug. 

GF/V Crackers- quinoa, teff and buckwheat 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (40 g) white quinoa
• 1/2 cup (80 g) buckwheat flour 
• 1/2 cup (60 g) teff flour 
• 1/2 cup (80 g) pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup (65 g) sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup (30 g) sesame seeds
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground coriander 
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) water
• Decoration- nigella seeds (optional)

To Make the Crackers

Heat your oven to 350. Boil some water in a small pot, once boiled add the quinoa and cook for 8 minutes. Strain. Meanwhile, Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and add the cooked quinoa. You will have a very soft dough.

Lightly oil 4 sheets of parchment. Roll half the dough between two sheets of parchment until the dough is roughly the size of a standard sheet pan. Repeat with the other half of the dough and other two parchments. Peel the top layer, sprinkle with nigella seeds and press them down lightly so they stick. 

place each dough on a sheet pan. Bake for 12 minutes. (I bake them together on convection)

Take the sheets out and reduce the oven temp to 325.

Cut the dough into bite size crackers with a sharp knife or a pizza cutter. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes, though check for doneness after 20 minutes to make sure they don’t get too dark.

Separate the crackers while they are still hot if needed. Store in a tightly sealed container.