Graham Crackers

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the flour on the parchment paper and place the baking sheet in the preheated oven. Toast, stirring from time to time, for 10 minutes. You want to be sure you do not over toast the flour so 10 minutes is all you should need. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool before using. Save the parchment for use when you prepare the crackers. Toasting the whole wheat pastry flour gives these cookies the traditional graham taste without using harder to find and coarse graham flour. In fact, using graham flour does not work in this vegan recipe. Toast the flour ahead of time and store, airtight and frozen, until needed. Whisk, measure and sift together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt together into a medium mixing bowl. Place the oil in a small mixing bowl. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and whisk to blend completely. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix with a silicone spatula until the mixture holds together when pressed — note that it will still be too dry to form a pliable ball of dough at this point. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the water to the dough, mixing until it is pliable enough to form into a ball — add spoonfuls of the remaining water, as needed, to create a pliable ball. The dough should be glossy but not wet.

Place the dough into the center of the piece of parchment you used to toast the flour. Using the palm of your hand, pat and press the dough into a rough rectangle. The shape does not need to be perfect. Cover the dough with a second piece of parchment and, using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle about 14- x 10-inches and 1/4- inch thick. For the crackers to bake evenly, it is more important that the dough is rolled out to an even thickness rather then the shape being a perfect rectangle. Remove the top sheet of parchment paper and trim the edges of the dough with a sharp knife to make a neat rectangle. Cut the dough into 2-inch square pieces by making even vertical and then horizontal cuts across the dough. Using a fork or skewer, poke rows of tiny holes over the top of the dough so that your crackers resemble commercially-made graham crackers. Gather the scraps of dough together, press into a ball and then roll, trim, and prick as above. Transfer the dough, still on the parchment, to the baking sheet. Again, cut through the square cuts in the dough to insure that the crackers are separated and can easily be broken apart once baked. Place the crackers into the preheated oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the tops are uniformly dry and the bottoms are lightly browned. Turn a cracker or two over to check. Remove the crackers from the oven and set the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool to room temperature. The crackers will be soft when they are hot, but will crisp as they cool. When cool, cut or break the crackers into squares. Store, airtight, at room temperature.