Savoury Shapes
I love trying to replicate Arnott’s biscuits. Anytime I think of a biscuit my Mum used to buy from the supermarket, it always seems to have been one from the Arnotts range. If you’ve never had one of these savoury shapes, then you’ve probably never been to an Aussie BBQ or party in the 1980s.
The crackers come in various flavours; the first was the Arnott’s Savoury Shape. Since then, there have been loads of other flavours to tease our taste buds. Two that come to mind are BBQ and Pizza varieties. These little bite-sized snacks, have been loved by many of us over the decades. However, just recently there’s been a bit of pushback from loyal customers. Apparently some savoury shapes flavours have changed (shock, horror!).
Wikipedia tells us that
Over 53 million packets of Shapes are consumed each year in Australia.
Anyway, after seeing a few posts on social media I decided to give them a shot myself. Now, when you try these, I don’t want you to think of them as any specific flavour. Simply taste (and enjoy) them for what they are, and I dare you to stop at just one.
Here are the steps.
Savoury shapes
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becs-table.com.auEquipment
- 1 Thermomix
Ingredients
- 250 grams Plain flour
- 4 g (1 scant tsp) baking powder Not bicarb
- 3 g (1 tsp) flaked salt
- 120 g unsalted butter chilled and cut into small cubes
- 120 g milk
- 20 g tomato paste
- 2 g (3/4 tsp) garlic powder
- 2 g (1/2 tsp) paprika
- 2 g (1 tsp) onion powder
- 1 g (1 tsp) dried oregano
- 1 g (1 tsp) dried basil
- 3 g (1 tsp) flaked salt. (if you don't have flaked use 1/2 tsp)
- Plus a few more flakes to sprinkle over the top before baking.
- 30 g Enough water to make the final spice mix a paste that can be brushed. I used 30g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C fab and line a few baking sheets with baking paper. *see tips
First make the dough
- Weigh the flour, baking powder, and salt into the TM bowl and mix for 3 sec/speed 5.
- Weigh in the cold small cubes of butter then mix 8 sec/speed 7 your mix should now resemble coarse sand.
- Weigh the milk into the TM bowl and set to knead for 30 sec. Remove the dough onto a clean bench and bring it together by hand. They way I've shown you for scones. Wrap and pop in the fridge to chill.
Now make the spice paste.
- Weigh all the ingredients into the TM bowl Make sure they’re all down the bottom of the bowl and not stuck on top of the blades. Mix for 5 seconds / speed 5
- Now add a touch of water. I started with 30g you want to make the paste a thick slurry so you can get plenty on the biscuits. This gives them flavour and you need plenty.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface make them thin. 10 Cent piece thin.
- I used a pastry docker then brushed the surface with the paste before cutting the shapes. It’s also a good idea to give just a little sprinkle of flaked salt just before baking to get a more authentic flavour. Don’t go crazy here or they will be too salty. However salt will really bring up the flavours like a bought one. 😉
- Use a cookie cutter, roller or knife to cut the dough into your desired shapes.
- Bake the shapes for 15- 20 minutes, or until they are lightly golden and crisp. *see notes below on baking mats.
- Allow the shapes to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely and crisp up.
Notes
- If you use baking paper, your biscuits will cook faster than if you use silicone mats.
- As I’ve shown in my online crackers and cheese class, I use a pasta roller for rolling out most of my crackers. Just in case you don’t have one you can still use a rolling pin.
Want to know more?
Got an excess of sourdough starter? Try these sourdough starter crackers 🙂
Or perhaps learn how to make gourmet feta cheese and a wide range of crackers with our online course.
