Everything Crackers

What I love about this recipe is that it pairs two very beloved items in a very unexpected way. Buttermilk biscuits and everything bagels are combined in cracker form, the biscuit dough compressed to a point where its buttery layers create to an airy, crisp vessel for the spattering of seeds. It's the sort of thing I've never seen before and certainly wouldn't have thought up myself. Crackers I actually have no particular affinity for. But between my fondness for both biscuits and everything bagels—and the recipe's well-photographed feature in Fine Cooking—I decided I'd give it a shot.

Due to my neutral attitude toward crackers, I'd never made them from scratch before. Generally, I've thought the recipes require too much effort, considering that the result is a flat, crunchy entity that requires a topping to be properly consumed. I'd prefer to make bread, which comes out large and fluffy and delicious as is. But so, it turns out, do these crackers. I served them with hummus, but with the flavor of the seeds and buttermilk base, they stood very well on their own, without any accompanying condiment. Rolling out the potentially fluffy biscuit dough creates a dense, flavor-packed bite. They're small treats, each one an intense pop of butter, seeds, and salt.

Adapted from Fine Cooking's Sesame-Poppy-Pecan Crackers
Everything Crackers
Ingredients:
For cracker base:
1 3/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
6 TBSP unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
3/4 cup cold buttermilk
For topping:
1 egg
2 TBSP poppy seeds
2 TBSP sesame seeds
3/4 tsp. salt (coarse or table salt)

Directions:
--To make biscuits, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add butter and use two knives, a mezzaluna, or your hands to cut the butter into pea-sized pieces. Add buttermilk and stir just until the dough begins to form one mass. Use your hands to shape into a cohesive ball and set on a floured surface.
--Break the egg into a small bowl and whisk for a few seconds. In another small bowl, combine the remaining topping ingredients.
--Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Flour a rolling pin. Roll out dough into a 14-inch square, making sure it is not sticking to the work surface. Lift up the dough, add more flour, and re-roll out as necessary if it does. Brush the dough with the egg wash, and sprinkle on the seed mixture. Using a sharp knife or pastry cutter, cut the dough into seven rows across and down, to make 49 squares.
--Use a spatula to transfer the crackers to two ungreased baking sheets, making sure the crackers aren't touching each other. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until tops are browned. When cool enough to touch, transfer to a plate. Store any un-nibbled crackers in an airtight container or ziploc.