Shaped Whole Wheat Crackers — Oven-Baked and Cut with Kids

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, pour in the olive oil, and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks like wet sand. Add the warm water in three additions, bringing the dough together as you go. The dough should feel slightly sticky but should not leave residue on your finger. Do not knead for more than 3 minutes or the crackers will be tough. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it rest.

Roll the rested dough between two sheets of parchment paper; using parchment instead of sprinkling flour keeps the dough from drying out. Roll it to 2–3 mm thick. Lift the top sheet and look down at the dough: it is thin enough when you can just make out the color of the parchment underneath.

Remove the top sheet and give your child the cookie cutters. Show them how to press each cutter straight down and lift it straight up; twisting tears the edges. Use a spatula to transfer the shapes to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them apart. Gather and reroll the scraps. The dough will be a little firmer the second time; add one 4 ml measure of water.

Brush the shapes with a thin layer of olive oil, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and prick each one twice with a fork; unpricked crackers will puff up in the center. Bake on the middle rack of an oven preheated to 180°C / 355°F for 12–13 minutes. Remove them when the edges are one shade darker than the centers and a cracker snaps cleanly when broken in half.