Kays Translations

Volume 8 – The Lights of the Summer Festival

Chapter 70 – A Gift for Matilda-san (1): Let’s Bake Some Crackers

Now that I can use the residual heat of the bread oven, I decided it’s time to do something I’ve been wanting to do for a while.

Yes—I want to give a gift to Matilda-san.

because she has been so kind to me.

But I don’t want to burden her or make her feel like she has to do anything in return. Ideally, I just want to bring her something small that she can snack on during a break.

The items I have repeatedly purchased through 1,000 yen repeat are so uniform in shape that I hesitate to give them as gifts.

So I want to make my own homemade baked goods.

Getting food from someone you don’t know well can be a bit unsettling, but I think I’ve reached a level of familiarity with her where it won’t come off as creepy or suspicious. Hopefully.

Using ingredients that are easy to get around here, and a recipe I remember well enough—crackers seem like a good choice.

So, I’ll bake some crackers.

You know, I think that making sweets that use a lot of eggs, butter, and sugar is quite a challenge.

Pound cake, for example—sure, the basics for making it is super easy to remember, but the ingredients are pretty rich.

I love scones too—they’re delicious—but they tend to be a bit dry, not great for casual snacking. You need a drink and a calm mind to enjoy them properly.

What I usually bake are egg-free and butter-free crackers.

　

The ingredients: flour, sesame seeds, sugar, salt, oil, water.

I found the recipe online from someone who seemed good at making everyday cookies and biscuits—simple, everyday snack stuff, not overly fancy. I’ve adjusted it a bit to my taste and baked it many times.

If you’re interested, try searching for “black sesame sticks”—you’ll probably find the detailed recipe. Possibly as long-winded as my explanation here.

At the bare minimum, crackers can be made with just flour, salt, and oil.

Super simple, but still good in their own way.

It’s great when you’re craving something to munch on, and if you add a little more salt, they even make a great savory treat. Adding aosa seaweed makes it really tasty.

Ah—but that’s not really “a bare minimum dish” anymore, is it?

Apparently, aosa and aonori are different types of seaweed. They’re separate species, and since aosa has a milder aroma, it’s cheaper.

But I must object! In my household, when we say aosa, we mean aonori.

The one my relatives send us is absolutely delicious.

I’m guessing it’s a bit different from the common variety, but… I don’t actually know much about it though! 

Anyway, since it’s doubtful this world has a seaweed-based food culture, I’ll skip the aosa this time.

“Hello.”

“Oh, Saki-san, welcome! Come in, come in. What did you bring today?”

Ann-san greeted me warmly.

Today I’m not having potatoes. I baked potatoes slowly until they were fluffy and soft, inside, with melty, golden cheese on top. That was so good.

Jill-san also gave me a description of something like “the kind of pot-au-feu grandma used to make,” and it turned out delicious. I thought I saw a glint in Jill’s eye as he ate it… but nope, I didn’t see a thing.

Wow, I never thought slow-cooking vegetables in the residual heat of the oven brings out so much sweetness.

“I want to bake crackers today, so I was hoping I could borrow not just the oven, but also the workbench and a few tools. Oh, and a baking tray too.”

All I really need is a mixing bowl, but if possible, I’d also like a scraper—the kind you use to cut the dough into pieces.

“Of course. This side is free, so go ahead and use it.”

“You can use any of the tools we have over there too.”

“Thank you!”

I’ll borrow a rolling pin too then.

I use a corner of Larry and Ann’s shop—while they’re prepping for the next day a bit early, since their bread already sold out—to make my cracker dough.

Technically, you’re supposed to measure everything precisely in grams, and even scrape oil out of your spoons to get accurate amounts. But I’m not that particular about it.

Of course, it tastes better if you do it properly, but it’s a versatile recipe that’s delicious even if you just make it casually…

I like mine with lots of sesame seeds and a little less sugar.

Oh, but if I use the 1,000-yen repeat feature, I can make it more precisely.

This time, I’ll use local whole wheat flour and sugar. I might sneak in some sesame seeds and oil from the 1,000-yen repeat to make measuring easier. Larry and Ann seem busy, so they’re not paying close attention to me anyway.

I toss the dry ingredients into the bowl and mix with your fingers, then add the oil and mix until it becomes crumbly. Add the water and mix together to make the dough.

I roll it out with the pin, then use the scraper to score lines. Sticks are nice, but little bite-sized pieces are good too. Sometimes I make triangles too, depending on my mood.

This time, I’ll go with small squares.

Then I pop them in the oven and wait for them to bake.

Once they’re lightly browned, they’re done.

I let them on the baking sheet to cool.

While they cool, maybe I’ll make another batch.

I want the little ones to try them too.

“It’s crispy and has a fragrant sesame flavor. —wow, these are really good…”

Since I had the chance, I asked Ann to try it, and she gave it high marks.

Thank goodness—it seems like they’ll go over well with women.

“You can really taste the flavor of the flour,”

Larry said, after eating one. He stared intently at the crackers, but honestly, I didn’t put any secret ingredients in them or anything.

“It’s so simple, you could just use the residual heat from the bread oven to make it into a product—I guess you can’t do that, right?”

Since their main product, bread, has sold out, they probably don’t have the time or energy to make and sell any additional items like this.

Come to think of it, the residual heat of the oven would be great for making rusk too—but there’s no leftover bread for that right now.

I pick out the best-shaped crackers from the batch. I set aside the misshapen ones or slightly overbaked ones.

Place the well-baked, well-shaped pieces into a cute ceramic container, cover with a waxed cloth lid, and tie the edges with hemp string.

This kind of thing just feels like it needs a card, doesn’t it?

I cut some kraft paper into a tag shape, wrote “Thank you always” in this world’s script, and threaded it through the string.

I wish I had a stamp. Lately, there are so many cute stamps at 100 yen shops that I’ve ended up collecting them even though I don’t use them. I want to decorate it with those.

At the very least, I draw a tiny flower in the corner.

Hmm. Is this okay? Yeah—it’s good enough!

A simple wrapping, but heartfelt.

I hope Matilda-san will be happy.

At the very least, I think she’ll accept it.

Tl note:

Ameh for context in this chapter should be taken as candy/sweet.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter