Make Your Own Crackers

If you have never made your own crackers you have no idea what you're missing! The recipe is easy, the procedures are straightforward, you just need the time to roll out the dough and bake the batches. The end result is delicious. I first made crackers for my husband to bring to an office Christmas party and now they're a favorite snack in our house and tend to disappear quickly.

Homemade Crackers
(Makes 20 dozen-ish, it's hard to get an accurate count as my husband was eating them off the cooling rack. Yield will also depend on size of cracker you make.)

6 cups flour
2 cups warm water
2/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Any additional add on ingredients you'd like (I split my dough into three batches- the 1st batch were plain or had mixed seeds-fennel, poppy, and sesame- on top, the second batch had 1 tsp thyme & 1/2 tsp ground rosemary, and the third batch were spicy with 2 tsp of hot pepper flakes.)

1. In a mixer with the dough hook attachment measure out olive oil and add salt. Add warm water and add flour a few cups at a time mixing in between.

It will yield a large ball of slightly sticky dough. It won't look like a lot but it rolls out nicely.

2. Turn out a manageable ball onto a flour covered surface. The great thing about working with olive oil dough is that as it absorbs the extra flour from the counter it becomes very easy to work with. Flip it a few times to get flour on all sides. You want to roll it out thinly with a rolling pin. It will feel elastic-y almost like a pizza dough so you'll have to push hard. I'm short so I stand on a step stool to get a little leverage to push down. To prevent your crackers from sticking flip the dough one last time before you cut out the shapes. I use a biscuit cutter that is a 1" square to make roughly Triscuit sized crackers, I also have a slightly smaller square that I use sometimes to make Wheat Thin sized crackers. 

Make sure to have plenty of flour on your counter!

Push down really hard when you roll out the dough. The crackers puff a bit in the oven so you wan them thin. 

Cut squares. (or the shape of your desire)

Once your squares are cut out, transfer them to a foil lined cookie sheet sprayed with a tiny bit of cooking oil. You want to use a fork to poke at least a few holes in each cracker, otherwise they puff up in the oven while cooking. They still taste delicious when they puff it's just easier to put cheese on them if they're flat :) Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes per batch. I can usually fit 30 on each tray. When they come out you can either cool them on a cookie rack or just dump them into a large mixing bowl to cool and to store. Repeat multiple times until all crackers are baked. 

See the tiny little poked holes? Very important detail!

My 8  month pregnant belly became a flour covered disaster during this cooking project!

Cooling plain crackers.

Varieties: Your flavor options are only limited by your imagination. One of the reasons that I do different flavors is that the dough is easier to work with when it is freshly mixed so as I add spices and remix the dough it becomes easier to work with. If you're going to make all plain ones I recommend keeping the extra dough in the bowl and mixing it occasionally to maintain it's workability. 

A mix of fennel, poppy, and sesame seeds.

Sprinkle a bit on each cracker and give each surface a light press with your fingers to make sure the seeds stay on the cracker. 

Another option is to mix add ins directly into the dough. This is how I make my rosemary-thyme crackers and my hot pepper crackers. 

Enjoy! This recipe offers a great opportunity for kids to help out and you can certainly make all kinds of fun shapes for them.