Better than store-bought: Homemade sea-salt crackers.

Crackers. Really? I mean, it’s not like you can’t find those in the store—decent ones, at that. Making them at home can’t be worth the time. Crackers? Really?


Really. Why? Because they’re stupid-easy. And very delicious. And after I’d encountered too many boxes of Stonewall Kitchens’ Simple White Crackers (which I love) with fractional crackers too small to hold a piece of cheese (which I hate), I opted to make my own. In, like, a half an hour. This recipe for homemade crackers, I think, ran in Martha Stewart Living magazine about a decade or so ago. I jotted it down and made some tweaks. Most notably, the second, lower-temp baking time.

homemade sea-salt crackers

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. table salt
1 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into chunks
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. cold milk
sea salt for sprinkling (see Note)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place flour, salt and sugar in a food processor with the metal blade; pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse to create coarse crumbs. Gradually add milk and pulse to combine until the dough comes together in a ball. Remove dough to a floured surface and roll to a thickness of 1/8 inch, forming a rectangle that's very roughly 11 inches wide by 13 inches long, give or take. Using a ruler and a pizza cutter, cut dough into 2 1/2-inch squares. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and use the rolling pin to gently press the salt into the dough. Use the tines of a fork to prick holes in the dough to prevent puffing. Remove squares to a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes; rotate tray in the oven and bake another 10 to 12 minutes until the crackers are lightly golden at the edges. Reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees and bake 7 to 10 minutes more (watch that they don't over-brown) to ensure crispness. Cool crackers on a wire rack, and store in an airtight container.

Note: You could use poppy seed, sesame seed, a multi-seed blend, cracked pepper or any combination thereof to top the crackers; just use the rolling pin to press the toppings into the dough. Use part whole-wheat flour if you'd like.

 

11 thoughts on “Better than store-bought: Homemade sea-salt crackers.

  1. Thank you for this! Quinn’s been asking if we can make crackers (of all things) and I’ve been putting him off because there are so many store-bought crackers we like — making homemade didn’t seem worth the effort. But this sounds super easy, and I know he’ll love it. We’re definitely trying this the next thunderstormy afternoon. Which will probably be tomorrow.

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