Home Made Saltines

How To Easily Make Your Own Homemade Saltine Crackers

Written by: Tara Dodrill Off-Grid Foods April 8, 2014 1 Comment Print This Article Print This Article
homemade crackers canning

Dry canning is a phrase I had never heard, nor had my canning expert husband, until a year ago. I am the dehydrating queen, but canning is just not my thing. My husband keeps reminding me about the need to cross-train on our skills. He is right, of course, but there is just so much involved with canning that if one little tiny thing goes wrong, you have wasted all your food and time – way too much pressure for this culinary novice. But, much to my delight, I discovered how simple the process is for canning crackers and bread.

I have canned just about all varieties of crackers now. Every time I come across a great sale, I stock up and grab some Mason jars. Making crackers from scratch is actually extremely easy, and a great way to avoid GMOs and preservatives. (See recipe at end of story.) Homemade crackers appear to dry can just as easily as their store bought peers.

How To Make Your Own Crackers

Make approximately 100 crackers quickly and cheaply in your own kitchen. This recipe can be adapted to include various seasonings and cheese-flavored crackers, as well.

What You Need

2 teaspoons of sugar
3 cups all-purpose or whole grain flour
2 teaspoons of salt
1 cup of water
4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
Optional toppings: 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds, 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, or 1 teaspoon of poppy seeds, or a mix together all of the above and cheese powder for a very flavorful experience.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put the rack on the lowest level of the oven.
Sprinkle the baking sheet with flour and set aside until needed.
In a medium sized mixing bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients. Whisk together the sugar, salt and flour.
Pour in the water and oil. Stir the cracker mixture until a sticky dough is formed. If the mixture is too dry or a lot of flour remains around the bowl and on the dough, add one tablespoon of water at a time until the desired stickiness is present.
Divide in half and set one half aside. On a lightly floured work surface, pat the dough into a square shape with your hands.
Work form the center of the dough and roll into a rectangle shaped approximately 1/8-inch thick.
Sprinkle the dough with additional desired toppings. Lightly brush the surface of the dough with water.
Cut the dough into cracker shapes using either a sharp knife or a pizza cutter. The cracker shapes should be about 1-inch by 2-inches. If little ones are helping, hand them a cookie cutter and make some fun-shaped crackers.
Use a spatula or scraper to transfer the crackers to the baking sheet. Prick all of the crackers with a fork to prevent them from becoming too puffy during baking.
Bake the homemade crackers for 12 to 15 minutes in the oven. The edges should look lightly browns. Prepare the second tray of crackers for baking while the first batch is in the oven.
Tips – Dried herbs and chili powder are also popular cracker toppings. If cheese crackers are preferable and you have not dehydrated and powdered your own cheese already, simply add 1 ½ cups of shredded cheese to the flour mixture. Set your food processor to pulse mode and do not press stop until the mixture looks something like corn meal.