These are very simple to make crackers. They are a blank canvas that can take on many flavors. You can make these two ways crispy and crunchy. The only difference is how much butter you use. If you use 2 tablespoons they are crunch after they cool. If you use 1 tablespoon then they are crispy and make a cracking noise when you crack them into pieces. The flavor options are endless. You can use flour, whole wheat flour,or cornmeal for the base. The add ins are cheese, spices and herbs (as long as they have not much moisture). These are super easy to whip up in the food processor and take about 15 minutes to bake. Watch closely after 10 minuets of baking. You are looking for a light brown around the edges. Let them cool completely before breaking into pieces. They harden as the cool.
The crispy ones will make great chips for dips. The crunchy ones will make great chicken salad sandwiches.
This saltine recipe uses only 4 ingredients, one cup of flour costs me .12, the water is free, the salt is minimal, and the butter costs pennies. So about 20 cents for a quart of saltines that are fresh and buttery with no preservatives, sounds like a good deal to me!
1 cup spelt flour
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
4 to 8 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
plus a little more salt for the tops (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place the flour into your food processor. Add the melted butter. 1 tablespoons for crispy and 2 tablespoons for crunchy. Add salt. Pulse until well blended. Add the water a tablespoon at a time until you get a ball that sticks together (be careful not to add to much water).
Place dough on a floured board and roll until 1/8 inch thick. Place rolled out dough on a very lightly greased cookie sheet. At this time you can either score with a pizza cutter to make saltine squares or dock* the dough if you would like. (This keeps out some of the air bubbles).
Place in the preheated oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Watching after 10 minutes. Until light brown on out side edges. Remove from pan and let cool completely. Break the scored squares apart or break docked saltines into serving size portions.
*Docking is a baking term that refers to slashing lines on the top of bread or piercing holes in different types of dough to allow for better baking.
