Saltines From Scratch
User Reviews
4.7
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Prep Time
25 mins
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Cook Time
10 mins
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Additional Time
12 hrs
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Course
Snacks
Saltines From Scratch
Description
This recipe starts with a blend of cake flour, instant yeast, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sugar whisked together to create a base. Meanwhile, butter is melted gently with oil and water, cooled to a warm temperature that won't harm yeast. The liquids are added to the dry ingredients, and the dough is beaten with an electric mixer then hand-kneaded to form a manageable, soft ball, adjusting with flour or water as needed.
The dough rests covered in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours, developing flavor and texture. Before baking, it is brought to room temperature, rolled out very thinly, and shaped on parchment-lined baking sheets. Baking at 400°F produces classic crispy and flaky saltine crackers with a mild salted finish. These homemade crackers can be used as snacks or accompaniments to soups and salads.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 6 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2- 1 teaspoon sea salt or herb salts for topping
Instructions
- Add flour, yeast, baking soda, cream of tatar, and sugar to a medium sized bowl. Whisk together.
- In a small sauce pan, add butter, oil and water and heat gently until butter is melted. Let cool to 120 degrees, or where it's still hot, but doesn't burn to the touch.
- Make a well in the whisked together dry ingredients and then pour in the butter. With an electric mixer, beat well on medium then on high until all the butter is incorporated and a dough begins to form.
- With your hands, knead together the dough into a ball. If the dough is too sticky, add a touch more flour at a time. If it's too dry, add a tiny bit of water at a time. It should be a nice soft ball of dough.
- Lightly grease the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and let rest in fridge for at least 12 hours and up to 18 hours.
- When you're ready to use, take the bowl out of the fridge and let the dough come up to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and line large baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease them.
- Remove dough from bowl and knead it for a couple of minutes until it is smooth and clay like.
- Divide it into 4 pieces and roll each piece out at a time. Use a pasta roller to get the dough as thin as possible - this will make for a much better, crunchy cracker.
- With a rolling pizza wheel or pasta cutter, cut out 2X2 squares. Transfer squares to the baking sheets. The squares can be right next to each other, squeeze as many as you can in, they will actually shrink in size as they bake. Do this with all of the remaining dough.
- With a fork, prick each cracker to get the classic "Saltines" perforations. Brush each cracker with a little bit of water and then sprinkle with salt / herb salt.
- Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, checking at 8 to ensure they're don't brown too much (unless you like a super crispy cracker like my husband does!)
- Remove from oven and let cool on tray.
- Store in an airtight container for up to a week - if you can hold back from eating them all that long!
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.7
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