You can and should make your own crackers. I used to think that there must be some mysterious secret to making crackers that meant they could only be made in a factory. It turns out that could not be further from the truth. All manner of crackers are available to the home cook, but this is a good simple recipe to start with.

At their simplest crackers are just flour and water baked into a crunchy tasty snack. This recipe builds on that adding olive oil and salt for a little flavour. These crackers are very crisp and crunchy with a neutral light flavour. They are somewhat comparable to Wheat Thins, but with a much lighter, cleaner taste.

One warning: crackers can be a little time consuming because you get a lot of batches, I recommend making them the day ahead and planning on having something else to do while they're in the oven.

Step 1: Ingredients

3 1/4 cups Mixed Flour*
3/4 tsp Salt

1/3 cup Olive Oil
1 cup Water

Toppings as desired

*Start with 50-50 whole wheat and white flour, then adjust the ratio and type of flour to your taste. I've heard of people using ground flax seed, oat flour, and multi-grain flour with success. It should also be possible to make these gluten free.

Step 2: Prepare Dough

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Add in wet ingredients and mix with a fork as much as you can. Knead a few times just until fully combined.

Step 3: Roll Out

Working in small batches roll out the dough very thin. I found a pasta machine to be really handy for this, but I've also successfully used a rolling pin.

For the first batch I suggest trying a couple of different thicknesses to see what you like. I found that the second thinnest setting on the pasta machine was the sweet spot between too brittle and too tough.

Step 4: Prep

To prep the crackers for baking poke with a fork to prevent large bubbles and score into cracker sized pieces (a pizza cutter is really handy for this).

Sprinkle with coarse salt and any other toppings that you want.

Step 5: Bake

Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes until well browned. Transfer to a cooling rack immediately. The crackers easily snap apart along the score lines.

Step 6: Storage

Store the crackers in an airtight container or ziplock bag. They last very well for about 4 days and up to a week later are still good but taste a bit too stale to serve to company.