Crackers and Crispbreads
Cooking Skills: Cheese and Party Snacks 1
Chapter 2 · Crackers and Crispbreads
Skill goal
Make crisp crackers and crispbreads at home, and cheese straws from ready-rolled pastry.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Homemade crackers are cheaper than shop ones, taste of what you put in them, and are much easier than most people expect. The dough is just flour, fat, salt and water, rolled thin and baked until crisp. The skill is in the rolling and the baking time.
The dough
| Ingredient | Job |
|---|---|
| Flour | The structure. Plain flour gives a light cracker, wholemeal a nutty, denser one. |
| Fat (oil or butter) | Tenderness. More fat gives a shorter, crumbly cracker; less gives a crisper, harder one. |
| Salt | Flavour. Crackers need more salt than you'd expect. |
| Water | Brings the dough together. Use just enough: a stiff dough rolls thinner. |
| Extras | Seeds, herbs, spices, grated cheese, black pepper, oats. |
Rolling thin
- Rest the dough for 10 to 15 minutes so it relaxes and rolls out without springing back.
- Roll between baking paper for very thin crackers: nothing sticks and you don't need extra flour.
- Roll as thin as you can, aiming for about 2 mm. Thin crackers crisp; thick ones stay soft.
- Prick with a fork (called docking) to stop big bubbles forming.
- Cut before baking, with a knife or pizza wheel, so they separate cleanly.
Baking
- A hot oven for thin crackers (200°C, or 180°C fan) and a medium one for thicker crackers and oatcakes (180°C, or 160°C fan).
- Turn the tray halfway: ovens have hot spots, and crackers at the edge brown first.
- Bake until golden, not dark. They crisp as they cool, so take them out when they are a deep cream-gold.
- Cool on a wire rack so steam can escape.
Keeping
Store cooled crackers in an airtight tin for about a week. If they soften, re-crisp on a tray in a warm oven (150°C, or 130°C fan) for 5 minutes.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Simple water crackers
The base for all crackers: flour, salt, oil and water. Set the oven to 200°C (180°C fan).
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 150 g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 60 ml cold water, about
- 1 tsp flaky salt or seeds, to sprinkle (optional)
- Mix the flour and salt, then stir in the oil and enough water to make a firm dough. Knead for 1 minute, cover, and leave for 15 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 2 and roll each piece on a floured surface as thin as you can (about 2 mm). Prick all over with a fork and cut into squares or rounds with a knife or cutter.
- Lay the crackers on a lined tray, brush with a little water and sprinkle with flaky salt or seeds.
- Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, turning the tray halfway, until golden and crisp. Cool on a wire rack: they crisp more as they cool.
Dough, colour and heat
Raw flour and dough: don't taste raw dough or lick the spoon. Raw flour can carry germs that are killed only by baking. Wash your hands, bowls and surfaces after handling it.Go for gold. Baked starchy foods such as crackers form acrylamide as they brown. The Food Standards Agency's advice is to bake to a golden yellow, not dark brown.
Hot trays: use dry oven gloves, pull the shelf out a little rather than reaching in, and put hot trays on a heatproof surface. Crackers go from golden to burnt in under a minute, so stay close to the oven for the last few minutes.
Level 2 · Oats
Oatcakes
Oatcakes are quick and wholesome, and good with strong cheese and chutney. Set the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 150 g rolled or porridge oats
- 40 g butter, melted (or oil)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder (optional)
- 60 ml hot water, about
- Whizz two-thirds of the oats in a food processor to a coarse flour (or crush with a rolling pin). Mix with the rest of the oats, salt and baking powder.
- Stir in the melted butter and enough hot water to make a thick dough that holds together. Leave for 5 minutes to firm up.
- Roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 4 mm (they can be thicker than crackers). Cut into rounds with a cutter and place on a lined tray.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until golden at the edges. Cool on a rack.
Allergens and heat
Allergens: crackers usually contain wheat flour (gluten), and seeded ones may contain sesame, which is a common allergen. Cheese straws contain milk and egg. Check labels and ask guests.Hot trays: use dry oven gloves, pull the shelf out a little rather than reaching in, and put hot trays on a heatproof surface. Crackers go from golden to burnt in under a minute, so stay close to the oven for the last few minutes.
Level 2 · Seeded
Seeded crispbread
A seed-packed cracker with more fibre. Rolled very thin and baked in one big sheet, then snapped into shards. Set the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 100 g plain or wholemeal flour
- 50 g mixed seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, linseed, sesame)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp rosemary or thyme, chopped (optional)
- 80 ml water, about
- Mix the flour, seeds, salt and herbs. Add the oil and water and stir to a sticky dough. Rest for 10 minutes.
- Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper to about 2 to 3 mm, as thin and even as you can. Peel off the top sheet, score into rough rectangles with a knife and slide the bottom paper on to a tray.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden and crisp throughout. If the middle is still soft, return it to the oven for 5 minutes.
- Cool completely, then snap along the score lines. Store in an airtight tin.
Sesame and colour
Allergens: crackers usually contain wheat flour (gluten), and seeded ones may contain sesame, which is a common allergen. Cheese straws contain milk and egg. Check labels and ask guests.Go for gold. Baked starchy foods such as crackers form acrylamide as they brown. The Food Standards Agency's advice is to bake to a golden yellow, not dark brown.
Level 3 · Pastry
Cheese straws
The classic party snack. Ready-rolled puff pastry makes it quick: the pastry rises in layers. A full pastry course is planned in the series. Set the oven to 200°C (180°C fan).
Ingredients (6 portions)
- 1 sheet ready-rolled sheet of puff pastry (about 320 g)
- 80 g mature cheddar or parmesan-style cheese, finely grated
- 1 Lion-marked egg, beaten
- 1 tsp mustard powder or smoked paprika (optional)
- 1 tbsp sesame or poppy seeds (optional)
- Unroll the pastry on its paper. Brush with half the beaten egg and sprinkle half the cheese and the mustard or paprika over one half. Fold the other half over and press down.
- Roll lightly with a rolling pin to seal. Brush the top with egg and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and the seeds.
- Cut into strips about 1.5 cm wide. Twist each strip a couple of times and lay on a lined tray, pressing the ends down.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until puffed and golden. Cool on a rack.
Egg, allergens and colour
Egg: Lion-marked eggs are safe lightly cooked, and here the egg is fully baked.Allergens: crackers usually contain wheat flour (gluten), and seeded ones may contain sesame, which is a common allergen. Cheese straws contain milk and egg. Check labels and ask guests.
Go for gold. Baked starchy foods such as crackers form acrylamide as they brown. The Food Standards Agency's advice is to bake to a golden yellow, not dark brown.
Experiments
Experiment
Rolling thickness
1 mm, 3 mm and 5 mm.
- Divide a batch of the water cracker dough in three. Roll one very thin, one to about 3 mm, one to 5 mm, and bake them together.
Look for: The thinnest burn first and are brittle; the middle ones are crisp; the thick ones may be soft in the centre. Note the best thickness for your oven.
Experiment
Resting the dough
Rest or roll straight away.
- Make two small batches of dough. Roll one straight away, and rest the other for 20 minutes before rolling.
Look for: The rested dough rolls out thinner and without shrinking back. The unrested one springs back and tears.
Experiment
Baking time
Pale, golden and dark.
- Bake three crackers for 6, 10 and 14 minutes. Taste each when cool.
Look for: The pale one is chewy; the golden one is crisp and tastes of toasted flour; the dark one is bitter and, in baked starchy foods, the dark colour is the acrylamide warning. Aim for golden.
Experiment
Oil or butter
Which fat?
- Make half a batch of water cracker dough with olive oil and half with melted butter.
Look for: The oil crackers are crisper and sharper; the butter crackers are richer, shorter and a bit more crumbly.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple water crackers | ||||
| Oatcakes | ||||
| Seeded crispbread | ||||
| Cheese straws | ||||
| Rolling thickness | ||||
| Resting the dough | ||||
| Baking time | ||||
| Oil vs butter |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Crackers are soft or chewy | Rolled too thick, or not baked long enough | Roll thinner; bake until golden; re-crisp in a warm oven |
| Dough shrinks back | Not rested | Rest for 15 minutes under a cloth |
| Big bubbles | Not pricked | Prick all over with a fork |
| Burnt edges | Oven hot spots, or uneven thickness | Turn the tray; roll evenly; take out the edge crackers early |
| Bland crackers | Not enough salt or flavour | Add more salt, seeds, herbs or cheese |
| Cheese straws not rising | Pastry warm or pressed flat | Keep the pastry cold; don't press hard; bake in a hot oven |
Raw dough, hot trays and allergens
Raw flour and dough: don't taste raw dough or lick the spoon. Raw flour can carry germs that are killed only by baking. Wash your hands, bowls and surfaces after handling it.Hot trays: use dry oven gloves, pull the shelf out a little rather than reaching in, and put hot trays on a heatproof surface. Crackers go from golden to burnt in under a minute, so stay close to the oven for the last few minutes.
Go for gold. Baked starchy foods such as crackers form acrylamide as they brown. The Food Standards Agency's advice is to bake to a golden yellow, not dark brown.
Allergens: crackers usually contain wheat flour (gluten), and seeded ones may contain sesame, which is a common allergen. Cheese straws contain milk and egg. Check labels and ask guests.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can make a cracker dough and rest it.
- I can roll it thin and even.
- I can bake to golden, not dark.
- I can make cheese straws from ready-rolled pastry.
- I know how to store and re-crisp crackers.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Cheese and Party Snacks 1, chapter 3 is Chutneys, Jams and Pickles: cooking down fruit, sugar and vinegar to go with cheese.