You can buy bread, cookies, and cakes at the grocery store, and even so, many home bakers make them themselves anyway. So why are crackers often left behind when we think about all of the incredible baked goods we can create?
Like cookies, thin cracker are incredibly easy to make. Full of ingredients many of us have in our cupboards, most recipes can be made in under an hour and serve as the perfect appetizer no matter the event you’re hosting.
The many different kinds of crackers you can make are endless, from sweet to savory and salty. So, whip up a batch of sweet and colorful Animal Crackers for your kid’s birthday party, or make these crackers to enjoy on game day.
This guide to baking crackers is sure to help whichever recipe you choose. Full of tips, tricks, and precautions, it’s ideal for individuals learning to bake crackers for the first time.
Tip # 1: Don’t Take Cracker Baking Too Seriously
You can undoubtedly bake homemade crackers if you’ve baked Rosted Coconut Crackers. While store-bought crackers can be found in several flavors and styles, they’re often not the healthiest option.
Making crackers at home can create a fresher, tastier, and more nutritious snack than you can buy. Not to mention, your friends and family will surely be impressed with your baking skills. The easy-to-mix and make doughs will leave you eager to create this recipe weekly.
Tip # 2: Mix the Dough Properly
Mixing the dough properly is the first step in perfectly baked crackers. You don’t need any special equipment or advanced baking skills when mixing dough. And while a food processor will make the job a bit faster, it can also cause you to easily overmix the dough, creating a bit too harsh crackers.
You’ll want to start with the dry ingredients when making most cracker recipes. Once the dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed, it’s time to add the fats (butter, oil, cheese) before gradually adding liquid.
Next, slowly add the liquid and mix it into the dough until all the ingredients are combined. Depending on the recipe, you may need to knead the dough before shaping it. Following this process and any steps noted in the formula will help you create cracker dough that is the perfect mix of crispy and crunchy.
Tip # 3: Roll the Dough Right
As we mentioned earlier, achieving the perfect cracker texture requires rolling the dough out relatively thin with a rolling pin. Allowing your dough to rest isn’t often noted in cracker recipes, it does help make it easier to roll out.
To properly roll cracker dough, you’ll want to start using a large and complex surface—we use the counter! Begin by dusting it with a light layer of flour, lay parchment paper on top, and then wipe it with a little more flour. Parchment paper is vital when creating thin dough as you don’t have to worry about sticking to the counter when using a rolling pin.
Another option when baking crackers is using a pasta roller to help thin the dough. Depending on your recipe, you’ll want to first test a small piece of dough by running it through the pasta roller machine. The moist dough works well with most pasta rollers, while drier dough often crumbles as it’s processed through the roller.
Tip #4: Give Your Crackers the Right Shape
When baking crackers, many individuals consider the shape and style of the crackers to be the true sign of perfection. If you’re a stickler for great-looking crackers, there are a few steps you’ll want to follow before baking your cracker recipe.
Instead of baking the dough once it’s been rolled, take the time to score and mark it to ensure that each cracker creates a uniform shape. This can be done using several tools, including a knife, razor blade, pastry wheel, and pizza cutter. First, you’ll want to choose the shape you want to make.
While most crackers are created in the form of a square or rectangle, there’s nothing that says you can’t mix it up a bit. With a quick online search, you’ll find several small fun-shaped molds that can be used for cracker cutting. No matter what tool you decide to use, be sure to reroll the scraps to ensure that, you get the most out of your dough.
Tip #5: Bake Crackers Slowly
Even if you’ve mastered all the steps above, the result will be inedible if your crackers are not baked correctly. When cooking crackers, it only takes minutes to take your crackers from perfectly baked to burned.
Because of this, you’ll want to ensure that you’ve completed all of the steps above correctly. And triple-checked the temperature of your oven too.
Once you notice that the crackers have changed to a golden brown color. Then you must watch them closely and pull them out before burning. If it looks like your crackers might burn before they’ve fully cooked. Then you’ll want to reduce the heat and leave the oven door slightly cracked until they’ve finished cooking.