My quest for the perfect homemade cracker continues.
And now that I have a rolling pin, making crackers at home is much easier. While my first attempt at making crackers was pretty basic, I’ve now started experimenting with flavors. This batch I went bold.
These chipotle cheddar crackers are filled with flavor from the sharp cheddar cheese and the smoky chipotle powder. They are good enough on their own, but are even better with summer sausage, stoneground mustard, and some hearty slices of more cheese.
While these crackers won’t inspire comparisons to store bought industrial-baked Cheez-Its, their simplicity is their charm. They’re more like a softer, more delicious hardtack, resembling the crackers from the cheese and crackers of the early American pioneers.
So while they don’t have that over salted, oily and addicting quality of modern mass produced crackers, they do have that wonderful taste of history. So feast upon the crackers of your ancestors. And stay tuned as my quest for the perfect cracker continues.
What You’ll Need:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp butter (room temp, diced into small cubes)
- 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 tsp chipotle pepper powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
Time You’ll Need:
- ~10 minutes prep
- ~15 minutes cooking
- Yields: About 50-75 crackers
What You’ll Do:
- Heat the oven to 450. Line a baking sheet (you might end up needing two) with foil and spray with nonstick baking spray.
- In a mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, salt, garlic powder, baking powder, chipotle powder, and butter and whisk together.
- Whisk in the shredded cheese to the flour mixture. Add the flour mixture into a food processor and pulse for a few seconds until the cheese becomes blended into the flour and sort of looks like orange Parmesan cheese.
- Add the flour mixture back into the mixing bowl and add olive oil and water to form the dough. If the flour is too loose add more water in small increments. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour in small increments.
- Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, then break into two halves.
- Sprinkle some flour on a clean surface and set one half of the dough down. Begin to roll out the dough into a flat square. Get it as thin as possible, about 1/8 of an inch.
- Brush the dough with a small amount of water and season some more to taste with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and chipotle powder.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into small squares. And then take a fork to add small holes to each cracker square.
- Transfer your crackers to the baking sheet. And repeat the steps with other half of the dough.
- Once all the crackers are on the baking sheet(s) place in the oven for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.
- Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes. And then enjoy!