Salt-and-pepper crackers

Delicate, crisp, and a little salty.

Photo: Ruth Barry

Growing up, the only crackers we regularly had at home were Jacob's cream crackers: orange sleeve, tipped into a teal Tupperware box, stored in the cupboard next to the tin of digestives. But at Christmastime, my mum bought a selection box, and I would top the salty melts, water biscuits, giant Cheddars, and Hovis digestives with thick smears of le Roulé. I loved cream crackers, but the selection box was a luxury.

I sometimes still like a cream cracker with just butter and a sprinkle of salt. A rye crispbread with a healthy wedge of Brie de Meaux is hard to argue with. Basically, if a cracker is delicate and salty and made with a flavorful flour, I’m quite content to eat it straight from the box. And though I still like to keep a sleeve of Jacob’s cream crackers on hand, along with a plentiful supply of Ritz, now that I have a toddler, I like to make as many things from scratch as possible.

These salt-and-pepper crackers come together in minutes, and are in the oven for merely a flash. I made a batch recently during my son’s nap. Moments after waking up, he was eating them spread with butter, paired with some cheese chunks. They're naturally suited to scooping out mounds of hummus or guacamole or salsa. I like to scatter shards of them over a salad. But mostly, I just enjoy them as they are—delicate, crisp, and salty.

Photo: Ruth Barry

The secret to making very delicate crackers is to use a pasta machine. If you don’t have one, a rolling pin will do; just roll them as thin as possible. Use whichever herbs or spices you like in place of the pepper: za’atar, garlic or onion powder, Aleppo pepper, oregano, sumac, your favorite spice blend. Add sesame, poppy, or flax seeds. Make this basic recipe your own! The crackers will keep very well in an airtight container. The recipe is also easily doubled if, like me, you can’t stop dipping your hand in for another.

Salt-and-pepper Crackers

Makes about 14 long crackers

• 125 grams (about 4.5 ounces) all-purpose flour

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• A healthy grind of black pepper (I did 20 grinds)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 65 grams (about 4 tablespoons) water

To finish:

• 1–2 tablespoons olive oil

• Maldon salt flakes (optional)

Equipment:

• Pasta machine or rolling pin

Add the all-purpose flour, salt, pepper, and olive oil to a mixing bowl. Rub the oil into the flour, then add the water and bring everything together into a tacky dough.

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead until smooth (3–5 minutes). Divide into pieces about 15 grams each.

Take one 15-gram piece, flatten and toss in flour. Set your pasta machine to the number 1 (widest) setting and pass the dough through. Turn the dial on your pasta machine to 2 and pass the dough through again. Repeat for every width setting on the pasta machine until you get to the last (narrowest) setting. Your dough should be paper-thin at this point. You might need to dust your dough halfway through rolling if you find it’s not going through the machine smoothly.

Place the paper-thin dough on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Repeat the process for each 15-gram piece of dough. Feel free to cut the dough into smaller pieces or different shapes.

If you don’t have a pasta machine, roll the dough out using a rolling pin (let the dough rest for at least 15 minutes before rolling out if doing it by hand). Try to get the dough paper-thin. The baking time might be a bit longer for hand-rolled crackers, since it’s difficult to get them as thin with a rolling pin.

Preheat your oven to 220°C (430°F). Brush each cracker with a light coating of olive oil (and sprinkle with Maldon if you like) before baking for five minutes, or until they’re browned. Take care not to overbake, as they can burn in seconds. After five minutes, I check them every 10–20 seconds. Transfer the crackers to a cooling rack to crisp fully. You may need to bake them in batches if, like me, you have a very small oven. Store in an airtight container.