Saltines From Scratch

Skip the boxed cracker! Making your own homemade Saltines From Scratch is easier than you think, tastier than store-bought, and fun to make at home!

Next, try our Copycat Chicken in a Biskit Crackers!

Who doesn’t know and love these classic crackers? They’re the OG soda cracker that’s a staple in most households, but in so many different ways. Because making a store-bought classic at home is one of our favorite things to do, of course, we have to create our own homemade Saltines From Scratch! They’re just like ones from the blue box, but also surprisingly easy to make, and even more satisfying knowing that you made this iconic cracker from scratch!

Ingredients Needed

• Cake Flour – The most important part of getting the right texture for these classic soda crackers is to start with a flour that’s the right texture. All-purpose flour isn’t going to cut it; you need a flour that’s ground extra fine, like a cake flour.
• Butter and Vegetable Oil – Key ingredients not only for the texture of the cracker dough, but also for adding the right flavor.
• Instant yeast, Baking Soda, and Cream of Tartar – The leavening agents that create the right amount of air in the crackers, producing the signature texture.
• Sugar – Just a touch for flavor.
• Salt – For the dough and to finish with.

How to Make Saltines From Scratch

While of course it takes more time and effort to make homemade crackers, the payoff is huge! Plus, they can be made in some pretty manageable steps.

1. Make the dough
2. Chill the dough
3. Roll out the dough
4. Bake!

Make the dough

This requires mixing melted butter with the water and oil, mixing the dry ingredients, and then mixing them all together. You can do this with a hand mixer or a wooden spoon.

Chill the dough

Chilling the dough will make it much easier to work with and roll out. You’ll want to chill it for at least 6-8 hrs. I usually like to prep the dough the night before I plan to make them so that the dough is ready to go the next day.

Roll out the dough

This is key to getting the thin crispy crackers you know and love! You can of course, use your favorite rolling pin to achieve this, but you can also use a pasta roller to get your dough really really thin.  The thinner the cracker, the better, for sure.  

Just like with homemade pasta, start thick and work your way thin, slowly as to not tear the dough.  Then, back onto your floured surface and I even gave it another roll with the pin before cutting them with the pasta wheel cutter.
Then just some pricks with a fork and onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and a brush with a touch of water and a sprinkle of sea salt.  They can be right up next to each other on the sheet; they won’t expand at all. They’ll actually shrink a little. 

Tip: If you’re able to roll the dough out very thin, you can also roll the dough right out on the parchment paper and cut the crackers right on the paper. Similar to how we make our Everything Bagel Rye Crackers.

Bake!

Baked at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes (be sure to check them, they’ll brown quickly!), and you have your very own homemade Saltines From Scratch soda crackers! 

When I tried the first one, I’m not going to lie, I did a little dance then texted my husband, “OMG I made Saltines that taste like Saltines!”  Even with the added effort, we will definitely be adding these guys to our regular rotation of crackers.  I wanted to have them with some homemade soup, but they definitely didn’t last long enough.  Oh well, just an excuse to make more!

Perfect with a big bowl of soup or as the base for your favorite dip or other appetizers. These homemade soda crackers will add some from scratch flair to any dish you use them in or serve them with!

Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!

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Saltines From Scratch

Saltines From Scratch are a fun, easier than you think, and tastier than store bought cracker to make at home!

4.74 from 86 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 12 hours hours

Author: Tracy

Equipment

• ▢
  Dough cutter

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• ▢ 6 tablespoons water
• ▢ 2 tablespoons softened butter
• ▢ 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ▢ 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sugar
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• ▢ 1/2- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt or Herb Salts for topping

Instructions

• Add flour, yeast, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sugar to a medium sized bowl. Whisk together.
• In a small sauce pan, add butter, oil and water and heat gently until butter is melted. Let cool to 120 degrees, or where it's still hot, but doesn't burn to the touch.
• Make a well in the whisked together dry ingredients and then pour in the butter. With an electric mixer, beat well on medium then on high until all the butter is incorporated and a dough begins to form.
• With your hands, knead together the dough into a ball. If the dough is too sticky, add a touch more flour at a time. If it’s too dry, add a tiny bit of water at a time. It should be a nice soft ball of dough.
• Lightly grease the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and let rest in fridge for at least 12 hours and up to 18 hours.
• When you’re ready to use, take the bowl out of the fridge and let the dough come up to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and line large baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease them.
• Remove dough from bowl and knead it for a couple of minutes until it is smooth and clay like.
• Divide it into 4 pieces and roll each piece out at a time. Use a pasta roller to get the dough as thin as possible – this will make for a much better, crunchy cracker.
• With a rolling pizza wheel or pasta cutter, cut out 2X2 squares. Transfer squares to the baking sheets. The squares can be right next to each other, squeeze as many as you can in, they will actually shrink in size as they bake. Do this with all of the remaining dough.
• With a fork, prick each cracker to get the classic “Saltines” perforations. Brush each cracker with a little bit of water and then sprinkle with salt / herb salt.
• Bake for 8 – 10 minutes, checking at 8 to ensure they’re don’t brown too much (unless you like a super crispy cracker like my husband does!)
• Remove from oven and let cool on tray.
• Store in an airtight container for up to a week – if you can hold back from eating them all that long!

Video

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