Saltines From Scratch are a fun, easier than you think, and tastier than store bought cracker to make at home!
Oh man I wish I had figured this recipe for Saltines From Scratch out about 7 months ago! Although I have to say that I’ve been really lucky with how easy this pregnancy has been (knock on wood), there were definitely a couple of days in the 1st trimester that Saltines and Ginger Ale were my best friend and these homemade guys would have been amaazzinngg.
I will admit, they take a little bit of work. They’re not quite as easy as Ritz Crackers From Scratch, Spelt Crackers, or Graham Crackers, but they are sooooooo good. And totally worth the effort. They’re pretty simple ingredients, except for the cake flour. Or, if you can find it, fine Italian flour. I couldn’t find any Italian pasta flour locally (and when I say I couldn’t find it means after the 2nd store, I gave up), so I just used cake flour. Which is so lovely and soft; totally necessary for this recipe. I haven’t tried this with all purpose flour, but based on the fine consistency of the cake flour, I can imagine it would have a noticeable difference.
The dough itself isn’t difficult to make, it’s the whole make it the night before you want to bake the crackers thing that’s the hardest part. It does need to chill in the fridge for 12-18 hours. 
Once it’s done that, it’s quick knead and roll. Then I busted our our pasta roller and rolled the dough really thin. This is another step I really encourage you to not skip. Because the thinner the cracker, the better, for sure. And the dough rolls in the pasta machine really well. 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. Just to ensure they were uber thin.
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 wont expand at all. They’ll actually shrink a little. 
Baked at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes (be sure to check them, they’ll brown quickly!), and you have your very own Saltine 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!
Saltines From Scratch
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 tatar
- 1/2- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt or Herb Salts for topping
Instructions
- Add flour, yeast, baking soda, cream of tater, 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!
Who knew? Homemade saltines…Brilliant! These looks so fun to make!
This looks like a fun cooking project. I’ve never made crackers, but this has inspired me. 🙂
It’s so fun! And worth the work! 😀
I have to try this! I had no idea you could make these at home!
They look perfect!
Thanks, Sylvie!
These crackers look perfect, and I can think of so many ways to flavor them too.
You’re so right, Julie! You can totally jazz them up with different flavors and even different shapes for kids!
Hi, I am a cooking student in Venezuela at the Caracas Culinary Institute. I have only one doubt about the recipe. In the ingredients there are 2 tblsp of oil. You dont mention in the instructions were they go, if its in the dough or are they for greasing the bowl ?
Thank you very much in advance for your answer.
Reards
Jorge Palacios G.
Hi Jorge! Thanks so much for visiting and for pointing out my typo! The oil is melted with the butter and water. Thanks again for stopping by!
What kind of yeast did you use? Active dry used for breads? Or is it nutritional yeast?
This recipe calls for quick rise dry yeast. Nutritional yeast will give you a cheesy flavor 🙂
If you don’t have a pasta roller, could a rolling pin be used?
Definitely! Just remember the thinner the better!
These are really good. They have a sourdough taste, probably from some fermentation happening while it sits in the fridge. However, my dough was way to soft to use the pasta roller even after kneading in more flour. I ended up using the rolling pin and switched over to all purpose flour to dust. Both my husband and I were impressed with these. My first successful cracker after numerous utter failures.
That’s great to hear, Cathy! Sorry the pasta roller didn’t work but sounds like you guys made it work. Hooray for homemade crackers!!
I’ve never made homemade crackers. This is so cool. I love Saltines with a warm bowl of soup this time of year.
Definitely, Valentina!
Love the idea of making crackers from scratch and it’s great that it is all store cupboard ingredients too!
Yes! They’re fun to make with kids, too!
These look great for dipping! I might have a go at these for our New Years Eve party.
They’re great for dipping and as a base for a lot of fun appetizers!
I love saltines! Never tried making them from scratch but it sure does look and sound easy and delicious!
Just when I was out of recipes for my tea party, these crackers are a life saver. With a taste, everyone would surely love.
Tracy, it looks perfect and tasty! Can’t wait to have this anytime of the day, love it!