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.
- Make the dough
- Chill the dough
- Roll out the dough
- 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!
If you want to see more, be sure to sign up for my 5 Easy Ways to Start Cooking From Scratch!
Saltines From Scratch
Equipment
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!
I love this recipe. After I bake them, I place mine in a food dehydrator for a few hours to remove any extra moisture that may remain. It appears to make them last even longer. I e had them a month later and they taste just like say 1.
These look great, but I wish they kept longer. I understand there’s no preservatives, but I don’t want to work that hard for something that will go bad before I can use them (I live alone). Maybe I will try freezing some of the dough as Nicole suggested and I’ll let you know! Thanks for the recipe.
Hi! Do you think this recipe would work with a different kind of oil? Like olive or avocado? Thanks!
Hi J! Yes, they will definitely work but will adjust the flavor very very subtly.
I have been making these for a couple months and we love them. I use Dash on the tops and use my rolling pin to gently press it into the dough before pricking and cutting. I also roll the dough out on parchment paper. So easy to handle then.
I have been making these for a couple months and we love them. I use Dash on the tops and use my rolling pin to gently press it into the dough before pricking and cutting. I also roll the dough out on parchment paper. S Syne to handle then.
I don’t think I’ve ever made crackers from scratch before so I appreciate how this recipe allows me to try this.
I never knew how easy it could be to make homemade saltines! This is my first time trying anything like this and I couldn’t be happier with the results!
So wonderful to hear, Chenee! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
I’ve never hard of such a thing as “cream of tater”. 😆
Just “cream of tartar”…
This recipe for saltines from scratch is so simple and I love being in control of the ingredients that go into making them.
Yes! Thanks so much, LaKita!
Do you think these would freeze well? I always like to look for ways to get ahead of a cracker craving! Like roll them out cut them and freeze on parchment so all you have to do is bake?
Hi Nicole! I haven’t frozen this dough yet, but that sounds like it should work! Let me know if you try it!
These are so much better than store bought and surprisingly simple to prepare! The best part is that even kids approved. I’ll definitely be coming back to this recipe.
Kid approved is the best test there is! Thanks, Jessica!
These were really good! I followed the recipe to the T, and they turned out great. The saltines are so much better than the store-bought ones, and I will definitely make them again!