Give snack time an upgrade with homemade artisan crackers. Crispy, salty, savory, and endlessly customizable, the simple dough comes together quickly and easily in one bowl from basic pantry ingredients. These flavorful flatbread-style crackers are perfect for picnics, dunking into your favorite dips, and pairing with cheese or charcuterie.
Have you ever made homemade crackers before? I must admit, I haven’t played around with making crackers much over the years that I’ve been baking. I love this recipe for homemade cheese crackers, but that’s actually the only other cracker recipe on my website!
My team & I wanted to develop a great foundational cracker recipe, one that could be used as a jumping-off point for lots of different flavors. We tested many, many (I do mean many) batches until we got it right. And the resulting recipe you’ll see below makes crispy, salty, savory cracker deliciousness!
Why You’ll Love These Homemade Artisan Crackers:
- Made from simple, basic ingredients
- Customizable for so many flavors
- A no-yeast savory baking recipe
- Kid-approved
- Adds an instant upgrade to a charcuterie board
- Dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, and vegan recipe
- Fantastic with hummus, crab dip, various cheeses, or serve with a cranberry pecan cheese ball
- No mixer or food processor required; the dough comes together super quickly in 1 bowl with a wooden spoon. Back to basics!
8 Basic Ingredients for Homemade Crackers
Here’s what you need to make them:
- Flour: You need all-purpose flour for these crackers. We tested this with different varieties of gluten-free flours and the crackers were chip-your-teeth hard, so we don’t recommend substituting gluten-free flour here. Whole wheat flour created incredibly tough crackers, too. (You can try using 1/2 all-purpose and half whole wheat, though.)
- Sugar: Just a bit—these crackers aren’t sweet! Sugar helps create a crisp texture by inhibiting gluten development and contributes to the browning of the crackers.
- Salt: Essential for flavor.
- Onion & Garlic Powder: More essential flavor! We tested versions without these, and the crackers tasted a lot like plain wontons.
- Rosemary or other add-in: Finely chopped fresh rosemary gives the plain cracker base amazing savory flavor, but you can swap this out for something else. More on our favorite varieties below.
- Water: Brings all the dry ingredients together.
- Olive Oil: You need some for the dough, and more for brushing on top before baking.
- Flaky Sea Salt: For topping before baking. We like Maldon sea salt. (Not working with the brand, just genuinely use and love it!)
4 Favorite Ways to Flavor
- Freshly cracked black pepper + thyme
- Sesame seeds
- Everything bagel seasoning + dried chives
- Rosemary
Rosemary was the crowd’s favorite; I loved the sesame seed version the best, though!
Let Me Show You How to Make Them
Start by whisking together all the dry ingredients, including any herb/seed add-ins.
Pour in the water and olive oil and stir together with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula:
Turn the slightly wet dough out onto a floured countertop and knead it by hand, sprinkling on a little more flour as you go, until it’s no longer sticking to your hands and you can form it into a ball. This only takes a minute or two. Return the dough to the bowl and cover it.
Let the dough rest for at least 10 minutes before rolling it out.
After it’s had its rest, cut the dough in half:
Start with just one half of the dough, keeping the other half covered while you work with the first.
Tools for shaping homemade crackers:
- Rolling pin
- Ruler
- Pizza cutter or fluted pastry wheel
- Parchment paper
Roll out the first half of the dough until it’s very, very thin. The thinner you can get the crackers, the crispier they will be after baking.
If the dough keeps shrinking back as you try to roll it out, cover it lightly and let it rest for 5 minutes, then try again. As the gluten relaxes, it will become easier to roll out. (It will most definitely shrink at first, so don’t get worried if it does!)
Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into rectangles, about 3 x 1.5 inches in size. A ruler is helpful here, but don’t worry about trying to cut perfect rectangles. The crackers will all shrink a bit and end up wonky shapes with uneven edges—all part of their rustic charm! These are handmade crackers, they’re not going to look like they were cut by machines in a factory.
The number of crackers you’ll get depends on how thin you roll the dough, how large you cut the crackers, and how much scrap you discard. My team and I typically got around 75–80 crackers per batch (but to be honest, we usually lost count…).
Transfer the cut crackers to a parchment-lined baking sheet. It’s best to use a light-colored (silver) baking sheet, rather than a dark-colored one, so the crackers don’t over-brown. I use and recommend these half sheet pans.
Dock (i.e., poke holes in) the crackers several times with a fork. This helps steam escape and prevents large bubbles forming. (You’ll still get some bubbling, that’s normal.)
Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. If you like, you can also sprinkle a little more of your chosen add-in on top, such as sesame seeds or everything bagel seasoning.
And bake! At 425°F (218°C), these crackers take about 9–12 minutes, give or take, depending on the size and thickness you make them. You’re aiming for golden brown, crispy crackers. They should continue to crisp up a bit more while they cool on the baking sheet.
And then repeat the shaping/baking steps with the remaining half of the cracker dough.
Success Tips for Making Homemade Crackers
- Let the dough rest. Trying to roll it out too soon is an exercise in frustration, trust me on this!
- Roll the dough out suuuuuper thin. The crackers need to be very thin to bake up crispy. Too thick and they taste a little chewy.
- If the dough keeps shrinking back as you roll it out, cover it lightly and let it rest for 5 minutes to allow the gluten to relax, then try again.
- Use a light-colored (silver) baking sheet, not a dark baking sheet, and make sure your parchment paper is safe for high-temperature baking.
- Rotate the pan(s) halfway through baking, for even browning. Ovens can have hot spots, and this recipe will show you where they are!
- We don’t recommend using gluten-free flour in this recipe. The test batches we tried with different brands of GF flour came out chip-your-teeth hard. You’re better off looking for a cracker recipe that has been developed specifically to be gluten free.
- Homemade crackers get stale a lot faster than store-bought crackers, because they don’t have added preservatives. Store them in an airtight container in a dry spot, and, if needed, re-crisp them in the oven at 350°F (177°C) for up to 10 minutes.
Get creative and have fun with it—let us know what flavors you try in the comments!
Description
Give snack time an upgrade with flavorful homemade artisan crackers. Crispy, salty, savory, and endlessly customizable, the simple dough comes together quickly and easily in one bowl from basic pantry ingredients.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and rosemary (or other add-ins). Pour in the water and olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until the dough comes together in a clump.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Lightly flour your hands and the dough and knead it, sprinkling on a little more flour as you go, until it’s no longer sticking to your hands and you can shape it into a rough ball, about 1 to 2 minutes. Return the dough to the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for at least 10 minutes, and up to 1 hour at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C) and line large silver baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cut the dough in half. Keep one half of the dough covered while you work with the other half.
- On a lightly floured work surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll one half of the dough out into a rectangle. Roll the dough very thin—about 1/16th of an inch (1.5mm). If the dough keeps shrinking back as you try to roll it out, lightly cover it and let it rest for 5 minutes, then try again. (Don’t worry if it shrinks, that’s completely normal and expected.)
- Using a ruler and a pizza cutter, cut the dough into small rectangles about 3 x 1.5 inches in size. Carefully transfer the crackers to the prepared baking sheet(s).
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 with the second half of dough.
- Dock (poke holes in) the crackers several times with a fork. Brush with olive oil, then sprinkle with flaky sea salt (and everything bagel seasoning or sesame seeds, if making those varieties. Note that extra seasonings on top can sometimes fall off of the crackers when eating them).
- Bake until golden brown and crispy, about 9–12 minutes. To ensure even browning, rotate the baking sheet(s) halfway through baking.
- Let crackers cool completely on the baking sheet(s) set on a cooling rack. Crackers need several minutes of cooling before they taste crispy. They taste fantastic with hummus, crab dip or other dips, various cheeses, or serve with a cranberry pecan cheese ball.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature in a dry place for up to 2 days. To re-crisp crackers, spread them on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Cool completely before serving.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Instructions: These crackers taste best for up to 2 days after you make them. See step 11 for how to re-crisp them, if desired. You can freeze cooled crackers. Cover tightly and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature. Re-crisp if needed (see step 11).
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Wooden Spoon or Rubber Spatula | Rolling Pin | Fluted Pastry Wheel or Pizza Cutter | Baking Sheets | Parchment Paper | Pastry Brush | Flaky Sea Salt | Cooling Rack
- Other Flavors/Add-Ins: Do not leave the crackers plain. You need a flavor in the dough. Instead of rosemary, try another favorite herb, or any of these team favorites:
- Black Pepper & Thyme: 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper (do not use pre-ground fine pepper) + 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
- Everything & Chives: 1 Tbsp everything bagel seasoning (plus more for sprinkling on top) + 1 Tbsp dried chives
- Sesame Seed: 1 and 1/2 Tbsp sesame seeds (plus more for sprinkling on top)
- Gluten-Free Flour? We don’t recommend using gluten-free flour in this recipe. The test batches we tried with different brands of GF flour came out break-your-teeth hard. You’re better off looking for a cracker recipe that has been developed specifically to be gluten free.
- Whole Wheat Flour? Crackers made with whole wheat flour were also quite hard. If you want to use whole wheat flour, try using half all-purpose and half whole wheat. Expect a slightly dense, less crisp cracker.
