Buttermilk and Rye Crackers
DIY crackers are easy and customizable. If you’ve got 30 minutes and basic ingredients in your kitchen—flour, water, oil, and salt—you can make your own crackers. Once you get the hang of it, your recipe can evolve to include heritage grain flours, flavorful liquids like buttermilk, and any combination of seeds and spices to top with.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rye flour plus more for rolling
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 4 tbsp buttermilk
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus more for brushing
- 1 tsp molasses
- 2 tbsp flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Combine flours and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add buttermilk, oil, and molasses all at once and mix on low speed until the dough comes together, about 1 minute. Add caraway seeds and mix for 1 minute more. On a well-floured surface, roll dough out to 1⁄8-inch thickness. Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to cut 2-inch squares, about 30 crackers. Use tines of a fork to prick each cracker 3 times.
- Transfer cut crackers to unlined baking sheets. Brush tops with olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake crackers for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Rotate pans midway through to ensure even baking. Cool crackers on a wire rack before storing them in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
Curious Cracker Combinations
Lee E. Cart has lived off the grid as a central-Maine homesteader since 1987. Eschewing plastic-wrapped commercial crackers for DIY ones is simply part of her daily life. Here are some of the more curious cracker combinations in her cookbook, The Cracker Book:
- Blue cornmeal + red chili pepper flakes
- Balsamic vinegar + brown rice flour
- Almond meal + almond milk
- Dried cranberries + graham flour
- Maple + sage