4-Ingredient Easy Rustic Table Water Crackers

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Raise your hand if you love wine and cheese! Instead of reaching for a box of the usual, why not wow your guests with this recipe for 4-Ingredient Easy Rustic Table Water Crackers! Easy, delicious and the perfect compliment to any charcuterie board.

This recipe for 4-Ingredient Easy Rustic Table Water Crackers has only four ingredients and they are all pantry staples – flour, vegetable oil, salt and water. That’s it. If you’re tired of crackers with ingredients you can’t pronounce, consider making your own. If making your own crackers sounds appealing, check out my recipe for Paprika Parmesan Crackers as well.

Three tricks to perfect table water crackers (two if you like really big oyster crackers)

Who doesn’t like a good cracker? I think of crackers as the exclamation point to a good cheese or dip. I like one that is thick enough to support a good smear of cheese without crumbling in my hands. But not so thick that it’s like biting into a brick. No artificial flavors or color and preferably with ingredients I recognize and can pronounce. Does anyone else feel the same?

Making your own crackers is really easy. This recipe takes less than 5 minutes to make the dough. The crackers bake in 5 – 6 minutes, so batches go quickly. In fact, you’ll spend the most time rolling and cutting the crackers. For these 4-Ingredient Easy Rustic Table Water Crackers, there are three key rules you need to follow for success.

Roll them thin – This is probably the more important of the two tricks. If your dough is too thick, it will not bake through and brown in the recommended time.

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Dock them well – Seriously, dock them like your life depends on it. The tiny holes you poke in the dough allow air to escape during the baking process. If you don’t dock them sufficiently, you’ll end up with the equivalent of giant oyster crackers (as shown on the left). Don’t get me wrong, giant oyster crackers can be a really fun addition to a bowl of soup. But if you want flat crackers, dock the dough well before baking.

Bake them until they are crisp – Don’t be afraid to develop a little color on your bakes. This is where flavor is developed. For crackers, if the dough is under-baked, they will be soft – not crisp and flaky.

If you’re worried your crackers are at risk of burning, but they still need time in the oven, there’s another trick you can use. You can crisp up crackers by reducing the temperature of the oven to 170 degrees F, and letting them dehydrate until they have dried out completely. This “twice- baked” technique is used when making some cookies – like my Chocolate & Orange Biscotti. It’s what makes these cookies so crisp and delicious.

Got a pasta machine? Let it roll the dough for you.

I mentioned that the dough for these 4-Ingredient Easy Rustic Table Water Crackers needs to be rolled very thin – so thin that it’s about the thickness of a piece of uncooked spaghetti. One of the things I love about this water cracker recipe is that the dough is very easy to work with. Use just a little extra flour to prevent sticking when rolling it out by hand.

However, if you have a pasta machine, it’s even easier. I’ve had a Marcato Atlas Pasta Machine for years and absolutely love it still. The pasta machine is nice if you’re doing several batches of crackers at one time. Simply run the dough through the machine until it passes through the #5 setting freely. This yields the perfect thickness for these crackers and makes rolling and cutting an absolute breeze.

I love gadgets and tools that serve more than one purpose. I use my pasta maker machine to make pasta. But it’s also a great tool for rolling cannoli shell dough and these 4-Ingredient Easy Rustic Table Water Crackers.

Ditch the box for a new, homemade favorite – these 4-Ingredient Easy Rustic Table Water Crackers

Homemade water crackers are easy to make. And they store well. The next time you prepare a charcuterie board to share with friends, why not add a batch of these homemade 4-Ingredient Easy Rustic Table Water Crackers to the menu?

Their charming, rustic shape make a great conversation starter, and they taste great. A new favorite in the making!

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4-Ingredient Easy Rustic Table Water Crackers

Recipe by Maria Ostrander Course: StartersCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

10

servings

Prep time

45

minutes

Baking time

6

minutes

This recipe yields approximately 44 three-inch crackers. Four crackers equal one serving.

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup A.P. Flour

• 1/3 cup cold water

• 2 tsp. vegetable oil
  

• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

• Extra sea salt for sprinkling on top if desired (optional)

Directions

• Place a baking sheet or pizza stone in the center rack of the oven. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F with the baking sheet inside the oven. You want the sheet or stone hot when ready to bake the crackers.
• In a large bowl or food processor, combine all the ingredients together until they come together to form a dough. Approximately 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Turn out the dough onto your work surface and continue to knead by hand for two minutes until the dough is smooth.
• Divide the dough into four pieces. Cover unused portions of dough with a towel to prevent from drying out.
• Roll the dough into a rectangle that measures approximately 30″ x 6″. If needed, use a little extra flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface and your rolling pin. The ideal thickness is like a strand of uncooked spaghetti. If you have a pasta machine, you can run the dough through the machine until it passes through the #5 setting freely.
• Using a 3 inch circle cutter, pizza wheel, knife or other device, cut the dough into desired shapes and dock the crackers with a fork. Work in batches of 9-12 crackers.
• Working quickly. Remove the hot pan from the oven and immediately transfer the dough disks to the hot baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt flakes (if desired) and return to the oven to bake for 3 minutes on the first side.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Working quickly, flip the crackers over and bake for another 2-3 minutes on the second side.
• Remove the crackers from the baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack to cool. You’ll hear the crackers “crack” as they cool. And that’s a good thing!
• Return the baking sheet to the oven to warm up again while you roll and cut the next batch of crackers. Continue to work in small batches of 9 – 12 crackers until the dough is gone.

Notes

• Help! My crackers are puffing up into giant oyster crackers. Dock the surface of your crackers more to ensure they stay flat during the baking process.
• My crackers are brown, but soft. How do I crisp them up? Crisp up crackers by reducing the oven temperature to 170 degrees F. Allow them to dehydrate until they have dried out completely. Time will vary depending on the thickness of the cracker.