Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/3 cup water

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tbsp of whatever topping you want (rosemary, garlic, sesame seeds, etc.)
  

Equipment

• Mixing bowl

• Rolling pin

• Baking sheet

• Parchment paper

• Knife or pizza cutter

Instructions

1. Before doing anything else, preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, water, and olive oil. Mix until fully incorporated and a dough forms.

3. Lightly flour your countertop, then transfer the dough from the bowl. Knead it a few times until smooth, then shape it into a ball. Cut the dough in half.

4. Using a rolling pin, roll out each half until it’s about 3mm (1/8 inch) thick. If you have a KitchenAid pasta attachment, you can roll it out to setting 2 or 3 for an even thickness. Transfer each rolled-out piece onto a sheet of parchment paper.

5. If you’re adding toppings, now is the time. Sprinkle them onto the dough and gently press them in using the rolling pin.

6. Brush the surface with olive oil, then transfer the parchment paper with the dough onto baking sheets.

7. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into squares or rectangles—no need to separate them completely; they’ll break apart easily after baking.

8. Bake both trays for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and rearrange the more golden pieces toward the center of the sheet to ensure even baking.

9. Return to the oven and bake for another 8–10 minutes, or until all crackers are a light golden brown.

10. Let them cool completely before breaking them apart. Enjoy!

The Novel

Making crackers from scratch is one of those things I genuinely don’t understand why I didn’t start doing earlier. My partner and I love hosting small dinner parties, and charcuterie boards (or as we like to call them, coochie boards) are always a must. And for those nights when we can’t be bothered to cook, we’ll just throw together a little coochie board to share—because girl dinner.

Obviously, the crackers are the staple of coochie and can really make or break the board. Have you ever had Firehook Crackers? They’re so thick and crunchy and salty and so good for all types of cheeses—but also, like, ten dollars a box here in NYC. You will never convince me that a cracker is worth that much, no matter how good it is. These homemade crackers are a close second to Firehook, and the best part is that you can customize them however you want—rosemary, garlic, sesame seeds, whatever.

As I’m writing this, I just remembered that a friend and I used to go hiking on the weekends, and one of us would always bring crackers while the other brought cheese. And also, whenever I was sick growing up, my mom would give me chicken soup with crackers. Which really just proves how deep my relationship with crackers goes. Some people have defining childhood memories; I have a lifelong commitment to crackers.