Cracker thickness is the whole recipe. At 3 mm you get something chewy and bread-like; at 2 mm it shatters; at 1 mm it burns before it crisps. Two millimetres, rolled between two sheets of parchment, is the number that works in a home oven, and it is worth measuring with a ruler the first few times instead of guessing.
The dough, and why there is oil in it
450 g discard, 210 g flour (70% bread, 30% whole wheat), 7.5 g salt, 20 g olive oil. The oil is not for flavour — it shortens the gluten just enough that the dough can be rolled to 2 mm without springing back, which a lean discard dough will not do. Rest the dough 20 minutes after the first two folds and it rolls out flat with almost no effort.
| Stage | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | Mix | Sticky, holds together |
| 0:10 | Fold 1 | Dough stops sticking to the bench |
| 0:20 | Fold 2, rest 20 min | Rolls without springing back |
| 0:45 | Roll to 2 mm, cut, dock | 4 x 6 cm rectangles |
| 0:55 | Bake 190 °C | 14 minutes, until evenly blistered |
Docking, salt and the topping
Dock every cracker three or four times with a fork; undocked dough puffs into a pillow and the centre stays soft. Brush with olive oil and scatter flaky salt, sesame or cracked pepper before baking — after baking, nothing sticks. Rotate the tray at 8 minutes, and pull the crackers when the edges are just starting to brown, because they continue to crisp on the tray.
Storage and the crispness problem
Crackers go soft within four hours if they are stacked in a jar while still warm. Cool completely on a rack, then store in a sealed tin with a paper towel at the bottom. If they do go soft, 5 minutes at 150 °C brings them back completely; that is the advantage of a cracker over a breadstick.
- Yield: about 48 crackers from one batch, using 450 g of discard.
- Keeps three weeks in a sealed tin in a dry kitchen, one week in a humid one.
- The whole wheat version browns faster; drop the oven to 180 °C.
If the dough tears as you roll it, it needs a longer rest, not more oil. Five more minutes on the bench does more than a spoonful of fat.